Gourmet News

Tickets Now on Sale for California’s Artisan Cheese Festival

Published January 5, 2016

Tickets are now on sale for the United States’ premier public artisan cheese event, the 10th Annual California’s Artisan Cheese Festival, which takes place March 18 – 20, 2016. The weekend-long Festival is a celebration of California cheesemakers, chefs, brewers, cider makers, winemakers and passionate guests, all coming together for three days of learning about, tasting and supporting artisan cheese.

Photo by Derrick Story

Bringing attendees face-to-face with the farmers and cheesemakers who work together to create some of America’s best artisan cheeses, the farm tours tend to sell out early every year. This year, in honor of the 10 year milestone, there will be two full days of farm tours, on both Friday and Saturday, March 18 and 19, including destinations outside of the Bay Area, as well as educational components included in every tour. Details about the tours are as follows:

FRIDAY FARM TOURS

Tour A – Kids, Calves, & More

Attendees of Tour A will start their day at White Whale Farm with Anna Hancock, a former lawyer whose love of cheese and four-legged creatures led her to choose farm life over legal briefs. Anna and her team seasonally transform goat milk into award-winning Pug’s Leap farmstead cheeses, including three recent winners at the 2015 American Cheese Society conference. The next stop is McClelland’s Dairy, an organic family-run farm with a history as rich as their delicious butter. Nestled in the rolling hills of Two Rock Valley, guests will learn about the farm’s history and evolution, the ins and outs of pasture management and what it takes to raise grass-fed dairy cows in Sonoma County. A trip to the nursery will bring guests up close with big-eyed baby calves and the opportunity to milk a cow by hand. Then it’s off to the historic Denman Creamery and PW Scoggins Winery for lunch and a wine tasting. Following lunch, James Beard-award winning author Janet Fletcher will lead a cheese-tasting seminar about mixed milk cheeses, which have long been a mainstay in Europe, and are becoming more and more popular stateside. The final stop will be at the award winning Rustic Bakery where guests may stock up on their famous flatbread, lavosh and cheese coins.

Photo by Derrick Story

Tour B – Sonoma’s Specialties

What happens when a classic cow dairy adopts pet goats? Attendees of Tour B will find out from Don and Bonnie DeBernardi at their dairy and creamery. Home to dairy cows since 1968, DeBernardi Dairy adopted goats in the 90s, and are now making award-winning aged tomme-style goat cheese. Spring is “kidding” season, so guests will get to meet the newest floppy-eared additions to the farm as well as taste Don’s Two Rock Goat Cheese, a tribute to his Swiss ancestry. Next, the tour will head to McClelland’s Dairy, an organic family-run farm with a history as rich as their butter. Nestled in the rolling hills of Two Rock Valley, guests will learn about the farm’s history and evolution, visit the nursery to see big-eyed baby calves and get the opportunity to milk a cow by hand. Next, the tour will visit historic Denman Creamery and PW Scoggins Winery for lunch and a wine tasting. Following lunch, James Beard-award winning author Janet Fletcher will lead a cheese-tasting seminar about mixed milk cheeses, which have long been a mainstay in Europe, and are becoming more and more popular stateside. The tour will wrap up with a final stop at Petaluma Hills Brewing Company, where guests will pair fresh brews with local cheese from Achadinha Cheese Co.

Tour C – Legends and Legacies

Photo by Derrick Story

Guests of Tour C will start their day with a taste of tradition. Marin French Cheese Company celebrated its 150th anniversary in 2015, making it the longest continuously operating cheese company in America. Guests will take a historical walking tour of this creamery, admiring the vistas of Hicks Valley Ranch, and taste their signature cheeses. Then the tour will head to AppleGarden Farm in Tomales, where owner Jan Lee has transformed grazing land into an orchard, and reminds us that farmstead isn’t a term reserved exclusively for cheese. Guests will tour the farm, learn about cider apple selection and dry farming, and taste the fruits of Lee’s labor. Guests will then continue on to the historic Dairymen’s Bank in Valley Ford where they will be treated to a seminar featuring three of California’s most heralded and important cheese legends: Mary Keehn of Cypress Grove Chevre, Jennifer Bice of Redwood Hill Farms and Phillip Franco of Sierra Cheese Co. Led by James Beard award-winning author Laura Werlin, this panel will take guests through the trials, tribulations and victories that comprise their own cheese stories and with that, the story of California cheese itself. And of course, attendees will taste each of these flagship cheeses along the way, before heading next door for a special lunch at Rocker Oysterfeller’s. The final stop is DeBernardi Dairy where guests will meet Don and Bonnie DeBernardi, visit their baby goats and taste their Two Rock Valley goat cheese.

