LE GRUYERE AOC
Since the 2001 European Curling Championships in Vierumaki, Finland, curlers have been surrounded by «Le Gruyère AOC» signage, in-ice and around the ice, at major curling championships. But who knows what is «Le Gruyère» and what is the meaning of «AOC» ?
Le Gruyère AOC is a hard cheese produced in a delimited geographical area in Switzerland and under strict quality controlled production guidelines.
The AOC – Appellation d’Origine Contrôlée – stands for – Certified Origin of Production – and is the recognition label for quality and authenticity delivered by the Swiss Department of Agriculture and recognised by the European Community. French quality wines have been displaying the AOC label for years, but Le Gruyère cheese of Switzerland was the first dairy product who achieved this quality standard in Switzerland in November 2001.
The « Le Gruyère AOC » totals a yearly production of about 26'000 metric tons of which 35% is exported all around the world, mainly to Germany, France, United Kingdom, Benelux, Italy, Spain, USA and Canada. The trade community of « Le Gruyère AOC » is formed by 220 cheese makers, mainly located in the Fribourg Canton as well as in the French speaking part of Switzerland and a few in Canton of Berne.
The partnership between Le Gruyère AOC and the World Curling Federation started in 2002 with a three years agreement encompassing the sponsorship of 3 World Championships and 3 European Championships, combined with the presentation of the Eurosport telecast by Le Gruyère AOC. The partnership has now been extended to the Le Gruyère European Curling Championships 2005 in Garmisch-Partenkirchen and the Le Gruyère European Curling Championships 2006 in Basel.
Curling at the highest international level represents the main sponsorship commitment of Le Gruyère AOC. In Switzerland, the brand is actively involved in ice-hockey sponsorship with division A home team Fribourg Gottéron, as well as with alpine skiing World Cup events staged in Switzerland and in cycling with the renowned « Tour de Romandie ».
Please visit us at www.gruyere.com
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