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P - Starting in the historic agricultural town of Petaluma, with its charming turn-of-the-century buildings and quaint downtown, stop by the Petaluma can sample Spring Hill (for tours of their you where Creamery of town on the 101 please call ahead). Then head north out creamery, Sebastopol. Make a right on Llano taking the 116 exit towards Freeway, located on their farm, to sample St. Road to the Matos Cheese Factory, cheese made in the style of the Azores. a buttery semi-hard George, short jaunt (right on Hwy 12, left on Irwin, left on make a there, From a farm & Occidental) for rustic-style to Bohemian Creamery, head east on Highway 12 to the town of Sonoma cheese shop. For more, Vella shop of one of the oldest cheesemakers in the area, to visit the retail Cheese Company.

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Point Reyes Farmstead Epicurean Connection Epicurean Cheese Company Marin French Matos Cheese Factory Company Cheese Nicasio Valley Petaluma Creamery Achadinha Cheese Company Barinaga Ranch Bohemian Creamery Cowgirl Creamery Open Locations

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watch through the window or take a more formal cheese the window or take a more watch cheesemaking through At the cheese counter taste Cowgirl required). tasting (reservations cheeses and other local artisan cheeses. Lafranchi family produces fantastic farmstead cheeses in the artisanal Lafranchi family produces your tradition of their Swiss-Italian cousins in . Then retrace steps to the Point Reyes-Petaluma Road and into the town of Point Reyes Bay Foods (also known as to Tomales picnic by the pond, shop in the retail store and taste award-winning Brie and taste award-winning store picnic by the pond, shop in the retail and cheeses. Then travel west on the Point Reyes-Petaluma Road to the quaint village Road, make a quick detour onto Nicasio Valley you’ll find of Nicasio. There Driving Directions Start right outside Novato at you can longest continually operating cheese company in the U.S., where Marin County Driving Tour Driving County Marin Station Reyes Point and Nicasio to Novato You can visit any of these cheesemakers during their regular business regular hours their without during an making cheesemakers of these visit any can You C

