A Season With Swiss Cheesemakers

In Gruyères, western Switzerland, from mid-May to mid-October, the fifth generation of the Murith family produces its distinctive mountain pasture Gruyère cheese. Each wheel of cheese weighs between 25 and 40 kilograms, and takes a minimum of six months to mature.

The family produces 200 wheels each year to sell locally, using unpasteurized milk from their own herd of cows. Reuters photographer Denis Balibouse spent time with the Murith family over this past grazing season, capturing days and nights in the alpine pastures of Switzerland.