Visiting Cheese Tasting Rooms

Like wineries and micro-breweries, cheese tasting rooms offer aficionados the opportunity to explore and taste new flavors before making the commitment to purchase a bottle of wine, a case of beer, or a wheel of cheese.

And just as there are wine regions or clusters of micro-breweries, there are cheese regions that draw the faithful to sample a slice or take a tour of cheese production facilities. And there’s nothing “cheesy” about exploring the world of artisan cheese.

In Northern California, near the Victorian village of Ferndale and the wild, wind-whipped beaches of the Eel River Valley, the Loleta Cheese Factory produces award-winning Monterey Jack and Cheddar cheeses. This small family business offers visitors a look at the cheese making process and cheese sampling. Owner Bob Laffranchi produces over 34 flavors of cheese in the small dairy-farming enclave of Loleta. While the Humboldt County region is known for Redwoods and rugged coastline, it’s the grasses and clover of the region that create memorable cheeses.

Loleta Cheese was the first cheese factory in California to create organic cheese, and still offers four organics in its line of premium cheeses, all crafted in small batches. Individual vats are worked by hand and monitored by a cheese-maker. The company offers fresh flavored cheese such as Havarti with herbs, garden and hickory-smoked Jack cheese, and jalapeno cheddar.

In Sonoma County, there’s a cheese trail – to match Sonoma’s wine trail. It links thirty farms and dairies. A Cheese Trail Map allows visitors to chose their favorites and call ahead as necessary, as some spots are open only by appointment, while others offer regular tastings, tours, and even cheese making classes. The source for these cheeses may be goats, sheep, cows – or water buffalo. Historic spots such as Vella Cheese and the Joe Matos Cheese Factory are joined by newer purveyors such as Ramini Mozzarella. Ramini is where the water buffalo roam, and visitors can meet the buffalo behind this creamy mozzarella di bufala on a tour. The end product is every bit as smooth and light as mozzarella di bufala sourced from Italy’s boot, only without the transatlantic tasting lag time.

Nearby, the Achadinha Goat Cheese Company handcrafts all cheeses from the dairy’s 900 goats, free ranging on the region’s lush grasslands as well as alfalfa and brewers grain. The result is tangy, rich cheese such as goat feta, and “California Crazy Curds,” flavored with mesquite and crushed red pepper. Their Capricious goat cheese is hand-rubbed with olive oil and cured on cypress wood planks.

Close to the sea, Bodega Artisan Cheese is a purveyor of fine, small-batch cheese crafted from pasture to table from one to two day old milk, creating a subtle, mild flavor. Cheese making classes can be found here at this small facility as well as tastings.

The Joe Matos Cheese Factory utilizes owners Joe and Mary Matos’ Portuguese cheese recipes, culled from the Azore Islands. The rich cheddar flavor of the dairy’s signature St. George cheese can be sampled in both a “younger” and aged version – the younger is buttery, with a taste half between Havarti and a mellow Manchego, the aged stronger, with a Parmesan note. Wheels of this cheese are shelved ready for purchase.

In the town of Sonoma proper, at The Epicurian Connection, tasters can enjoy the creamy experience of Delice de La Vallee, the gourmet cheese shop’s house-made triple-cream cow and goat milk blend. Cheese flights are available for purchase, and there’s a milk and butter bar, too.