Version 6, 2015 Open to the Public: 5. Epicurean Connection Bellwether Farms 400 W. Spain Street, Sonoma Petaluma, 707-478-8067 Call or check websites for regular visiting hours. 707-935-7960 www.bellwetherfarms.com sheanadavis.com 3. Bohemian Creamery FM M 7380 Occidental Road, Sebastopol The Callahan family owns and operates Bellwether Farms in the heart bohemiancreamery.com is the cheesemaker and proprietor of the Epicurean of Sonoma County. They began milking their and producing handcrafted cheeses in 1990, making them one of the first to be part of F Connection, celebrating 25 years of enthusiastic support for the revival of American artisan cheesemaking. Lisa Gottreich broke from her midlife to fill new ones with local cheesemakers. Her cheeses include Delice de la Vallee, Creme innovate and compelling . Her shop and herd of Alpine de Fromage, Creme de Mouton & Le Tois de Fromage. Epicurean Bleating Heart Cheese overlook the Laguna de Santa Rosa in Sebastopol. Shop Hours: Connection is open by appointment only for cheesemaking classes Tomales and guided artisan cheese tastings. Fri-Sun 10-6, Tours: Sat at noon, Sundays at 1pm. Email info@ www.bleatingheart.com bohemiancreamery.com for info. 10. Point Reyes Farmstead Cheese Company 4. Cowgirl Creamery Point Reyes Station, 415-663-8880 80 Fourth Street, Point Reyes Station pointreyescheese.com Cheesemakers Seana Doughty & Dave Dalton are serious about their 415-663-9335 theforkatpointreyes.com cheese but never take themselves too seriously. Their handcrafted cheeses www.cowgirlcreamery.com have whimsical names and every wheel is imprinted with a heart. The FM F M creamery is located in a renovated house on a historic ranch. FM M O The Giacomini family makes their award-winning cheese, including Fresh Mozzarella, Toma, Bay Blue and Original Blue with milk from Clover Stornetta Farms In 1997, Sue Conley and built a small creamery in their own cows—processed within hours of milking. They offer farm Petaluma, 707-778-8448 downtown Point Reyes Station and began making handcrafted tours and dinners, cooking classes and more at The Fork, their culinary cloverstornetta.com cheese with local organic milk. They now produce three fresh and and educational center. Reservations required. six aged cheeses, and have a second creamery in Petaluma. 11. Pugs Leap 6. Marin French Cheese Company A family-owned and operated business, Clover Stornetta Farms works White Whale Farm 7500 Red Hill Road, Petaluma closely with select family farms in Sonoma, Marin and Mendocino 800-292-6001 5880 Carroll Road, Petaluma counties. It processes and distributes their high-quality dairy products 707-876-3300 under the Clover Stornetta and Clover Organic Farms brands. www.marinfrenchcheese.com whitewhalefarm.com Dacheva Son’s Cheese M FM F Petaluma, 707-486-3640 The longest continuously operating cheese factory in America, 120 Humane Certified goats roam the pastures at White Whale Farm. M Marin French has specialized in handmade Brie and Camembert Here, the family-owned dairy makes farmstead, hand-crafted cheese, From a small farm in Bulgaria to a creamery in Jalisco, since 1865. In 2005, it was the first American producer to best under the Pugs Leap label, with milk from their own animals, in a France and other European countries in international competitions. Mexico. Together, Pablo Guerra, who learned the art of cheesemaking creamery built inside their historic 1867 barn. Tours are available by from his father and his wife Margarita, born on a dairy farm in Bulgaria, 7. Matos Cheese Factory appointment. bring you a melding of cultures, reflected in their artisan cheese. 3669 Llano Road, Santa Rosa 12. Ramini Mozzarella 707-584-5283 ’s Tomales Sonoma, 707-996-4477 415-690-6644 F www.laurachenel.com raminimozzarella.com 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 F Laura Chenel pioneered American goat cheesemaking. From small native cheese with them. Founded by Craig Ramini & his wife Audrey Hitchcock and inspired batches made on her Sebastopol farm in the 1970s to the new Sonoma by Italian mozzarella di bufala, Audrey uses her 100% buffalo creamery owned by French artisan cheese producer Rians Group, the 8. Nicasio Valley Cheese Company milk to produce handcrafted authentic Buffalo Mozzarella. Contact brand continues to bring increased appreciation of goat cheese to the 5300 Nicasio Valley Road, Nicasio Audrey to picnic on the farm, sample cheese and pet the water U.S. 415-662-6200 buffalo. Tours are Saturdays only from 2-4. For reservations email craig@ nicasiocheese.com Saint Benoît Creamery raminimozzarella. Two Rock, 530-400-4701