Tour D – Sonoma’s Fertile Grounds

This tour begins with a buzz! JB Rumburg of Velo Fromage, Kathryn Allen of Hearth Coffee Roasters, and Sandra Loofbourow of Andytown Coffee Roasters, will kick off the morning with an educational seminar at the Sheraton, called “Third Wave Coffee and The Renaissance of the American Artisan Cheese Movement.” Attendees will explore the pairing principles behind different flavor profiles featured in local cheeses alongside a range of coffee varietals prepared in various methods. Fully caffeinated, guests will board the bus and head over to Bohemian Creamery to meet Lisa Gottreich, one of the region’s most creative artisan cheesemakers. Here guests will meet a herd of Alpine dairy goats whose milk becomes farmstead cheese, whey soda, and even goat’s milk frozen yogurt. The tour will then head to Devoto Orchards where second-generation apple farmer Jolie Devoto-Wade and her husband work with organic heirloom apples, including the local Gravenstein, and make three styles of cider each harvest. Guests will tour the picturesque farm, taste the estate cider, and enjoy lunch on the grounds. This tour will wrap with a stop at Freestone Artisan Cheese, where guests will meet owner Omar Mueller. His cozy shop boasts a well-curated selection of California’s incredible agricultural bounty including local artisan cheeses, olive oils grown and pressed locally, and hot roasted nuts. Omar will surprise the group with a guest cheesemaker appearance and tasting, and if time allows, attendees may walk over to Wild Flower Bread Bakery to snag a coveted sourdough loaf from their wood fired brick oven.

Tour E – Preserving Tradition

Guests of Tour E will start their day with a taste of tradition. Marin French Cheese Company celebrated its 150th anniversary in 2015, making it the longest continuously operating cheese company in America. Guests will take a historical walking tour of this creamery, admiring the vistas of Hicks Valley Ranch, and taste their signature cheeses. Then they will continue on to Barinaga Ranch, a sheep dairy in Marshall, at the height of lambing season. Owner Marcia Barinaga, a scientist turned cheesemaker, is devoted to her animals and committed to raising them in a sustainable manner, while shepherding and cheesemaking in the tradition of her Basque ancestors. After meeting her flock and tasting her award-winning cheeses, guests will take a drive down Highway 1 to Straus Home Ranch for lunch and an educational seminar. The Marin Agricultural Land Trust (MALT), a pioneering organization founded by Ellen Straus and Phyllis Farber to protect working farmland in Marin County, protects this beautiful property and two others on the tour. Guests will learn about MALT ‘s influence on the local dairy landscape and a local cheesemaker and cheesemonger team will guide them through a tasting of cheeses made from “MALTed milk.” The tour will finish with a trip to Nicasio Valley Cheese Company, an award-winning organic farmstead creamery and a MALT-protected ranch run by the Lafranchi family for three generations.

Tour F – The Land of Milk & Honey

This tour will start in Pt. Reyes Station, where guests will visit the original Cowgirl Creamery. In 1997, in a renovated hay barn, Sue Conley and Peggy Smith started making fresh cheeses with surplus organic milk from a West Marin Dairy, and nearly two decades later, the Cowgirls are still making delicious cheese and supporting multiple local dairies. After tasting their cheeses, guests will toast this historic dairy town at Heidrun Meadery where they’ll taste different varieties of sparkling mead which is made from honey. After learning about their bees, beekeeping, and the traditional Methode Champenoise that transforms this nectar into a delicate bottle of bubbly, guests will drive up the coast for lunch and an educational seminar at Straus Home Ranch. The Marin Agricultural Land Trust (MALT), a pioneering organization founded by Ellen Straus and Phyllis Farber to protect working farmland in Marin County, protects this beautiful property. Guests will learn more about MALT’s influence on the local dairy landscape and a local cheesemaker and cheesemonger team will guide you through a tasting of cheeses made from “MALTed milk.” To finish, the tour will head to Neil McIsaac & Son Dairy, a diversified organic dairy that’s been a MALT-protected ranch since 1991. The McIsaac family sells their high-quality cows milk to Clover Stornetta and guests will get to taste their latest line of yogurt and learn about the changes they’ve brought to the farm to ready it for the next generation.
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Photo by Derrick Story

Capitol Area Tour North

PLEASE NOTE: This tour starts and ends at Nugget Market in Woodland which is about 75 miles away from the Sheraton – Sonoma County, Petaluma.

