***Congrats to Denise and Alyssa the winners of two tickets each to the Artisan Cheese Marketplace. This was so fun how about we give away more tickets next week! Look for details and a new contest on Monday March 14.***
The Artisan Cheese Festival, March 25 – 27 at the Sheraton Petaluma, is a weekend full of events including seminars, a cheese marketplace and dinners that celebrate artisan cheese, food, beer and wine found in California and beyond. This cheese filled weekend offers artisan producers a chance to showcase their products and those of us who love small production products a chance to taste small, hand crafted cheeses and maybe learn a thing or two during one of the seminars.
For information on the individual events and tickets, click here. For lodging information at the Sheraton Petaluma, check their website for full details.
To celebrate the Artisan Cheese Festival, we have decided to run our cheesiest contest ever. Rules are simple; let us know what your favorite local cheese is in the comment section below. Sonoma County has lots of local creameries churning out tasty nuggets of love so your choices are broad.
Need help with some ideas? Here is a post we did a few years ago about pairing local wines with Sonoma County cheese.
We will choose two random winners on Friday March 11 at 3:00 pm local time. Each winner receives two tickets to the cheese marketplace during the Artisan Cheese Festival held on Sunday March 27.
While I adore my neighbors at Cowgirl Creamery with their delicious St. Francis Drake or Red Hawk cheeses, my heart belongs to the incredibly excuisite Truffle Tremor from Cypress Grove. I have dedicated almost a year in promoting its absolute superior taste. How many cheeses do you smell on your hand while doing errands and all you want to do is go back home and have more? Its fabulous aroma is heartstopping when the memory of it hits you.
Please pick me. Don’t make me beg, because I am not above begging.
Sonoma County has some great cheeses for sure! I haven’t lived here long enough to try them all yet, but my favorite so far is Red Hawk from Cowgirl Creamery. Mmmm. Wish I had some crackers…
Le petit bleu from Marin! Yummy
Hands down my new favorite is Spring Hill Cheese’s new White Cheddar Goat Cheese…oh so YUMMY!
I love Purple Haze from Cypress Grove (yes we are talking cheese here for those of you old enough to know a double meaning)! While it may not provide the same euphoric feeling that Mr Hendricks spoke of, it does delight the taste buds.
My favorite is Red Hawk from Cowgirl Creamery.
All our local cheeses rock, but my all time favorite is Marin French’s Breakfast Cheese. I could eat it for breakfast, lunch and dinner! (How’s that for cheesy?)
St. George’s Cheese from Matos Cheese Factory… yum!
i love the classic Rouge et Noir Triple Crème Brie at the Marin French Cheese Company.
I also love the ambience of the surroundings when I visit the factory with my family… such a lovely place to have a picnic and the cheese is heavenly!
A tie between Cowgirl’s Red Hawk and Vella’s Dry Jack
Hmm! I can’t remember the name of this awesome fresh goat cheese from the coast area! That might very well be my favorite. But we’ll say Cowgirl’s Red Hawk.
Pt Reyes Toma!
Humboldt Fog rivals the finest European cheeses. A distinctive classic!
Spending summers in Biarritz on the Basque Coast, I grew up eating grilled tartines of goat cheese slathered on dark, rough and grainy country bread topped with a dollop of skinned green and red peppers confit in freshly pressed fruity olive oil. Imagine my happiness at discovering Baserri’sTxiki goat cheese at Oliver’s in Cotati. Just like Proust’s madeleine, this cheese transports me back to sea scented summers, my grand mother’s piperades, rich, golden gateau basque on Sundays, hot, sticky apricot beignets wrapped in crinkly white paper which we devoured on the beach and those wonderful tartines.
Count me in as another Cypress Grove Purple Haze fan, but unlike Kim, I actually DO see colors when I eat it. Love that stuff!
Point Reyes Blue is tasty! Love Cow Girl’s cheese too. But my all time favorite because I grew up here and this place brings back childhood memories of going to their factory, sampling cheese, feeding the ducks and picnicking in their beautiful setting is Marin French Cheese (otherwise referred to as the Cheese Factory). My family still makes frequent trips there to enjoy all they have to offer. My kids love the “breakfast cheese”. I like mine a little more stinky – the “Rouge et Noir Le Petit Bleu” is my fav.
For years, I have loved Cowgirl Creamery Red Hawk and Point Reyes Blue, but my new favorite (addition) is NIcasio Valley Formagella.
I like all the cheeses form the Marin French Cheese Co. My favorite would have to be the Camembert.
OK, so I’m fairly new to CA (from the east coast) and still experiencing the wonderful wine and food that CA has to offer. So, to be honest, I’m not familiar with the Sonoma cheeses in the area. That is why I would love to win tickets to this event so I can experience the yummy cheeses everyone is posting about. So for something a little cheesy, here’s a test to see what type of cheese are you?
http://cupped-expressions.net/cheese/quiz/
how do i enter contest?? very confusing
It’s the one that always calls to me when I pass by,
I try to keep walking…. but however hard I try,
I always leave with a piece of ‘Point Reyes Blue’…….
And, yes, I’ve tried others and they are just fine,
but I really love ‘Point Reyes Blue’ with my Savignon Blanc wine!!!!
I love the Nicasio Valley Formagella. Makes me hungry thinking about it!
ST PAT by Cowgirl!
I absolutely love Toma by Vella Cheese. A slice of Vella is just what i need after long hard day at work! yum cheese! My fridge is always stocked with some of their delicious and smooth cheese! :)
Mt. Tam mmmmmm….
Has to be the Spring Hill White Cheddar – so good!
Love the St. Pat’s from Cowgirl Creamery.
This is like asking to choose your favorite parent. So hard!!!
Redwood Hill Farm has amazing goat chevre. I love the peppercorn chevre on a toasted multi-seed bagel. YUM!!! A local favorite of mine.
There are so many others I would love to try and become addicted to. :)