Here's an update on the excitement surround tonight's evening tasting at the World Championship Cheese Contest in Madison, WI. This year looks like it will draw the biggest crowd yet, and cheese fans are getting geared up to try hundreds of cheeses in one fell swoop:

Watching 40 judges in white lab coats nibble on cheese and then spit the samples into garbage cans might not sound like an elegant evening to most people, but hundreds of cheese lovers have paid $25 each for a close-up view of Wednesday's World Championship Cheese Contest finals.

This is the first year the international contest has charged admission to its finals, which historically have been low-key affairs attended by just a handful of spectators and reporters.

The contest held every two years in Madison typically draws more than 2,000 entries from nearly two dozen nations. Usually, only the judges taste the cheese, but this year 400 ticketholders will be able to sample 15 of the top entries, mingle with Wisconsin cheesemakers and meet the international panel of judges. The event is sold out.

Read more at the Star Tribune