I must preface this by saying that I am a fairly recent addition to the Kenny's Farmhouse Cheese team as a sales and marketing representative so I am somewhat biased here but I will attempt to answer at least part of your question.
I am also a lover of cheese and interestingly enough there are some great cheeses being made regionally. What makes cheese "great" you ask? To me, the use of raw milk makes a HUGE difference both in depth of flavor and nutritional content. Pasteurizing cheese has a flavor-dampening effect, and even more importantly is a process that while killing possibly harmful bacteria, rids milk of inherent digestive enzymes that help us digest cheese more naturally. Raw milk cheese, while just as high in fat as processed cheese is less "fattening" because one's body can process the fat more effectively. So, it not only tastes better, but its BETTER FOR YOU! How often do those two things happen at the same time?
How can we trust raw milk cheese? The government requires that all raw-milk cheese be aged a minimum of 60 days to secure that all harmful bacteria has expired. Pasteurization was a process created to standardize milk by large dairy companies who were sourcing from many farms. If the milk comes from a singular trusted source, where each milking can be carefully tested, raw milk is generally considered to be safe, and pasteurization may not be necessary. Even in conventional every-day cheeses such as Swiss, Colby, or Mild Cheddar, the flavor of a raw milk cheese comes across beautifully. Kenny Mattingly is making these very cheeses and many more, 25+ varieties actually, from Cheddar's to authentic farmstead Gouda's to full bodies Bleu's.
Judy Schad at Capriole Farms over in Southern Indiana uses raw goat milk in quite a few of her INCREDIBLE masterpieces. In fact, pretty much everything that is coming out of that farm can compete with anything else. Judy Schad's operation, as well as Kenny's are "farmstead" cheese making operations. This means simply that every step of the process, from taking care of the animals, to milking, making, hand-cutting, and shipping all happens on the farm to ensure the highest level of Quality control. Others who have more recently joined the farmstead revolution in the region are Sappori d'Italia and Stonecross farm, both in Kentucky (links below). In my opinion a really great cheese selection at one location within Louisville, local and international, is over at Lotsa Pasta and the Cheesemonger Will knows a whole lot and will point you in all kind of interesting directions! wine Market on Bardstown Rd and Whole Foods are great as well. Many regional producers are represented at local farmers markets.
Hope this helps! Sorry if this is T.M.I!!! Happy cheese eating!
http://www.kennysfarmhousecheese.comhttp://www.capriolegoatcheese.comhttp://www.cheeseitalia.comhttp://www.stonecrossfarm.com
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