Sonoma and Marin Cheesemakers Dairies
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Marin County Driving Tour
Novato to Nicasio and Point Reyes Station
Start at the Marin French Cheese Company right outside Novato,
where you can take a tour, picnic, and taste their award-winning
Rouge et Noir brie. Then travel west on the Point Reyes-Petaluma
Road, make a quick detour onto Nicasio Valley Road to the quaint
village of Nicasio. There you’ll find Nicasio Valley Cheese Company.
The Lafranchi family produces fantastic farmstead cheeses in the
artisanal tradition of their Swiss-Italian cousins in Switzerland. Then
retrace your steps to the Point Reyes-Petaluma Road and into the
town of Point Reyes to Tomales Bay Foods (also known as Cowgirl
Creamery) where you can watch cheesemaking through the window
or take a more formal cheese class (reservations required). At the
cheese counter taste Cowgirl cheeses and other local artisan cheeses.
Sonoma County Driving Tour
Petaluma to Sonoma to Sebastopol
(about 50 miles)
Driving Directions
Starting in the historic agricultural town of Petaluma, with its
charming turn-of-the-century buildings and quaint downtown,
stop by the Petaluma Creamery where you can sample Spring
Hill Cheese (for tours of their creamery please call ahead).
Then head east out of town via Highway 116 and follow signs to
Sonoma. To visit one of the oldest cheesemakers in the area, stop
by Vella Cheese Company, known for their famous aged dry
Jack. While still in Sonoma drop by the Epicurean Connection
for the flavors of fresh and soft cheeses and more local fare. For
more, travel north out of town on Highway 12 to Sebastopol to
the Matos Cheese Factory to sample their St. George, a buttery
semi-hard cheese made in the style of the Azores.
To try:
Marin French Cheese Company
7500 Red Hill Rd
Petaluma, CA 94952
(707) 762-6001
https://www.marinfrenchcheese.com
The Marin French Cheese Company is a manufacturer of artisan cheese and is located in rural west Marin County (between Point Reyes Station and Petaluma). The company was founded in 1865 by Jefferson Thompson, and produces cheeses under the Rouge et Noir brand name. It is the oldest cheese manufacturer still in operation in the United States. The facility consists of a 425-acre dairy ranch in the Hicks Valley, which includes a 9,000-square-foot cheese processing and retail sales facility, as well as a variety of barns, storage buildings and a pond-side picnic area.
Spring Hill Cheese Company
4235 Spring Hill Road, Petaluma, CA 94952
(707) 762-3446
Office Hours are 7am-4pm Mon-Fri
Spring Hill Jersey Cheese
d.b.a The Petaluma Creamery
621 Western Avenue
Petaluma, CA 94952
info@springhillcheese.com
www.springhillcheese.com
The lavender ice cream here is delicious. They use the lavender from the lavender bee farm about a mile away.
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Laura Chenel’s Chevre
22085 Carneros Vineyard Way
Sonoma, CA 94576
Phone (707) 996-4477
Email lynne@laurachenel.com
Website https://www.laurachenel.com
Vella Cheese Company
315 2nd St E
Sonoma, CA 95476
(707) 938-3232
https://vellacheese.com/
Monday – Saturday, 9:30 am to 6 pm
The ONLY cheese made in Sonoma…try samples for free…Dry Jack, asiago, colby, on and on…this is THE spot!
Probably the most original and unique cheese tasting experience. I was later impressed to read that Vella has solar panels on the roof which you can see from this Google view.
Nicasio Valley Cheese Company
5300 Nicasio Valley Rd
Nicasio, CA 94946
(415) 662-6200
https://www.nicasiocheese.com
Retail Hours : 7 days a week, 10 a.m. – 5 p.m.
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Achadinha Cheese Company
Andante Cheese
Andre Artisan Cheese
Barinaga Ranch Farmstead
Sheep Milk Cheese
Bellwether Farms
Bleating Heart Cheese
Bodega Artisan Cheese
Bohemian Creamery
Clover Stornetta Farms
Cowgirl Creamery
Epicurean Connection
Laura Chenel’s Chevre
Marin French Cheese Company
Matos Cheese Factory
McClelland Dairy
Nicasio Valley Cheese Company
North Bay Curds and Whey
Point Reyes Farmstead Cheese Company
Pugs Leap
Ramini Mozzarella
Redwood Hill Farm & Creamery
Saint Benoit Creamery
Spring Hill Cheese Company
Straus Family Creamery
Tomales Farmstead Creamery
Two Rock Valley Goat Cheese
Valley Ford Cheese Company
Vella Cheese Company
Weirauch Farm & Creamery
