Say Cheese! The 17th California Artisan Cheese Festival is March 24-26— new events and locales
Love cheese? It’s front and center at the 17th California Artisan Cheese Festival (CACF), March 24-26, taking place all around rural Sonoma County and beyond. After pared-down pandemic versions, this year marks the return of the full experience—farm and producer tours, seminars and pairing demos, marketplace, and a new event on Saturday evening, the cheese crawl—all geared towards tasting and celebrating cheese and having some fun after the storms. From new small-batch and very rare artisan cheeses to those that have already garnered international recognition, the spotlight is on the vibrant hues, bold aromas, and surprising new flavors of cheese. Sunday’s marketplace will include the debuts of a few new cheeses and will introduce people to a myriad of new gourmet products that pair with cheese. All tickets are sold individually on the website: https://www.artisancheesefestival.com/
This year’s events have been curated by executive director, Judy Groverman Walker, who’s been running the event for the past 11 years and has strong roots in Sonoma County agriculture. “The goal is to bring all these great California cheeses together, to help promote artisan cheese making, and to keep our diaries alive,” said Groverman. CACF is a 501c3 non-profit and proceeds support the California Artisan Cheese Guild which provides training for cheesemakers and helps them through the hurdles of establishing their businesses. People who attend the festival come from all over the country. Groverman estimates that only about 35 percent are from the Bay Area. “Now that we’re back to three days, we hope to see a lot of people back who haven’t traveled due to Covid 19.” If you haven’t been to the festival before, Groverman recommends Sunday’s Marketplace. “I really enjoy pulling all these cheeses together and the great products that go with cheeses and being able to showcase them all under one roof. ”
Friday, March 24, Farm and Producer Tours:
This year, five full-day themed tours are offered, including one out of the area to Anderson Valley. Each tour has three stops—local farms, creameries and artisan purveyors. Besides having fun and tasting, the emphasis is getting a personal glimpse into the vital role of the farmers and producers in our rich Northern California farming area, hearing their stories first hand and learning techniques of artisan cheese making.
Saturday, March 25: Seminars and Pairing Demos
The seminars, a 75 minute blast of education, tastings and ideas for inspired pairings, have traditionally been held at a hotel, most recently Santa Rosa’s historic Flamingo Hotel. This year, there are four seminars and they are at wineries, all with gorgeous settings. “This is not cheese school; it’s a lot of fun,” says Groverman, “it’s the wine country experience people are looking for—tasting cheeses and drinking wines in the country.” This years offerings—“Cheese and Wine Pairing” at Kendall Jackson Wine Center with KJ Chef and cheese expert, Tracey Shepos Cenami ; “Cheese and Wine Pairing” Bricoleur Vineyards with cheese expert Laura Werlin; “Cheese + Charcuterie Cone Building Workshop”at Baletto Vineyards with Alyssa Gilbert, Owner of Graze + Gather Co; and “Cheese and Chocolate” at the new Sugarloaf Wine Company with chocolatiers Jeff and Susan Mall of VOLO Chocolates. New: each seminar features an add-on experience at the winery, such as wine tastings, a gourmet lunch with wine pairings, or wine club privileges.
Saturday afternoon, 4 to 6pm: Cheese Crawl
In this new event, participants receive a treasure map and set off across Sebastopol’s Barlow complex in search of cheese booty. Each designated stop has a cheesemaker offering samples of their precious handcrafted cheeses plus a featured snack or beverage from one of festival’s non-cheese creators, and an additional special. Crawlers who check in at all 11 stops along the two hour crawl will be entered to win even more treasure—2 tickets to the 2024 Sunday Artisan Cheese Tasting & Marketplace.
Sunday, March 25: Artisan Cheese Tasting & Marketplace
The heart of the festival remains Sunday’s Artisan Cheese Tasting & Marketplace at Sonoma County Fairgrounds’ Grace Pavilion which always concludes the weekend of cheese, offering a chance to taste and buy the cheeses presented in the various events and all sorts of fabulous accompaniments, including wine, craft beers, cider, spirits. “I really enjoy being able to bring this together under one roof,” said Groverman, who added that the vibe is special, like a big friendly farmer’s market. Upon entry you’re given an insulated tote bag and a wine glass and you’ll meet and talk with the cheesemakers themselves, most of whom work behind the table selling their cheeses. This year, over 15 cheesemakers are participating, offering dozens of award-winning cheeses and new small batch offerings for tasting and sale, along with all sorts of accompaniments and artisan products from Argentinian alfajores to wood cutting boards. This year’s participants are listed here.
