7
19
6
13
5
25
17
Sonoma
County
27
4
20
23
24
18
26
14
22
.R
Pt
s
eye
-P
lum
eta
11
116
ad
12
16
21 1
2
3
8
10
a
Ro
N ic
o
asi
yR
lle
Va
9
N
15
oad
Marin
County
Cheesemakers of Marin and Sonoma County
+
+
+
Achadinha Cheese Company Andante Cheese
Barinaga Ranch Farmstead
Sheep Milk Cheese
Bellwether Farms
Bleating Heart Cheese
Bodega Artisan Cheese
Bohemian Creamery
Clover Stornetta Farms
Cowgirl Creamery
Epicurean Connection
Laura Chenel’s Chevre
Marin French Cheese Company Matos Cheese Factory
+
+
+
+
+
+
Open Locations
McClelland Dairy
Nicasio Valley Cheese Company
Point Reyes Farmstead Cheese Company
Pugs Leap
Ramini Mozzarella
Redwood Hill Farm & Creamery
Saint Benoit Yogurt
Spring Hill Cheese Company
Straus Family Creamery
Toluma Farms
Two Rock Valley Goat Cheese
Valley Ford Cheese Company
Vella Cheese Company
Weirauch Farm & Creamery
+ Protected Farmland
Driving Tours
Marin County Tour
Sonoma County Tour
Driving Directions
Start at the Marin French Cheese Company right outside Novato,
where you can take a tour, picnic, and taste their award-winning
Rouge et Noir brie. Then travel west on the Point Reyes-Petaluma
Road, make a quick detour onto Nicasio Valley Road to the quaint
village of Nicasio. There you’ll find Nicasio Valley Cheese Company.
The Lafranchi family produces fantastic farmstead cheeses in the
artisanal tradition of their Swiss-Italian cousins in Switzerland. Then
retrace your steps to the Point Reyes-Petaluma Road and into the
town of Point Reyes to Tomales Bay Foods (also known as Cowgirl
Creamery) where you can watch cheesemaking through the window
or take a more formal cheese class (reservations required). At the
cheese counter taste Cowgirl cheeses and other local artisan cheeses.
Driving Directions
Starting in the historic agricultural town of Petaluma, with its
charming turn-of-the-century buildings and quaint downtown,
stop by the Petaluma Creamery where you can sample Spring Hill
Cheese (for tours of their creamery please call ahead). Then head
east out of town via Highway 116 and follow signs to Sonoma.
To visit one of the oldest cheesemakers in the area, stop by Vella
Cheese Company, known for their famous aged dry Jack. While
still in Sonoma drop by the Epicurean Connection for the flavors of
fresh and soft cheeses and more local fare. For more, travel north
out of town on Highway 12 to Sebastopol to the Matos Cheese
Factory to sample their St. George, a buttery semi-hard cheese
made in the style of the Azores.
Novato to Nicasio and Point Reyes Station (about 50 miles)
Petaluma to Sonoma to Sebastopol (about 50 miles)
1. Achadinha Cheese Company
Petaluma
707-763-1025
www.achadinha.com
G FM F A
2. Andante Cheese
Petaluma
707-769-1379
www.andantedairy.com
C
A family-owned and operated business, Clover
Stornetta Farms works closely with select
family farms in Sonoma, Marin and Mendocino
counties. It processes and distributes their
high-quality dairy products under the Clover
Stornetta and Clover Organic Farms brands.
80 Fourth Street
Point Reyes Station
415-663-9335
www.cowgirlcreamery.com
C FM M P O A
In 1997, Sue Conley and Peggy Smith built
a small creamery in downtown Point Reyes
Station and began making handcrafted cheese
with local organic milk. They now produce
three fresh and six aged cheeses, and have a
second creamery in Petaluma.
10. Epicurean Connection
C G FM
3. Barinaga Ranch
Farmstead Sheep Milk Cheese
Barinaga Ranch continues the shepherding
traditions of Marcia Barinaga’s Basque
ancestors in Spain. Sheep graze year-round on
more than 100 acres of pasture overlooking
Tomales Bay. The rich, raw milk is made into a
Basque-style cheese from April to October.
4. Bellwether Farms
Petaluma
707-478-8067
www.bellwetherfarms.com
C S FM M
The Callahan family owns and operates
Bellwether Farms in the heart of Sonoma
County. They began milking their sheep and
producing handcrafted cheeses in 1990,
making them one of the first to be part of the
revival of American artisan cheesemaking.
5. Bleating Heart Cheese
Sebastopol
www.bleatingheart.com
C S FM
Fat Bottom Girl, a sheep cheese, was first
produced by Bleating Heart in 2009. Sonoma
Toma, a cow’s milk cheese, followed soon after.
