cheese Archives

A festival attendee dipping into Truffle Tremor, a soft-ripen goat milk cheese during the 11th annual California Artisan Cheese Festival held at the Sheraton Sonoma County in Petaluma Sunday. March 26, 2017. (Erik Castro/for The Press Democrat)

2026 Artisan Cheese Festival Returns March 22

March 2026

A festival of tastings, tours and seminars drawing artisan cheesemakers from around Northern California happens this weekend in Santa Rosa.

Diners at the Valley Ford Cheese & Creamery can see into a cheese aging room. (John Burgess/The Press Democrat)

Find a Cheese Lover’s Paradise at New Valley Ford Cafe and Shop

September 2019

There’s a former Meadowood chef in the kitchen, pastries from an in-house pastry chef, a cozy bar with local wine and beer, picnic grab-and-go items — and plenty of cheese.

Get Funky at California Artisan Cheese Week and Festival

March 2019

More than 30 restaurants, grocers and wineries will be offering up special cheese plates, tastings, pairings, and fromage-friendly dishes March 16 through 24.

A cheese plate featuring (from left to right) Pennyroyal Farm Bollie's Mollies, Amexia D'Elvas Convento de Serra natural preserved plums, Bleating Heart Cheese Fat Bottom Girl, raw local almonds, and Point Reyes Cheese Company Gouda, aged two years, assembled by cheese monger Omar Mueller of Freestone Artisan Cheese, in Freestone, California on Tuesday, November 29, 2016. (Alvin Jornada / The Press Democrat)

Great Local Cheeses To Try, According to Madame de Fromage

March 2019

Legendary local cheesemonger Colette Hatch - aka Madame de Fromage - shares some of her favorite artisan cheeses from Sonoma, Marin and beyond.

Parmesan Crisps from Sonoma Creamery have disappeared! What now?

Addictive Sonoma Snack Disappears Without A Trace. We found it.

February 2017

Sonoma Creamery's Parmesan Crisps had a massive following, but now they're nowhere to be found. We get to the bottom of the mystery.

The Marin French Cheese Company Petite Breakfast Cheese was the original for the 150 year-old cheese company. This year the cheese is packaged under the label 1865 to commemorate the anniversary. (Photo by John Burgess

5 Must-Stops for Cheese Lovers in Sonoma County

January 2017

You don't have to wait until Valentine's Day to get real cheesy - just make a stop at one of these local cheese shops!

Sonoma Chef Getting Back to Cheese

March 2016

Sheana Davis has been a fixture in the Sonoma Valley culinary community for more than 20 years. She cooked for and with legendary food writer M.F.K. Fisher, learned to make cheese from Ig Vella, founded The Epicurean Connection cheese shop and cafe, and introduced cheese education to Sonoma. Yet despite all her energy, Davis, a […]

Sonoma Cheese Factory Celebrates 85th Anniversary

February 2016

Written by Kathleen Hill for the Sonoma Index-Tribune. Sonoma Cheese Factory celebrated 85 years in business on Wednesday, Feb. 17, with members of the founding Viviani family present. New decals decorate the windows, saying Sonoma Cheese Factory was started in 1931. Tom Vella and Celso Viviani used to make cheese together, with Vella’s brother Joseph, […]

Blue cheese aging at Bleating Heart Creamery outside Petaluma. (photo by Chris Hardy)

The New Cheese in Town

February 2014

Bleating Heart Cheese and Pennyroyal Farmstead.

Lisa Gottreich, cheesemaker of Bohemian Creamery, who makes some very creative cheeses from goat, sheep and cow's milk in a former milking barn in Sebastopol. (photo by Chris Hardy)

The Next Big Cheese

February 2014

Entrepreneur ditches desk job to pursue her collaborative craft.