If you’ve spent any time in Wine Country, you’ve likely seen a t-shirt reading, “Sweet dreams are made of cheese.”
Excellent locally made cheese is way of life here. There are 45 farms and creameries featured on the most recent, 2023 edition of the California Cheese Trail map, open for tours and spanning Sonoma, Marin and San Francisco counties, plus others across the north and central coasts, the Central Valley, Gold Country and Southern California.
But these listed properties are just a slice of local cheese culture — the Cheese Trail interactive map also features another 32 California cheesemakers which are not currently open to the public.
The mother lode of creameries resides in Sonoma County, operating on pastoral properties winding through canyons, pastures, sprawling meadows and oak-covered hills. And more creameries are being added each year as intrepid dairy scientists and artists fall in love with the delicious, classic profession.
One way to keep up is to attend the annual California Artisan Cheese Festival, held each spring in Sonoma County. It’s a multi-day showcase of relaxed cheese tastings, along with food and drink pairings, seminars at rural properties, cheesemaker-led farm tours and an Artisan Cheese Tasting & Marketplace showcasing more than 100 boutique cheese producers, winemakers, brewers and tiny-batch food crafters. (hint: all the activities sell out fast, so plan ahead).
Another way is to simply hop in your car and drive, visiting the farms and creameries on your own and sampling straight from the source. Start in San Francisco, then make your way to Valley Ford in west Sonoma County. For extra delight, follow this scenic route that will have you soaking up gorgeous landscapes, rural backroads, and oodles of cheesy charm.
San Francisco
Daily Driver: Peek through the glass kitchen walls into this Dogpatch industrial space and café/mercantile to watch quark being hand made with Jersey cow milk from Silva Family Dairy of Tomales (quark is a German-style cheese similar to Greek yogurt). Fuel up for the day by grabbing a fresh-baked, wood-fired organic bagel slathered with hand-batted organic butter and cream cheese, plus a trade direct small-batch coffee. 2535 Third St., San Francisco, 415-852-3535, dailydriver.com
Nicasio/Marin County
Nicasio Valley Cheese Company: Hop on 101-N and take exit 456 for Lucas Valley Road, delivering you to this 1,150-acre certified organic bovine utopia. In 1919, Swiss immigrants Fred and his wife Zelma Dolcini Lafranchi established the Lafranchi Dairy; in 2010, his children changed the name but kept the classic cheese recipes made with fresh, sweet cow’s milk. There are guided cheese tastings and ranch tours on Friday mornings to help you find your favorite flavors from some dozen curated selections. 5300 Nicasio Valley Road, Nicasio, 415-662-6200, nicasiocheese.com
Petaluma/Sonoma County
Achadinha Cheese Company: Next, travel through sprawling canyon wilderness and ranch sanctuaries (and right past another visitor favorite you might want to check out, the slightly more commercial Marin French Cheese Co.). A farm tour is a must at the delightful Achadinha. You’ll see the cheesemaking salons, milking parlor and the loafing barns where the girls (goats and cows) hang out, and then you’ll wrap it up with lavish cheese tastings. Plan on nearly two hours to take it all in, or, if you’re really adventurous, we highly recommend adding on a cheesemaking class, too, expanding the time to 2.5 hours. You’ll craft your very own cheese, then snack on a yummy deli sandwich and even more cheese. 750 Chileno Valley Road, Petaluma, 707-763-1025, achadinha.com
Valley Ford/Sonoma County
Valley Ford Cheese & Creamery: This is actually a café and country mercantile, but the cheeses are known across the country for their premium quality. The nearby ranch was founded in 1918 and is still owned by the same family. And the café wraps around the spectacular, humidity-controlled aging cheese room, showcasing endless wheels of signatures like gassy-nutty-buttery Estero Gold cheese, silky Highway 1 Fontina style cheese and rustic Grazin’ Girl Gorgonzola. Admire the cheese room, then dig into luxuries, like an array of grilled cheese sandwiches fit for a high-end restaurant (we particularly love the melted Fontina model, tucked with housemade roasted porchetta laced with kale slaw on rye ciabatta). 14390 Valley Ford Road, Valley Ford, 707-293-5636, valleyfordcheese.com
