Estes...
First of all, I'm not an expert on this variety. It has become my favorite cheese to make, but only because I REALLY wan to perfect this variety.
Here is my experience......
I have made a couple of swiss style cheeses that I have aged in my regular household fridge.
The taste on these examples was VERY good but I still did not get the holes (eyes) in the cheese that I wanted to see, and the texture was not great.
Please understand that the colder temps were not the problem. It was simply that I did not get the proper curd that is required to form eyes.
One other batch that I made, I aged in my wine cooler cave.
Mine seems to run a little bit cooler than yours (about 48 degrees), but I did have some small eyes form and the texture and taste were just pretty much perfect.
My current swiss is by far my best effort yet.....
The cheese puffed up quite nicely and then deflated overnight. I don't know if this is what is supposed to happen but even after another week on the kitchen counter, it has not exhibited any additional swelling.
Right now, I'm thinking this:
The cheese swelled to the point of reaching "critical mass' and then popped holes in the intereior of the cheese. This then relieved the internal pressure and the proponic is not able to produce enough gas to swell the wheel again, since the interior is now so "open".
Now I really have nothing to base this theory on, other than what I've experienced with my past attempts, but at least it does sound feasible.
One thing that I've always done is to wax the cheeses after the eye formation stage has taken place.
I know you aren't supposed to wax a swiss style of cheese, but let's face it....humidity is a problem for the home cheesemaker.
After waxing a cheese, I've never really worried about the aging temp, that much. If it's a bit too cold that will only require a bit longer of an aging period.
If it's a bit too warm it will age more quickly but it can also cause other problems such as unwanted bacteria growth or a sour type of flavor.
If it was my cheese I would probably age it at a lower temp but ONLY after you are sure that the sweating stage has completely ended.
I've started letting my swiss cheese sweat for a minimum of 4 weeks. If nothing seems to be happening after this point then the cheese will be what it will be.
As long as it came out of the mold with a nice soft/elastic feel, you are well on your way to making a swiss that will taste fantastic, even if it doesn't form the eyes you would like to see.
I know I took the long way around, but hope this information helps...
Dave