March will be here before we know it, bringing the 18th Annual California Artisan Cheese Festival. Being held March 22–24, 2024, the event will bring together cheesemakers, farmers, educators, chefs, cheesemongers, and so many more for three days of cheese tasting, education, and celebration across Sonoma County.
“Saturday’s limited seating seminars with industry pros like Executive Chef Tracey Shepos Cenami, Laura Werlin, and Janet Fletcher will feature a wide selection of California's best cheesemakers and will offer people of all cheese knowledge levels a rare opportunity to learn,” said Sarah Simms, California Artisan Cheese President and Co-Founder of Lady & Larder. “The seminars will feature cheese tastings paired with options such as beer, wine, or vermouth-inspired aperitifs made with local California citrus and wine.”
While Friday’s farm tours are almost all sold out, there are still tickets for the weekend’s activities, including Saturday’s dynamic educational Seminars and Pairing Demos that Simms detailed, the Cheese Crawl at The Barlow in Sebastopol, and Sunday’s grand finale Artisan Cheese Tasting & Marketplace at the Sonoma County Fairgrounds in Santa Rosa, a release explained.
“This year, we are excited to introduce the Aperitif & Cheese Pairing workshop with Mommenpop and Lady & Larder, where attendees will have the opportunity to taste tinned fish from Siesta Co and learn how to make the iconic Spanish tapa known as a Gilda,” added Simms. “Participants will enjoy a full portfolio tasting of Mommenpop products and a Spritz-making lesson with the cheese tasting. To round out our program of Saturday seminars, we’ll have two sessions, morning and afternoon, of last year’s popular cheese and charcuterie board building workshop taught by Alyssa Gilbert of Graze + Gather, a local favorite cheese shop in Oakland!”
Sunday’s grand finale, Artisan Cheese Tasting & Marketplace, will feature over 100 cheese, food, and beverage producers sampling and selling their products. Some highlights include a newcomer to the Festival, Oakdale Cheese, with its Dutch-style cheeses; Marin French Cheese Co. will debut its new Petite Garlic and Pepper soft-ripened cheese; and Central Coast Creamery returns for the first time since the pandemic.
For more info on the three-day event, click here.
Get your tickets now so you can enjoy this exciting event!