In 2010, Bleating Heart partnered with Sonoma
County ranchers Rex and Kerry Williams to
establish California’s fifth sheep dairy.
6. Bodega Artisan Cheese
Bodega
707-876-3483
www.BodegaArtisanCheese.com
C G FM F M A
In keeping with farmstead traditions
worldwide, Bodega’s “country” cheeses are
produced in small batches from one-to-two
day old milk, then immediately made into
cheese. This seals in the fresh, mild flavor,
even in the aged cheeses.
7. Bohemian Creamery
Sebastopol
www.bohemiancreamery.com
C G F M
Lisa Gottreich and Miriam Block decided to
break out of their midlife molds and fill new
ones with innovative and compelling curds.
They make a variety of Italian-style cheeses on
their farm in Sebastopol.
The following organizations
provided generous
support.
122 West Napa Street
Sonoma
707-935-7960
www.sheanadavis.com
C G FM M P
Sheana Davis is a cheesemaker and proprietor
of the Epicurean Connection shop, selling
artisan and farmstead cheeses, plus regionally
and sustainably produced products. After
20 years of enthusiastic support for local
cheesemakers, she introduced her own artisan
cheese line in 2009.
11. Laura Chenel’s Chèvre
Sonoma
707-996-4477
www.laurachenel.com
G
Laura Chenel pioneered American goat
cheesemaking. From small batches made on
her Sebastopol farm in the 1970s to the new
Sonoma creamery owned by French artisan
cheese producer Rians Group, the brand
continues to bring increased appreciation of
goat cheese to the U.S.
12. Marin French Cheese
Company
7500 Red Hill Road
Petaluma
800-292-6001
www.marinfrenchcheese.com
C G M P A
The oldest continuously operating cheese
factory in America, Marin French has
specialized in handmade Brie and Camembert
since 1865. In 2005, it was the first American
producer to best France and other European
countries in international competitions.
13. Matos Cheese Factory
3669 Llano Road
Santa Rosa
707-584-5283
C F P
Joe and Mary Matos grew up in the
Portuguese Azores on the lush volcanic island
of Sao Jorge, noted for its delicious cheeses.
They relocated to Santa Rosa in the 1970s,
carrying the recipe for their native cheese
with them.
14. McClelland Dairy
Petaluma
707-664-0452
www.mcclellandsdairy.com
C FM F M P
This third-generation family dairy was founded
by Robert McClelland, an Irish immigrant. It’s
now operated by his son George, George’s
wife Dora, and their daughter Jana. They
specialize in European Style Organic Artisan
Butter and have plans for other products in
the future.
15. Nicasio Valley Cheese
Company
5300 Nicasio Valley Road
Nicasio
415-662-6200
nicasiocheese.com
C FM F M P O A
The Lafranchi family enjoyed the traditional
cheeses of their Swiss homeland and dreamed
of making their own. Their organic dairy
was the perfect resource to enable them to
pay homage to their heritage. They made
their first cheese in 2010 with Swiss mentor
Maurizio Lorenzetti.
16. Point Reyes Farmstead
Cheese Company
Point Reyes Station
415-663-8880
pointreyescheese.com
theforkatpointreyes.com
C FM F M A
The Giacomini family makes classic Point
Reyes Original Blue and semi-hard Point
Reyes Toma with milk from their own cows—
processed within hours of milking. They offer
hands-on and demo-style cooking classes at
The Fork Culinary Center on their ranch.
17. Pugs Leap
Petaluma
707-876-3300
[email protected]
G FM F A
After running their goat dairy, White Whale
Farm, for several years, Anna and Dan Conner
were eager to enter the cheese world. They took
over Pugs Leap in 2010, continuing the highquality cheesemaking tradition of the previous
owners. Their herd is Certified Humane.
18. Ramini Mozzarella
Tomales
415-690-6633
raminimozzarella.com
W F
Inspired by Italian mozzarella di bufala, Craig
Ramini will use 100% water buffalo milk to
produce a handcrafted cheese for his new
company which is now in start-up mode.
Ramini Mozzarella is scheduled to be available
in 2012.
19. Redwood Hill Farm &
Creamery
Sebastopol
707-823-8250
redwoodhill.com
G FM M A
Located among picturesque redwoods, familyowned and operated Redwood Hill Farm has
produced award-winning goat milk cheese
since 1978. Their Certified Humane Raised
& Handled herd benefits from a diversified
breeding program, and their cheese, yogurt
and kefir are minimally processed.
20. Saint Benoît Yogurt
Two Rock
530-400-4701
stbenoit.com
C FM O A
Saint Benoît is a small, family-owned business
handcrafting organic, cream-top, Frenchstyle yogurt from the milk of Jersey cows.
