Knockout!

Sometimes, the best things are born from sheer accident. On a stormy night, something entirely unexpected happened in our Güntensperger dairy. During a raging thunderstorm, the power went out. Chaos erupted, and in the darkness, a mistake was made – too much cream was added to the cheese curd. It felt like a knockout punch: the production seemed ruined. But instead of discarding the cheese, we decided to place it in our maturing cellar and wait. After months of careful maturing, we discovered something extraordinary: a cheese that surpassed anything we had ever tasted. With delicate aging crystals, an intense umami flavor, and a velvety texture, «Knock Out» was born – a triumph of chaos and courage. Today, Knock Out stands not only for exceptional taste but also as a testament to the triumph of the unexpected. A cheese that will undoubtedly knock you out – in the best possible way. Cheesemaker Reto Güntensperger grew up in the historic Bodmen dairy, his bed mere steps from the room where his father & grandfather crafted Appenzeller by hand in their 1,500 liter vat. By 1999, his father and two brothers moved operations into the village of Butschwil below, purchasing the fallow dairy and rebuilding it, expanding their family business as their own children grew into the company. The dairy is now a model of balance between modern efficiency and timehonored tradition.