Quality cannot be left to chance
5 principles of WOERLE
Company founder Johann Baptist Woerle recognised early on the inestimable value of the best milk quality for the production of natural, high-quality cheese. That's why he formulated the "WOERLE Purity Law of 1889", which is still valid now: Only the finest, fresh and silo-free hay milk is used as the raw material for WOERLE's cheese delicacies, a real jewel in today's world.
Hay milk cows enjoy the best of the meadows and pastures in summer: fresh grass, flowers, and herbs. In the colder months, they are fed sun-dried hay – free from silage. This diverse diet gives hay milk its unique aroma – and consequently, hay milk cheese. Crucially for cheese production, the high quality of the milk allows hay milk cheese to be made entirely without additives or preservatives.
“Connected to nature. Committed to purity. For the love of cheese.” – Johann Baptist Woerle (1836–1907)
One man, one word. For Johann Baptist Woerle, a personal promise with an honest handshake has always been just as important as any signature. He passed this attitude on to his descendants - who in turn taught it to the next generation.
Gerhard Woerle and his children still run the business of the family business according to this principle. Proof of the reliability of WOERLE is the fact that many of the families who have been with us from the very beginning are still proud WOERLE farmers, now in their fourth and fifth generation .
When Johann Baptist Woerle came to Flachgau from the German Allgäu over 130 years ago, the magnificent natural landscape took his heart by storm. Nowhere else did he want to live more than here. He passed this love of home on to the next generations. But to call the Flachgau just home does not do justice to the meaning of this beautiful piece of land in the life of the Woerle family. Because with its special climate and fertile soil, the Flachgau is one of the largest connected hay milk regions in Austria and therefore the basis of life for the Woerle private cheese dairy - a special treasure for which the family is extremely grateful and to which they feel a deep obligation.
The Woerle family's relationship with their dairy farmers has always been very close and respectful. While in 1889 it was a little more than a handful of farmers who supplied their milk to Johann Baptist Woerle's cheese dairy, today there are many farming families in Flachgau and Mondseeland. And Gerhard Woerle knows them all personally. The climate in which such steadfast relationships can thrive is a very friendly one - a climate characterized by mutual respect for each other's accomplishments and by looking one another in the eye when speaking. That's why Gerhard Woerle uses every opportunity to drive out to the farmers and talk to them about their worries, needs and wishes.
Because the good relationship with the farmers is just as important as the best milk quality.
The best cheese can only be made from the best milk. And the best milk is hay milk. The Woerle family has known this for 130 years. That's why the hay milk for our WOERLE cheese specialties comes from hay milk cows in the Salzburg Flachgau and Mondsee regions, which are fed according to the hay milk principle described above. In summer, they graze on lush grasses, flowers, and herbs. In winter, they receive valuable sun-dried hay and some mineral-rich grain meal. The quality of this traditional diet is also evident in the precious milk. When the aromas and flavors of the various local grasses, flowers, and herbs combine on the palate to create a unique taste experience, then you know: hay milk is the best milk!
