Published on 31-01-2024
California Artisan Cheese Festival
Three Day Celebration of Artisan Cheese
March 22-24
• Farm and Producer Tours
• Pairing and Tasting Seminars
• Saturday Cheese Crawl
• Artisan Cheese Tasting & Marketplace
California’s premier cheese festival, the 18th Annual California Artisan Cheese Festival, will take place over three days from March 22-24. A celebration produced by experts and presenters from the world of artisan cheese, the festival promotes broad awareness of the artisan cheesemaking community and enjoyment of its products.
This year’s festival starts on Friday, March 22 with Farm and Producer Tours at locations throughout Marin and Sonoma Counties and beyond. On Saturday, March 23, cheese tastings, pairings and seminars will take place at a variety of wineries, breweries and farms throughout Sonoma County followed by the highly anticipated Cheese Crawl at The Barlow in Sebastopol. The Festival culminates on Sunday, March 24 at the Artisan Cheese Tasting & Marketplace, a grand finale tasting event at the Sonoma County Fairgrounds in Santa Rosa. Tickets are now on sale and, as in previous years, are sure to sell out quickly.
“We are over the moon with how the 18th Annual California Artisan Cheese Festival has come together for 2024 with events and tours at many community favorite farms, creameries and wineries including Toluma Farm, Silver Penny Farm, and Valley Ford Creamery—it will be a true celebration of the best of California cheese and the makers behind-the-scenes who create the real magic,” says Sarah Simms, president of the California Artisan Cheese Guild and co-founder of Lady & Larder. She adds, “The California Artisan Cheese Festival has become a three-day event that people travel to Sonoma County for because it’s really the only opportunity for people to get an inside look—they can taste, learn and shop for artisan cheese over three days of incredible events, seminars and tours—there is nothing like getting the chance to meet your favorite cheesemaker at the Cheese Crawl or cuddle with a baby goat on one of the farm tours. Springtime in California is as good as it gets!”
The Festival, which began in March 2007, has grown into three days of cheese tasting, education and celebration that brings together California’s premier cheese makers and offers cheese enthusiasts of all experience levels an unparalleled opportunity to taste and purchase new, limited production, and rare artisan cheeses as well as meet with and sample products from Bay Area farmers, chefs, brewers, winemakers, distillers and artisan food purveyors.