Guests of this tour will start at Nugget Market in Woodland before heading north to explore the “cheesescape” of the North Sacramento Valley. First stop is Pedrozo Dairy and Cheese Company, where guests will meet Tim Pedrozo, a third generation dairy farmer and self-proclaimed “accidental cheesemaker.” Since 1996, the Pedrozos have been milking a small blended herd of Holstein, Jersey, and Milking Shorthorn cows on their 20-acre farm in Orland, and two years later began transforming that milk into a diverse range of farmstead cheese. Next, the tour will head to Orland Farmstead Creamery. Owner Paul Schmidt’s passion for farm life started early – he raised and showed cows through 4-H while still in elementary school. Over 30 years after founding his own dairy, he fulfilled his lifelong dream of making farmstead cheese. Orland Farmstead Creamery focuses on fresh cheeses that highlight the quality of milk from their grass-fed cows. A delicious cheese-centric lunch will be held at the Glen County Country Club before continuing on to Sierra Nevada Cheese Company. Founded in 1997, Sierra Nevada Cheese Company continues to innovate and create new dairy products, made with their meticulously sourced local cow, goat, and sheep milk.

Capitol Area Tour South

PLEASE NOTE: This tour starts and ends at the Sacramento Natural Food Coop in Sacramento which is about 81 miles away from the Sheraton – Sonoma County, Petaluma.

This tour will begin at Sacramento Natural Food Coop before heading south into the San Joaquin Valley where guests will visit Fiscalini Farms, home to Fiscalini Cheese Company in Modesto. Attendees will taste what happens when fourth generation farm know-how is combined with a very talented cheesemaker and farmstead raw cows’ milk. Here’s a hint…it’s arguably the best cheddar in the West! Next, the tour will visit some smaller hooved friends at Nicolau Farms, where goats rule the roost. Walter Nicolau III has a herd of Alpine, Saanen, and La Mancha goats whose “white gold” becomes fresh and aged farmstead cheeses. After touring the farm, guests will taste cheese and enjoy a cheese-inspired lunch as well as a tasting with Nutcher Milk Company. Dairy farmers aren’t the only multi-generational farmers in this area – the Phillips family at Michael David Winery has been cultivating grapes in the valley for nearly a century on 750 acres of vineyard. Guests of this tour will get to taste their estate wines and also meet Andrea Mongini, veterinarian and owner of Ewetopia Dairy, who will sample a selection of her sheep milk cheeses.

SATURDAY FARM TOURS

Tour G – All In The Family

Guests will start this tour with a taste of tradition at Nicasio Valley Cheese Company. Since 1919, the Lafranchi family has been dairying on over 1,000 acres in Marin County. At their historic ranch, guests will learn about the family’s rich history as local dairy farmers and their path to becoming the only organic farmstead cheesemakers in California. After touring the creamery and tasting the award-winning farmstead cheeses, guests will head out to the coast where they will meet the Giacomini family of Point Reyes Farmstead Cheese Company. This picturesque dairy farm is nestled among rolling hills overlooking Tomales Bay and here guests will learn about how cheesemaking lured the four Giacomini sisters back to the farm. A multi-course lunch at The Fork will be prepared by guest chefs Evan and Sarah Rich of Rich Table in San Francisco, featuring cheeses from Pt. Reyes Farmstead Cheese Co. This tour will finish on a sweet note at Sonoma Portworks with a tasting of unique California fortified wines paired with Cypress Grove Chevre at their tasting room in downtown Petaluma.

Tour H – Taste of Place

This tour will kick off with a visit and tasting at the original Cowgirl Creamery in Point Reyes Station where Peggy Smith and Sue Conley started their own artisan cheese revolution years ago to help a localdairy farmer with a surplus of organic milk. Then guests will take a short drive up the

coast to meet the Giacomini family of Point Reyes Farmstead Cheese Company. Attendees will tour the picturesque dairy farm nestled among rolling hills overlooking Tomales Bay and learn about how cheesemaking lured the four Giacomini sisters back to the farm. A multi-course lunch at The Fork will follow, prepared by guest chefs Evan and Sarah Rich of Rich Table in San Francisco, featuring cheeses from Pt. Reyes Farmstead Cheese Co. The tour will end at Sonoma Aperitif, founded in 2015 by Laura Hagar Rush. Guests will learn about her California take on a centuries-old “Vin Maison” European tradition inspired by the bounty of local produce like Chinese quince, Bosc pears and grapefruit.