Cheese debuts: Stuyt Dairy Farmstead Cheese Company, of Escalon, is bringing “Tuscano,” their new wine-infused Italian Style cheese, from cow’s milk, which is marbled throughout with a red wine blend. Tomales Farmstead Cheese Company will be debuting “Out Like a Lamb,” it’s fresh, seasonal all sheep’s milk cheese. Cypress Grove will be sampling its new Meyer Lemon and Honey goat cheese, released in the summer of 2022. After a several year absence, Occidental-based Bohemian Creamery is back for the first time with their fabulous small batch cheeses.
Having recognized how wonderfully their two products pair, Bohemain Creamery and Big Spoon Sauce Company, both from Occidental, will have tables beside each other at the Marketplace and sample some bites incorporating both their products. Big Spoon Sauce Company, a first time participant, is the creator of a line of spicy sauces which are vegan, gluten and MSG-free and pair especially well with cheese.
“Farm to table, spoon to face” is Big Spoon Sauce Company’s catchy motto. A first time participant, the company of two, Lani Chan and Nate Bender, produces a line of crunchy, savory go-with-everything olive-oil based sauces that have a cult following among those in the know. “Dragon’s Booty” is a chile crisp meant to light a fire under your booty —it’s loaded with habanero peppers for a base heat, then topped with a touch of Carolina Reapers and Chili de Arbol for a more complex burn that evolves over time, while guajillos add earthiness and depth. Apples and orange zest counter the dragon’s burn with a soft citrus and floral sweetness. This “super hot” sauce screams for grilled cheese and is the perfect accoutrement for any cheese or charcuterie board. If mild to medium heat is more your speed, “Chile Crisp,” Big Spoon’s flagship sauce, is a crunchy, salty, sweet, smoky, tingly, all-purpose burst of flavor with a mild tingling heat from Sichuan peppercorns that pairs exceptionally with cheese. In addition to peanuts and roasted garlic, they layer in smoky and sweet flavors with four varieties of dried ground chiles. Photo: Nathan Bender
New wineries and breweries: Adobe Road Winery, Anderson Valley Brewing Co, Bricoleur Vineyards, Golden State Cider, and Goldeneye Winery.
Sweet tooth?
Details:
California’s 17th Artisan Cheese Festival is March 24-26, 2023 at various locations throughout cheese country. Tickets for all festival events are sold individually online and are capped, so buy early to lock in your experience. Do not show up at an event without a ticket, with the exception of Sunday’s Artisan Cheese Tasting and Marketplace where tickets ($65) can be purchased at the door. Fifty early entry (11 a.m. vs. noon) tickets have been released and are available online now for no additional charge. For more information and to purchase tickets, visit: https://www.artisancheesefestival.com/
Saturday night’s hot ticket — Arts d’Light, Petaluma Arts Center’s annual party
320 art lovers turned out Saturday’s night at the Petaluma Arts Center for “Arts d’Light,” the Petaluma Arts Council’s inaugural celebration of local creative artists. Vicky Kumpfer, PAC executive director, called the event a “huge success” and hopes to turn it into an annual event.
Light was the operative theme both inside and outside the arts center. For the past week, in anticipation of the party, the council’s exterior has been illuminated on the Lakeville Highway side with a dazzling computerized light installation created by Petaluma lighting wizard Chad Dunbar. Inside the center, the galleries which are currently
The Railway’s Depot’s main gallery space was tranformed into a buffet and wine tasting area for about 300 Petaluman’s who turned out to support the Petaluma Arts Council
exhibiting stone sculptures by Edwin Hamilton and drawings by Chester Arnold, were adorned with 89 additional artworks created and donated by local artists especially for an “Objects d’Light” silent auction to benefit the Arts Council.
Also screening on the main gallery’s back wall was an urban scape created especially for the event by Nicholas van Kridjt which consisted of film footage shot entirely from his car window on a drive from San
The art works of Edwin Hamilton and Chester Arnold currently on exhibit took on “Arts d’Light’s” thematic lighting as the gallery was transformed into a dramatically glowing dance floor later in the evening.
Francisco to the Petaluma Arts Center. Van Kridjt’s luminous oak tree, projected on another gallery wall, provided the perfect backdrop for many of the evening’s photographs.
