Planning a visit to Sonoma County? Being Wine Country, you will be visiting some of the many great wineries and spending several days wine tasting. As Sonoma County boasts many fine restaurants that focus on farm-to-table fresh food, plus a varied selection of Michelin-recognized restaurants, you will want to avail yourself of the great wine and food experience.

But don’t forget the cheese!

While planning your Sonoma Wine Country adventure, check out the California Cheese Trail Map, and take a day (or two) exploring some of the many creameries and specialty cheese shops in this wine and food area. The family-owned farms, and artisan creameries producing mouth-watering cheeses will not only delight you but will make you smile and say: “Cheese!” This isn’t just wine country, it’s cheese country as well!

Visit a Cheesery

Yes, that is a word! Meaning: “an establishment where cheese is made.”
Here are a few to consider visiting.
Have fun while tasting some of Sonoma County’s finest locally made cheeses, and meeting local farmers, cheese makers, and cheese lovers!

Bohemian Creamery has been producing artisanal, small-lot cheeses for seventeen years. Walking into their store, the mixed aromas of cheese are amazing – and you are immediately in the mood for cheese! Cheeses from goats, cows, sheeps, and water buffalos are made on-site, and yes, they sample! For an immersive, fun, educational, behind-the-scenes experience, plan to take a tour of their facility on weekends at 1:00 pm (please book in advance). Sample the cheeses, but of the approximate 17 kinds of cheese made, you MUST try the G.R.I.T.S. (hint: it’s stuffed with cajeta – but I’ll let your taste buds explain more). If Matthew or Abbey are serving you, they are full of knowledge and fun facts  not only about Bohemian but about all of the cheeses they make.
Consider joining their Cheese-of-the-Every-Other-Month Club, for yourself or your friends.

Marin French Cheese Co. is the country’s oldest cheese company, operating at its historic creamery in Marin County since 1865. The historic creamery marries traditional French cheesemaking techniques with California’s terroir and innovative spirit to produce award-winning and original cheeses. Made with high-quality local ingredients, its cheeses reflect one of life’s simplest and most authentic pleasures: experiencing good food.
Visit Marin French Cheese Co.’s shop to try a selection of soft-ripened style cheeses, as well as artisan goat cheese from sister brand, Laura Chenel. Cheeses you may sample (and then go home with) include Petite Jalapeño, Petite Truffle, or the delightful washed rind triple crème cheese, Golden Gate. This year, the country’s oldest cheese company took home four medals at World Cheese Awards 2023 including Silver for Petite Ash and Bronze for Petite Crème, Petite Suprême, and Golden Gate. Additionally, the brand’s Petite Jalapeno claimed the first-place award at the 2023 American Cheese Society Conference.
In addition to tasting your way through the world of cheese, you can stay on their 700-acre property for a picnic! Guests can pick up cheese, crackers, and other accompaniments in the shop, or have a made-to-order sandwich, then take it out to the picnic area adjacent to a pond and enjoy the beautiful weather of Marin County.

Nicasio Valley Cheese Company, leading the way in sustainable dairy practices since 1919, (producing cheeses since 2010) is a third-generation family operation. This is the only 100% organic certified cow’s milk farmstead cheese produced in California. Pasteurization, production, aging, packaging, and sales are on site … in fact, watch the production through the viewing window!
Making ten different artisanal cheeses, with milk from their dairy, pasteurized on-site within hours of milking, and transported to the facility, where the cheesemaking process begins, cheese doesn’t get any fresher than this! Nicasio cheeses are winners of many prestigious awards, including their Foggy Morning (six-time national award-winning Fromage Blanc) and their San Geronimo (six-time national award-winning Raclette-style cheese). A visit to this artisanal creamery, and “cheese education” by Flo is so worth the visit, while enjoying a beautiful drive along the country road.

Petaluma Creamery/Springhill Cheese Co. has been in business for over 100 years and is another mainstay of the community. Owner, Larry Peter (of a fifth-generation agricultural family) has been a dairy farmer since 1987 and purchased the Petaluma Creamery in 2004. Milk is sourced from about a dozen small, local family farmers, GMO and hormone-free. Choose from up to thirty different cheeses when you visit the historic building. If you are lucky enough, you may even get a creamery tour from Larry. But wait! Do not visit without trying some of the creamery’s delicious ice cream! This is not only the home of Springhill Jersey Cheese – it is the home of healthy and delicious!

Valley Ford Cheese and Creamery is another family operation, but fairly “new,” having been established in 2008. Come sample cheese from cows that graze 365 days a year, on pastureland that is certified organic, and never treated with GMOs or hormones. Enjoy a cheese flight and charcuterie board on your visit or knock your socks off melted cheese sandwich. Before you leave, however, you will want to savor the smoothest, creamiest soft-serve ice cream you have ever tasted. Winners of several awards in various cheese competitions, you will give your salivary glands a real treat when you enjoy Valley Ford cheeses, and taste why Valley Ford has won several United States (2019 & 2023) and World Championship (2023) cheese competitions.

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Local Cheese Classes

Planet Cheese, Napa Valley
Janet Fletcher offers monthly artisan cheese and fine wine classes in Napa plus additional on-site winery locations.

  
The Epicurean Connection, Sonoma
Join award-winning cheesemaker Sheana Davis and wine expert Ben Sessions for unforgettable cheese and butter making classes.

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Once you visit many of the creameries and specialty cheese shops in the west Sonoma County area, you will have a new appreciation of not only cheeses but also how these creameries, dairies, and family farms are such a part of the community, supporting and promoting healthy delicious cheese (and ice cream), while keeping the tradition alive and focused on the family and continuing traditional practices over generations.