All products are made in small batches using
locally sourced fruits and honey. They’re sold
in distinctive reusable crocks and jars.
21. Spring Hill Cheese Company
711 Western Avenue
Petaluma
707-762-9038
springhillcheese.com
C FM F M P O
A
Rich, organic 100% Jersey milk is the secret of
Larry Peter’s handcrafted gourmet cheeses.
Spring Hill Jersey cheeses are made on his
farm just west of Petaluma.
22. Straus Family Creamery
Marshall
707-776-2887
www.strausfamilycreamery.com
C FM O A
A family-owned organic creamery, Straus
produces milk, ice cream, yogurt, butter, frozen
yogurt and soft-serve ice cream with cows’ milk
sourced from its own dairy in the hills above
Tomales Bay and from three other local family
farms. For tours, check malt.org.
23. Toluma Farms
Tomales
707-878-2041
tolumafarms.com
G S FM F A
David Jablons and Tamara Hicks purchased
their dairy in 2003, restored the land and
protected it with an agricultural conservation
easement. They began milking 200 goats in
2007, and plan to start producing goat and
mixed-milk cheeses in 2011.
24. Two Rock Valley Goat Cheese
Two Rock
707-762-6182
G FM F M
A
lley Goa
tC
k Va
oc
DD
ese
he
Soyoung Scanlan—dairy scientist, music lover,
and former biochemist—gives musical names
to her creamery and cheeses. Her products
are designed to reveal the essence of the
terroir, or microclimate, in which the milk and
cheese are produced.
S F M
Petaluma
707-778-8448
cloverstornetta.com
9. Cowgirl Creamery
Jim and Donna Pacheco’s 900 goats graze
year-round on verdant pastures at the Pacheco
Family Dairy. The grass is supplemented
with alfalfa and brewers’ grain from local
breweries. Donna handcrafts all cheeses.
Achadinha also sells its own smoked summer
goat sausage.
Marshall
www.barinagaranch.com
8. Clover Stornetta Farms
Two
R
a
he Sonom
Explore t Cheese Trail
Marin
DeBernardi Dairy, Inc.
Dairyman Don DeBernardi’s desire to make
Swiss cheese like the type made by his relatives
in Switzerland led him to transition from multigenerational dairy farming to producing a goat
milk cheese aged on site at the DeBernardi
Dairy.
25. Valley Ford Cheese Company
Valley Ford
707-293-5636
valleyfordcheeseco.com
C FM F A
Five generations of the Bianchi/Grossi family
have raised dairy cows on this prime farmland
in Sonoma County. Karen Bianchi Moreda
and her son Joe now make Swiss-Italian-style
cheese from the milk of their Certified Humane
Raised & Handled Jersey herd.
26. Vella Cheese Company
315 2nd Street East
Sonoma
707-938-3232 • 800-848-0505
vellacheese.com
C M P
The Vella family has made cheese in a
stonewalled building on the historic Sonoma
square since the company’s founding in 1931 by
Gaetano Vella. The cultures, the care and the
personal hands-on techniques are the same as
they were then.
27. Weirauch Farm & Creamery
Petaluma
weirauchfarm.com
C S FM F M O A
Joel and Carleen Weirauch raise dairy sheep
for a seasonal raw aged cheese. They also
produce organic cow cheese from local Jersey
milk. They’ve made creative, green re-use of
two portable classrooms for their creamery
and milking parlor. Their operation is Animal
Welfare Approved.
Key to the Cheesemakers
C Cow
G Goat
S Sheep
W Water Buffalo
FM Available at
Farmers’ Markets
F Farmstead
M Mail Order
P Open to the Public
O Organic
ATours by Appointment
Agricultural Institute of Marin, California Milk Advisory Board, Marin Convention & Visitors Bureau,
Marin County Board of Supervisors, Sonoma County Agricultural Preservation and Open Space District,
www.SonomaCounty.com, Sonoma Land Trust.
A PROJECT OF THE MARIN ECONOMIC FORUM . Production: Vivien Straus and Ellie Rilla . Design: Lisa Krieshok . Copy: Elisabeth Ptak
Tour the heart of artisan cheesemaking country
in Sonoma and Marin counties
It’s been called the Normandy of Northern
California after the famous French cheeseproducing region. View a beautiful agricultural
landscape of family farms and working ranches,
much of it protected from development with
agricultural conservation easements. Experience
historic towns and villages, Point Reyes National
Seashore, nearby oyster operations and worldrenowned wineries in the 12 wine-growing
regions of Sonoma County.
Open for Visits Not all artisan producers are open
to the public, so we’ve created two tours to sites that
welcome visitors. Meet some of the cheesemakers,
learn about the animals, and maybe even see cheese
being made…and don’t forget to ask for a taste!