In addition to fine art, Petaluma catering wizard Tracy Gentry and her team of volunteers coordinated a virtual feast of local gourmet foods, desserts and premium wines donated by over 60 local businesses, galleries and wineries. Some of the more well-known sponsors included Carter’s Classic Catering, Jerome’s Bar-B-Que, Lala’s Creamery, Viva Cocolat, Petaluma Coffee and Tea and numerous local wineries including Adobe Road Winery, Azari Vineyards, Hanzell Vineyards, Jacuzzi Family Vineyards, Imagery Winery, Kendall-Jackson Winery, Pflender Vineyards, Singer Cellars, Sonoma Valley Portworks and Petaluma’s Lagunitas Brewing Company.
Michael Garlington’s fabulous photo installation “In the Eye of Michael Garlington” allowed to look into Garlinton’s third eye and see a reflection of their own eye…the crowd favorite
Local musicians serenaded guests. Los Gu’achis, featuring Steve Della Maggiori, Barbara Arhon and Argus Courier editor Chris Samson played the music of Mexico as the party began. Bruce Kurnow strolled the galleries playing blues/roots tunes on his harmonica. Later in the evening, jazz pianist Bob Johns played keyboard with Steve Della Maggiori on bass as people enjoyed port, coffee, a delectible self-serve belgian chocolate fondue fountain and homemade ice cream.
While people partied indoors, Clifford Hill a member of the Santa Rosa kinetic artist collective Krank, Boom, Clank offered complimentary rides around Petaluma on his amazing
Clifford Hill offered guests rides around town on his whimsical kinetic Hennepin Crawler. Image by Scott Hess.
Hennepin Crawler to those nimble and sober enough to climb aboard the foot-powered contraption. While most of the partygoers adorned themselves glowing baubles, Theresa Hughes, Clifford’s wife and owner of Atelier Therese in Santa Rosa, was enchanting in a period costume she created that was clearly meant to recall the pre-electrical era.
The evening’s silent auction was a huge success with many pepole participating. The highest bid offered was for Sean Paul Lorentz’s sculpture “Betty’s Ornament” which raised $555 for the Petaluma Arts Council.
After the auction winners were announced, DJ LaShonda ushered in the Afterglow Dance Party and the lights were turned down for dancing. “We are so proud that so many people came out to the celebration and are expressing what an asset the center is to our commnity,” said Vicky Kumpfer. “Light is essential and a universal and we couldn’t be more d’lighted with the turnout.”
Artist Mark Grieve’s “The Light that Came Out of the Closet,” a marijuana growing set-up that points to the hypocrisy of the liberal pot culture and reflects an important environmental issue—indoor cannabis production leaves a very nasty carbon footprint.
David Nunes-Childs and his mother Petlauma artist Cecilia Nunes whose paintings are currently at the Tea Room Cafe
Petaluma artist Alison Marks, Arts Council co-founder and current board member
Karen Petersen, President PAC Board of Directors, and Petaluma photographer Scott Hess who contributed photos to the Silent Art Auction
Vicky Kumpfer, Executive Director, Petaluma Arts Council, beaming in a black lace dress with its own voltage
- Gina Benedetti-Petnik with a third eyeful after peeping into Michael Garlington’s installation and seeing her own eye.
Petaluma Arts Council’s Jonna Ramey took a break from shooting party pics to say she was “d’ lighted with d’ turnout”
Designer Theresa Hughes of Atelier Therese in Santa Rosa was resplendent in period costume
Nick Van Kridjt, Tammara Norman and Edwin Hamilton. Edwin’s stone works are on display at the Petaluma Arts Council through July 4, 2010.
Persian film buffs and winemakers Pari and Kamal Azari of Azari Vineyards served a d’lightful Shiraz
(foreground) Petaluma’s Barry Singer of Barry Singer Gallery and Singer Cellars proudly poured his vin Franc and other specialties. (background) Winemaker Michael NcNeill of Hanzell Vineyards in Sonoma offered strong competition.
Karen Petersen, ARThound (Geneva Anderson), Cecelia Nunes and David Nunes-Childs against Nicholas Van Kridjt’s stunning Oak Tree
- Mario Bosanac of Lala’s Creamery serving cones that many partiers dipped in Viva Cocolat’s streaming chocolate fondue
Will Mendoza, owner of Lala’s Creamery of Petaluma, could barely keep up with the demand for his homemade cones
Jazz Pianist Bob Johns and bass Steve Della Maggiori played as guests enjoyed fondue and ice cream
ARThound 