Schedule of Events - Friday Farm Tours

Friday, March 23

Tour A – Sheep, Cows & WATER BUFFALO!

Travel down Valley Ford Road in Petaluma to Bellwether Farms where the Callahan family produces sheep and cow’s milk cheese. In 1986, Cindy Callahan bought a few sheep to mow the pastures on their farm and the rest is artisan cheese history. Further down the road, we’ll stop at the Bianchi-Moreda Ranch and Valley Ford Cheese Company. Karen Bianchi-Moreda is the fourth generation of her family to farm the ranch where 400 Jersey cows are milked daily. Karen has been making cheese since 2009 and has recently been joined by her son, Joe Moreda, Jr., representing the fifth generation. Then we’ll head to Craig Ramini’s dairy farm and Ramini Mozzarella. Craig is raising a herd of water buffalo and we will meet him and his herd, and be among the very first to taste his fresh, farmstead, handmade buffalo mozzarella!! What a treat!

SOLD OUT

Tour B - California's Cheesemaking Counties: Sonoma to Marin

You’ll have to get up early for this one! We’ll be heading to the Chileno Valley in Petaluma to visit the Pacheco Family Dairy and Achadinha Cheese Company (named after a Portuguese parish). Donna and Jim Pacheco have close to 1,600 goats and produce farmstead, cheeses handmade by Donna. Nicasio Valley Cheese Company is next—the LaFranchi family’s organic, farmstead dairy and creamery. Established in 1919, descendants of the LaFranchi family are milking 400 cows and creating the cheeses of their Italian Swiss ancestors on over 1,000 organic acres. Our last stop will be at Barinaga Ranch in Marshall. Marcia Barinaga is continuing the sheepherding and cheesemaking traditions of her Basque ancestors on over 100 acres overlooking beautiful Tomales Bay where she makes farmstead sheep’s milk cheese.

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Tour C - Petaluma Dairy Farms: Sheep, Cow and Goat

While Carleen and Joel Weirauch have been building their flock of sheep over the last few years at Weirauch Farm, they’ve been making cow’s milk cheese from a small organic dairy nearby. Their dream will finally become a reality this spring when they begin to make farmstead sheep’s milk cheese—just in time for our visit! In 1977, Sue Conley and Peggy Smith opened Cowgirl Creamery in Point Reyes Station. Our next stop will be their Petaluma Creamery where we will watch them create the organic, artisan cheese for which they are renowned. Next we head to DeBernardi Dairy, Two Rock Valley Goat Cheese and the home of Don and Bonnie DeBernardi. While Don still manages a herd of 800 Jersey cows, he and his family have made the leap to goat dairying and cheesemaking with great results. We’ll get to mingle with their new kids and taste their cheese on this tour.

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Tour D - Farm to Creamery: Two Sebastopol Dairies

On this tour we travel to one of Sonoma County’s newest dairy farms, Bleating Heart, for the first time and then to one of the county’s most established, Redwood Hill Farms. In 2009, Seana Doughty bought 10 pregnant ewes from a sheep dairy in Wisconsin and drove them to California herself in a truck. Her mission was to produce handcrafted sheep cheese. Two years (and many more adventures) later, she is doing just that! We will visit the ranch where Seana’s dairy flock resides and taste her “American Original Cheese.” Our next stop is one of the country’s most venerable goat dairies and creameries, Redwood Hill Farm, operated for over 40 years. Owner, Jennifer Bice, has always been committed to developing a genetics program of excellence and Redwood Hill Farm was the first certified humane goat dairy in the U.S. (each of their 300 goats has a name!). Redwood Hill’s goats and cheeses are consistent award winners throughout the country.

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Two Special Tours that Include Dinner

1 pm to 9 pm

Tour E - From Dirt to Dinner Farm Tour and Feast with Chef Cindy Pawlcyn

Join us for a fabulous event beginning with a farm tour of the pastoral Giacomini Family Dairy overlooking Tomales Bay. On to The Fork, the state of the art event space at the farm and a focused cheese tasting with Kuba Hemmerling, cheesemaker at Point Reyes Farmstead. Meet Chef Cindy Pawlcyn, one of the first female chefs to champion local, seasonal food when she opened Mustard’s Grill in the Napa Valley in 1983. From the start, Chef Pawlcyn has been part of the country’s cheese revolution and a missionary for California cheese. A chef demo and a multi-course dinner with local wine will follow. The evening will end with a grand finale cheese course and conversation between Chef Pawlcyn and Kuba Hemmerling. Chef Cindy Pawlcyn is widely recognized as a pioneer of wine country cooking and one of the first proponents of the farm to table philosophy. Pawlcyn is the author of four widely acclaimed cookbooks and is the executive chef/owner of three Napa Valley Restaurants - most notably Mustards Grill! Kuba Hemmerling, originally from Poland, has been making cheese at Point Reyes Farmstead for the last two years. He works closely with the Giacomini family in bringing their consumers delicious and authentic cheeses.

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3:30 pm to 9 pm

Tour F - Artisan Cheese Loves Craft Beer - Brewery Tour and Cheese Inspired Dinner with Beers to Complement

This five-hour beer and cheese extravaganza features a six-course dinner prepared by Chef Danny Mai (Tolay Restaurant at The Sheraton Sonoma County) and paired with the artisan beer from the nationally recognized local Petaluma brewery, Lagunitas. Start your excursion with an appetizer and a brewsky on the way to the brewery (we'll handle the driving, so no worries.) On arrival, enjoy beers straight from the source during this interactive and informative tour. Following the tour and tasting, return to the Sheraton for a cheese pairing dinner that continues the sudsy magic. Chef Mai and Lagunitas have created a menu that stars local artisan cheeses created specifically to be enjoyed with an array of Lagunitas specialty beers and there may even be some rare finds pulled from the Lagunitas cellars.