Sampling the Cheese in Marin and California's Wine Country

I love cheese. I always enjoyed it, but as a young woman on a Rhine Cruise in Europe I learned to love it. I love food but the cuisine offered on that cruise - I don't care for mandarin oranges in my shrimp cocktails, I don't like creams and sauces on my food, and I certainly didn't think much of their menu choice. But, after each meal, came THE CHEESE. Being very hungry by then, I was very open to sampling the various cheeses they offered - Roquefort, Stilton, Cheddar, Brie - all absolutely delicious.

Then a few years ago I picked up a "farmstead" cheese client and I learned a little about some of the cheeses I'd been enjoying for many years. Bill and Pat Boersma of Bravo Farms Cheese in Visalia, California have been making their farmstead cheddar cheese for several years now (bravofarms.com) and it's absolutely divine. Along with enjoying their flavored and well-aged cheddar cheeses, I learned just a bit about cheese and cheese making.

In this article I'll take about some of the places to sample and buy cheese in the Marin/Napa/Sonoma area of California.

First, The Marin French Cheese Company, located in California. The next time you're in the California Wine Country, you'll want to take time to visit them to take a tour and picnic in over five acres of their landscaped park. It's an idyllic scene complete with a lake and you can rent part of it for private events. This company has been making cheese for well over a century, and it's delicious. They very recently won gold metals at the California State Fair for its Schlosskranz and Chevre cheeses. Their cheesemaker(s) create Rouge et Noir cheeses from traditional recipes, using traditional cultures to achieve the taste and quality of true Camembert and Brie cheeses without compromise. They make their cheese only from milk obtained at local dairies and use only rainwater in preparing their cheeses. Collected in holding ponds on their property, they purify that water in a plant on the premises and produce all their cheeses using that water only.

Located in Historic Downtown Petaluma, is the Petaluma Creamery, part of the Spring Hill Cheese Company. It has been an integral part of the farming tradition in Sonoma County since its founding in 1913. It was purchased a few years back and reopened to the public. A herd of about 400 Jersey cows provides the milk for Spring Hill Jersey Cheese's growing line of farmstead cheeses. (Farmstead cheese is a cheese produced by using milk from the same cows that are on the dairy owned by the cheesemaker. Farmstead cheese has become a very popular trend in recent years.) The homestead, artisan cheese produced by Spring Hill is made entirely from the milk of their pasture-grazed Jersey cows. They have wide variety of cheeses, including, Quark, Ricotta, Cheddars and Jacks, which are offered, in addition to their traditional forms, in a variety of natural flavors including garlic, sage and pepper. (Check out their website at springhillcheese.com for details.)

Then there is the Point Reyes Farmstead Cheese Company. The Giacomini family first started creating cheese in the mountains of Italy over a hundred years ago. Today they have continued the tradition creating and serving fine cheeses including their trademark cheese, Point Reyes Original Blue. Unfortunately, this particular company is not open to the public but there cheese is so good I wanted to include it in the article. You can buy their cheese online and grocery stores and delis in the area. (Visit their website at pointreyescheese.com to buy some cheese.)

I remember with great fondness visiting several times, the following cheese store and factory located right on the plaza in downtown Sonoma, Sonoma Cheese Factory. (The locals refer to it as "Sonoma Jack's.") In 1931, Celso Viviani chose Sonoma as the ideal spot for his cheesemaking. Today, son Pete and grandson David, carry on Celso's time-honored methods in producing their Traditional and Flavored Jack Cheeses and Creamy Jack. When you're in the area, be sure to visit them at the Plaza where you can have lunch in the deli or their restaurant, the Plaza Grill. You'll also enjoy sampling the various cheeses and watching some of the videos about how they produce their cheese. (Check out Sonomajack.com for additional information.)

Now, I think it's time to go enjoy a glass of wine and a bit of cheese.