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 the summer: fresh grass, flowers and herbs, and in the cold season they get sun-dried hay - free of silage from silos. This natural diversity gives the hay milk its unique aroma - and in turn also the hay milk cheese. What is particularly important for cheese production is the high quality of the milk,meaning that hay milk cheese can be made without any 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 also comes from happy hay milk cows in Salzburg's Flachgau and Mondseeland regions, where the animals live in harmony with nature. In summer they feed on succulent grasses, flowers and herbs. In winter they get valuable sun-dried hay and some mineral-rich grist. The quality of this traditional diet can also be seen in the precious milk. When the aromas and flavours of the various local grasses, flowers and herbs combine to create a unique taste experience, then you know: Hay milk is the best milk!