All farm tours, except the two tours of the Capitol Area, will pick up guests at the Festival’s host hotel, the Sheraton Sonoma County–Petaluma (745 Baywood Drive, Petaluma, CA 94954). Tour departure times are 8:30 a.m. and the tours will be rain or shine. Farm tour attendees are encouraged to wear boots or shoes that can get dirty and bring an ice chest since many farms will have cheese for purchase. The ticket price for the farm tours include lunch, transportation and educational components. Each tour will return guests to the departure site by 3:30 p.m. Tickets are $135 per person and may be purchased at www.artisancheesefestival.com.

Tickets to the Festival’s other events are also now available, including Friday’s Cheesemongers’ Duel, Saturday’s “California Cheesin’ – We Do It Our Whey!” 10 Year Celebration, and Sunday’s Bubbles Brunch with Celebrity Chef John Ash and The Artisan Cheese Tasting & Marketplace. Tickets for all events may be purchased at www.artisancheesefestival.com.

Those interested can also follow updates by “liking” the Artisan Cheese Festival on Facebook and following the event on Twitter. All events are priced separately and the Sheraton Sonoma County – Petaluma is offering special discounted rates on rooms for festival-goers.

Generous sponsors of the Artisan Cheese Festival include American AgCredit, Beehive Cheese Company, Bellwether Farms, Central Coast Creamery, Chevoo, Cheese Connoisseur Magazine, Cowgirl Creamery, Culture Magazine, Cypress Grove Chevre, Donald & Maureen Green Foundation, Fiscalini Farmstead Cheese Co., Lagunitas Brewing Company, Laura Chenel’s Chevre, Mike Hudson Distributing, Nicasio Valley Cheese Company, Nugget Markets, Oak Packaging, Oliver’s Markets, Pennyroyal Farm, Petaluma Market, Petaluma Post, Pisenti & Brinker LLP, Pt. Reyes Farmstead Cheese Co., Pure Luxury Transportation, Real California Milk, Redwood Hill Farms & Creamery, Rustic Bakery, Sheraton Sonoma County, Valley Ford Cheese Company and Willapa Hills Cheese.

Grafton Village Cheese Introduces Truffle Cheddar

Published January 5, 2016

Grafton Village Cheese, a business of the nonprofit Windham Foundation in Grafton, Vermont, announces the introduction of Truffle Cheddar, an aged cheddar cheese containing Italian truffles. The new cheese joins the company’s Grafton Village line of aged and flavored cheddars.

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As with all Grafton cheddars, the new Truffle Cheddar is handmade using premium raw milk from small local family farms and aged a minimum of 60 days. It maintains a delicate balance between the earthy flavors of truffle and the smooth rich bite of aged Vermont cheddar.

Truffle cheddar is an ideal cheese for the centerpiece on a cheeseboard or in cooking applications including those with eggs, potatoes, soups, pasta, risotto and red meat. It is nicely paired with brown ales and with Barolo, Orvieto and Pinot Noir wines.

The new Truffle Cheddar is available in 10 and five pound blocks, 8-ounce bars and 4-ounce bars. The cheese is now available at select specialty markets and grocers nationwide.

Celebrate Fabulous at Las Vegas Market

Published December 30, 2015

By Lorrie Baumann

Las Vegas Market has been working hard to expand the range of products that will be of interest to the gourmet market, and the hard work is paying off. This winter’s Las Vegas Market has a lot to see in the showrooms and pavilions along with a grand opportunity to meet The Fabulous Beekman Boys, who are emerging as thoughtful spokesmen for a generation that values fresh, local and seemingly effortless design and cuisine. Also, they’re both fun and funny.

Known as The Fabulous Beekman Boys are Brent Ridge, physician and former Vice President of Healthy Living for Martha Stewart Omnimedia; and his partner, Josh Kilmer-Purcell, advertising executive and New York Times bestselling author, The celebrity duo began developing their unique and chic brand strategy when they purchased the historic Beekman 1802 Farm in Sharon Springs, New York, in 2007 and then had to start figuring out (fast) how to pay the mortgage and make new lives for themselves as gentlemen farmers after the national economy took a dive in the Great Recession. The pair launched a line of goat milk cheeses and soaps, and quickly added other artisanal items to the Beekman 1802 brand. The popularity of the brand spawned a reality television show, “The Fabulous Beekman Boys,” now airing on the Cooking Channel; they also competed and won the grand prize in CBS’s “The Amazing Race” in 2012, and their Beekman 1802 product line of gourmet foods launched in Target stores last November.

