The California Artisan Cheese Festival Celebrates 17th Anniversary

Tickets are now on sale for the country’s premier cheese event, the 17th annual California Artisan Cheese Festival, March 24-26, 2023. This year’s three-day-long Festival will take place in and around Sonoma County, and at various local farms, restaurants, creameries and tasting rooms of artisan producers all over Northern California. This year there are even three farm tours that go beyond the immediate Bay Area, up to Mendocino County, Central Valley and North Sacramento County. Every year, the Cheese Festival brings together cheesemakers, farmers, educators, chefs, cheese mongers, brewers, distillers, and winemakers from far and wide for three full days of cheese tasting, education and celebration.

Friday’s Farm and Producer Tours

Back by popular demand are the Friday Farm and Producer tours which travel all around Northern California so that guests may explore local farms, creameries and artisan purveyors. During the guided tours, the guests will learn how cheese, beer, and other delicious agricultural products are made, meet the producers, farmers, and cheesemakers, and, of course, taste the fruits of their labor. This year’s Festival is offering ten tours on Friday the 24th, with seven of them including round-trip transportation, three going beyond the immediate Bay Area, one self-driven tour, and two walking tours around Sebastopol. The tours include:

C & D “The Barlow”: these guided walking tours around the Barlow in Sebastopol will visit some delectable small producers such as Il Fusti Olive Oil & Vinegar (where guests will also get to taste Beehive Cheese and bread from Red Bird Bakery); Woodfour Brewing where guests will get to experience their cult-favorite farmhouse beers and take a tour of the brewery; Wm. Cofield Cheesemakers for a behind-the-scenes look at how proper British-style cheeses are made; and Pax Wines for a taste of their holistic and sustainable wines which use organic and biodynamic methods of winemaking.

Farm Tour G “Goat Yoga & More!” takes attendees to Spenker Family Farm and Winery in Lodi and Stuyt Dairy Farmstead Cheese in Escalon. At Spenker, guests will start out with the option to partake in goat yoga, followed by a guided walking tour of the farm, and then a wine and cheese pairing and lunch. Next at Stuyt they will get a behind-the-scenes tour of the Dairy and they’ll learn all about the difference between pasteurized and raw milk cheeses.

Farm Tours H & I “Past, Present and Future” will visit Sierra Nevada Cheese Company, Rumiano Cheese Company, and Farmers Brewing. The tour will begin at Rumiano in Willows where guests will see their 100-year-old Dry Jack aging cellar, and try all of their amazing cheeses, including their famous Dry Jack. Next the tour will go east to Sierra Nevada Cheese Company where attendees will learn about all of the traditional processes behind the cheeses and enjoy lunch and a cheese tasting paired with local wines. These tours will end at Farmers Brewing Company, situated on their family farm in Princeton, CA where guests will enjoy delicious session beers paired with more cheese!

Tour J “Taste of The Anderson Valley” will bring guests to Anderson Valley in Mendocino County to experience some of the area’s most iconic producers. The tour’s first stop will be Pennyroyal Farm where every goat, sheep and cheese has a name. This guided tour of Pennyroyal will include a walk-through of the solar-powered barn to meet the animals and taste the cheeses. Next stop is Anderson Valley Brewing Company for a tour of the brewery and to experience the hand-crafted ales that are made using sustainable brewing practices. Your visit to Anderson Valley concludes on the majestic coast where you will experience Goldeneye Winery’s world-class Pinot Noirs. Specific details and tickets for the Producer & Farm Tours and locations may be found at https://www.artisancheesefestival.com/ tours-2023. Tickets starting at $125.

Saturday Seminars and Pairing Demonstrations

Bringing attendees face-to-face with the experts who work with and create some of America’s best artisan cheeses and the wines that pair with them. Taking place in and around Santa Rosa at iconic Wine Country destinations, the seminars are as follows:

Seminar 1: A Cheese and Wine Pairing with Tracey Shepos Cenami at The Kendall-

Jackson Wine Center. Chef Tracey is a certified cheese professional and the executive chef at Kendall-Jackson. She will guide attendees through a seated wine and cheese pairing, and guests are then welcome to add-on a five-course wine pairing lunch afterward. Must purchase add-on lunch at time of booking seminar.

Seminar 2: Cheese and Wine Pairing with Laura Werlin at Bricoleur Vineyards. Laura Werlin is a cheese educator and James Beard award-winning author of six books on cheese. At Bricoleur Vineyards, Laura will guide her guests on an interactive, educational, comprehensive, and delicious tasting of the spectacular Bricoleur wines together with some of her favorite spectacular California cheeses. There are two add-on tasting opportunities for guests to choose from afterwards that will explore more Bricoleur wines paired with either small bites or a six-course. To schedule your add-on for this seminar, email info@ bricoleurvineyards.com and let them know you are a guest of the Artisan Cheese Festival. Space is very limited.

Seminar 3: Cheese + Charcuterie Cone Building Workshop with Alyssa Gilbert. Alyssa Gilbert, Owner of Graze + Gather Co, will be treating attendees to a fun and informative afternoon of learning how to craft Instagram-worthy Cheese + Charcuterie

Cones at the beautiful new Balletto Vineyards event center in West Sonoma County. Learn Alyssa’s tried and true techniques for arranging and plating cheese and charcuterie while enjoying a selection of wines from Balletto Vineyards.

Seminar 4: Cheese + Chocolate at Sugarloaf Wine Co. with chocolatiers Jeff and Susan Mall. Jeff and Susan Mall of VOLO Chocolates will guide attendees on an exploration of three of life’s pleasures: cheese, chocolate and wine at one of Sonoma County’s newest destinations, Sugarloaf Wine Company. Sugarloaf features boutique producers who craft their wines at Sugarloaf’s custom crush facility.

Seminars and Pairing Demonstrations to take place at spectacular Wine Country destinations, and each seminar includes the option to add on an additional wine or food pairing experience afterwards. Tickets starting at $75. Seminar details, including price per seminar, location and start time may be found at https://www.artisancheesefestival.com/seminars. Discover these events and so much more! Be sure to visit the Cheese Festival web site for all the details and to purchase tickets. These events will sell out, so don’t wait! For more updates and details and to purchase tickets to the California Artisan Cheese Festival visit, http://www.artisancheesefestival.com/