Make sure to call ahead or check company websites
listed on the back for hours.
A Working Landscape
Cheesemaking has long been a part of world cultures,
but in the U.S., it dates back only about 200 years. In
Marin and Sonoma counties, Spanish priests first made
cheese from the milk of mission
livestock in the early 1800s.
During the Gold Rush, European
immigrants built dairies on the
Point Reyes peninsula to supply
butter and cheese to gold miners
in San Francisco. The peninsula
became known as “cow heaven”
Popular goat breeds include Alpine,
Saanen, Nubian and LaMancha
for its moderate climate and
verdant grasslands, and dairy ranches soon sprang up
throughout Marin, making the county the top dairy
producer in California for several decades. As demand
grew, the story repeated itself in Sonoma County.
Settlers in both counties brought cheesemaking skills
22,000 acres of land in Marin and
Sonoma are dedicated to making cheese
and fermented milk products.
with them from Switzerland, Italy, the Azores, Portugal
and Ireland, and began producing modest quantities
on the farm or through cooperative creameries. But
during WW II, small-scale manufacturing gave way to
mass production to meet
the needs of national
defense and a growing
population.
Today, artisan
cheesemaking is
experiencing a
renaissance as both longtime dairy families and
young, passionate cheese
entrepreneurs enter the
marketplace to meet
an increasing consumer
desire for distinctive,
handcrafted cheese.
Marin and Sonoma
counties are home to the
largest concentration of
artisan cheesemakers
in California. In
combination with
conscientious
animal husbandry practices, they emphasize quality
over quantity. Like vintners who attribute the distinct
characteristics of their wines to the terroir in which
they’re produced, cheesemakers here say the salt
air, cooling fogs and
abundant grasslands
To make one pound of
where their animals graze
cheese, it takes about five
make their cheeses unlike
any others.
pounds of sheep’s milk, or
Protecting
Farmland
seven pounds of goat milk,
or 10 pounds of cow’s milk.
This beautiful farmland located so close to San
Francisco is under constant threat from sprawl and
non-agricultural development. With your help,
conservation organizations in Marin and Sonoma
can protect at-risk farmland. For more information
and to see how you can help, visit malt.org,
sonomalandtrust.org and sonomaopenspace.org.
Solar-powered milking parlors,
on-farm methane digesters &
composting systems are ways
some local cheesemakers lessen
their environmental impact.
Water buffalo
are a new
addition to
the region
Types of Cheese
Fresh: Retains fresh milk flavors with little or no aging
Semi-soft: Retains fresh milk flavors, but has pliable texture
and a bit of pungency
Soft-ripened: A beneficial mold sprayed on or added to
ripening cheese creates a bloomy rind
Surface-ripened: A wrinkly, surface-ripened rind or a thin rind
barely contains the runny cheese
Semi-hard: Complex taste with a firm, sometimes crumbly,
texture that’s good for melting
Aged (hard): Crumbly, sweet, pungent, low in moisture, and
good for grating
Washed rind: Characteristically creamy and smelly with a
tacky surface and pinkish or orange-colored rind
Blue (pierced): A mold added during the cheesemaking and
piercing process creates various types of blue veining
College of Marin
began offering
an Artisan
Cheesemaking
Certificate
in 2010.
Where to Buy
Partial List of Local Retailers:
Andronico’s
Andy’s Market
Bodega Country
Store
Cheese Shop of
Healdsburg
Cowgirl
Creamery
G&G Market
Mollie Stones
Oliver’s Markets
Pacific & Fiesta
Markets
Paradise Foods
Petaluma
Market
Raley’s Markets
United Markets
Valley Ford Market
Whole Foods Markets
And many farmers’ markets where you can
often meet the cheesemakers themselves.
This map is available for download at
www.cheesetrail.org
About 9,000 acres of land in Marin and Sonoma
used for farmstead cheesemaking are protected
by agricultural conservation easements.
Cheese Glossary
Affineur: A French term for the person who cares
for the maturing and ripening of cheese.
Artisan: Cheese made primarily by hand in small
batches with special attention paid to the tradition
of the cheesemaker’s art.
Cheesemonger: A knowledgeable person who
sells cheese.
Curds and Whey: Milk naturally thickens and
forms curds when left in a warm place or when a
coagulant like rennet is added. Cutting the curds
allows them to release water (whey). Eventually the
whey is poured off, leaving only curds, which are
then formed or pressed into rounds or other shapes.
Farmstead: Cheese made on the farm with milk
from the farmer’s own herd.
Almost 100 different types of
artisan cheeses are made here.
The best way to store cheese is
to wrap it in wax or butcher
paper, then put it in the
refrigerator vegetable crisper.
Terroir is
French for
the interplay
of soil,
climate &
geography
that make an
agricultural
area unique