Celebrities aside, there’s much to see this winter at the Las Vegas Market. Here’s a small sampling.

AvoSeedo is a cute little gadget for the folks who like to save their avocado pits and sprout them for new trees. You remember how to do that by sticking toothpicks into the sides of an avocado pit and balancing the picks on the rim of a glass of water? Well, this is a little boat into which you set your avocado seed and float it in a bowl of water. In a few weeks, the avocado seed germinates and begins to grow.

AvoSeedo comes in four different colors: evergreen, transparent, cyan and pink, and in two retail packages, a single pack that retails for $8 and a three-pack that retails for $20.00. For more information, email Daniel Kalliontzis at AvoSeedo LLC: info@avoseedo.com.

European Excellency will be showing off a gorgeous line of three-ply paper napkins imprinted with a wide variety of floral, abstract, butterfly, food related, Easter and Christmas designs. The napkins are made in Europe, and only environmentally friendly, water-based paints are used for the designs. Luncheon, cocktail, round and snack sizes are available. For more information or call 949.374.7757. See them in Pavilion 1 at the Las Vegas Market.

If cloth napkins are a better fit for your customers, consider the Farm Fresh Stripe Napkins from Design Imports (DII). They come in a set of four, and each napkin measures 18 inches square. They’re 100 percent cotton, so they can be machine washed in cold water on the gentle cycle, and they go in the dryer on low heat. The set of four retails for $14.99. See them in the Design Imports Showroom in Building C at Las Vegas Market or call 1.800.344.4115 or visit www.designimports.com.

Apropos by Home Essentials is debuting the Marble & Mango collection of cheese paddles and cutting boards made from marble and mango wood for a new twist on classic design that echoes the design trend that’s seeing more use of marble in kitchens. The 18-inch-long Brown & White Triangle Marble Cutting Board from the collection retails for $35 to $40, while the 20-inch Brown Round Marble Cutting Board retails for $50 to $60. A set of four White Marble 4-inch Square Coasters retails for $15 to 18. For more information, call Next Step Reps at 760.731.7445 or see them in the Next Step Reps showroom in Building C at the Las Vegas Market.
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The CTW Home Collection offers a vintage-inspired K-cup caddy that’ll fit beautifully into the same kitchen that has a Marble & Mango cheese paddle or cutting board hanging on the wall. The Roast Coffee K-Cup Caddy is 8-1/2 inches wide, 11-3/4 inches tall and 6 inches deep and retails for $45. It’s offered without a minimum order. See it in the CTW Home Collection showroom in Building C in the Las Vegas Market or call 1.800.433.5054.

Top Shelf Glasses is bringing trendy to the table with Double Wall Stemless Wine Glasses. Two pieces of glass are fused together with designs on both glass walls to make glassware that truly makes a statement. They’re dishwasher safe and retail for $17.99. See them in Building C at the Las Vegas Market or find out more by calling 888.808.4001.

A tray has a way of transforming a group of several objects from clutter into a collection, and Brilliant Imports is offering a couple of hand-woven fiber trays from Bali that will lend a subtle note of elegance to just such a tabletop collection or a display of spice bottles or utensils on the kitchen counter. The Circle Rattan Tray is 12 inches in diameter and retails for $55. The Ovalate Tray is hand-woven from ate grass and measures 12 inches wide by 15.75 inches long. It retails for $50. To find out more, email Brilliant Imports, LLC at info@brilliantimports.com or see them in Pavilion 1 at the Las Vegas Market.

Your food is handmade, so why shouldn’t your table linens be? TO THE MARKET offers a nine piece table top set embellished with delicate kantha stitching. Cotton sari is used to make four napkins, four placemats, and one table runner, all with one solid and one patterned side. Designed by TO THE MARKET, the set is constructed by Basha, a co-op that employs survivors of human trafficking in Bangladesh. Find out more by calling TO THE MARKET at 859.740.9498 or visiting the TO THE MARKET booth at Las Vegas Market.

Honor your veteran with an Official Licensed Military Board from Totally Bamboo. These serving boards would be fantastic for serving cheese or taking out to the patio for next summer’s barbecues, and in between-times, they’ll make a gorgeous plaque to hang on the wall of the man cave, dining room or family room. They’re 12 inches in diameter and retail for $30. For more information, visit the Next Step Reps showroom at Las Vegas Market or call Totally Bamboo at 760.471.6600.

The Las Vegas Market runs January 24-28 in Las Vegas, Nevada, with the Pavilions open January 24-27. Find out more or register to attend at www.lasvegasmarket.com.