FM F M O 13. Redwood Hill Farm & Creamery stbenoit.com Sebastopol, 707-823-8250 The Lafranchi family enjoyed the traditional cheeses of their Swiss FM O homeland and dreamed of making their own. Their organic dairy redwoodhill.com Saint Benoit is a family-owned business handcrafting small batches was the perfect resource to enable them to pay homage to their of organic cheese, cream-top French-style yogurt and organic FM M heritage. They made their first cheese in 2010 with Swiss mentor vat-pasteurized whole milk from Jersey cows. They use locally sourced Redwood Hill Farm is an award-winning, Certified Humane®, Grade Maurizio Lorenzetti. fruits and honey. Each item is sold in distinctive reusable crocks, jars and A goat dairy farm and creamery located in Sonoma County. Family- bottles. 9. Petaluma Creamery owned and operated for over 45 years, they are committed to the 711 Western Avenue, Petaluma sustainable production of delicious, artisan goat milk cheese, yogurt Weirauch Farm & Creamery 707-762-9038 and kefir. The farm is open for public tours two weekends per year Petaluma springhillcheese.com during spring. Visit redwoodhill.com/tours for dates and details. weirauchfarm.com petalumacreamerycheeseshop.com 14. Tomales Farmstead Creamery FM F M O FM M O Tomales, 707-878-2041 Seasonal, small batch varieties of farmstead, Animal Welfare Approved The 102 year-old Creamery is home to organic Spring Hill Jersey tolumafarms.com Cheese, butter, and handmade ice cream from local Jersey cows sheep cheese, as well as artisan goat and certified organic cow cheese produced by husband and wife team Joel and Carleen Weirauch. as well as 100% natural Petaluma Creamery and Petaluma Gold FM F cheeses. The store serves BBQ sandwiches, salads, and coffee David and Tamara purchased Toluma Additional Farm Tours daily. Tours by appointment. Farms in 2003. They restored the land, certified it organic and 17. Vella Cheese Company protected it with an agricultural conservation easement (MALT). Bodega Goat Cheese 315 2nd Street East They’ve raised Animal Welfare approved goats and sheep Bodega, (707) 876-3483, bodegaranch.net Sonoma, 707-938-3232, 800-848-0505 since 2007 and began making farmstead cheeses in 2013. They Patty Karlin, who taught many of the cheesemakers in vellacheese.com produce a soft ripened goat cheese (Kenne), a soft ripened cow, the area, gives tours of her farm, showing her many M goat, sheep (Teleeka), a fresh goat cheese (Liwa), an aged goat sustainable practices and introduces you to her goats. (Assa), and an aged mixed sheep/goat (Atika). Call for an appointment. The Vella family has made cheese in a stonewalled building on the historic Sonoma square since the company’s founding in 1931 by Valley Goa Straus Home Ranch 15. Two Rock Valley Goat Cheese k t C oc h Gaetano Vella. The cultures, the care and the personal hands-on R e Marshall, StrausHomeRanch.com Two Rock, 707-762-6182 o e s w e techniques are the same as they were then. T Learn about Marin’s sustainable agricultural history and anecdotes of DD FM F M DeBernardi Dairy, Inc. growing up on rural Tomales Bay, while strolling the pastures of this iconic Contact for Tour Options: Dairyman Don DeBernardi’s desire to make Swiss cheese like the type organic farm, followed by an artisan cheese tasting. Led by Vivien and/or made by his relatives in Switzerland led him to transition from multi- Michael Straus. Sign up online. Cheesemakers that have occasional or regular scheduled tours. generational dairy farming to producing a goat milk cheese aged on Signups required. Most require plenty of notice. site at the DeBernardi Dairy. Weekend tours by appointment. 1. Achadinha Cheese Company 16. Valley Ford Cheese Company Key to the Cheesemakers Petaluma Valley Ford, 707-293-5636 Type of Animal: 707-763-1025 valleyfordcheeseco.com FM Available at www.achadinha.com FM F M Cow Farmers’ Markets

FM F M Five generations of the Bianchi/Grossi family have raised dairy cows Goat F Farmstead At Jim and Donna Pacheco’s dairy, you’ll find 600 goats and a on this prime farmland in Sonoma County. Karen Bianchi Moreda and small Jersey cow herd. The animals graze on pastures year-round; her son Joe now make Swiss-Italian-style cheese from the milk of their Sheep M Mail Order their diet supplemented with brewer’s grain, and alfalfa. One Certified Humane Raised & Handled Jersey herd. of the barns has been converted to an on-site creamery and aging Water Buffalo O Organic room. Check their website for information on tours of the dairy Cheesemakers Busy Making Cheese and cheesemaking. Find these cheeses at retailers or a farmer’s market. The cheesemakers 2. Barinaga Ranch Farmstead Sheep Milk Cheese below are not open to the public. Generous support provided by Whole Foods Market, Marshall www.barinagaranch.com Andante Cheese Marin Convention and Visitors Bureau Petaluma, 707-769-1379 and the California Milk Advisory Board F M www.andantedairy.com

Following the traditions of her Basque ancestors in Spain, Marcia A project of the Marin Economic Forum: Barinaga makes a raw-milk Basque-style sheep cheese. Her Animal FM Welfare Approved flock of dairy ewes graze year-round on over Soyoung Scanlan—dairy scientist, music lover, and former MarinEconomicForum.org 100 acres of certified-organic pastures overlooking Tomales Bay. biochemist—gives musical names to her creamery and cheeses. Production: Vivien Straus | Design: Lisa Krieshok Her products are designed to reveal the essence of the terroir, or microclimate, in which the milk and cheese are produced. Copy: Elisabeth Ptak | With initial support from Ellie Rilla