California Artisan Cheese Festival

California’s premier cheese festival, the California Artisan Cheese Festival, now making its 19th appearance, is a gala celebration produced by experts and educators from the world of artisan cheese. This three-day festival will offer attendees a wealth of informative and educational events along with opportunities to meet the Golden State’s cheesemaking community and to enjoy the full range of its products. Cheese lovers of all experience levels are welcome and can expect to be delighted.

This year’s festival starts on Friday, March 21 with Farm and Producer Tours at locations in Marin, Mendocino, and Sonoma counties. On Saturday, March 22, winery and brewery tasting rooms throughout Sonoma County will host seminars, a recital, and workshops. Saturday evening will bring the return of the Cheese Crawl at The Barlow in Sebastopol. The Festival culminates on Sunday, March 23 with the Artisan Cheese Tasting & Marketplace, a grand finale tasting event at the Sonoma County Fairgrounds in Santa Rosa. Tickets are now on sale and selling quickly.

The Festival, which began in March 2007, has grown into three days of cheese tasting, education, and celebration that brings together California’s premier cheesemakers and offers cheese enthusiasts of all experience levels an unparalleled opportunity to learn about, taste and purchase new, limited-production, and rare artisan cheeses. They will also be able to meet Bay Area farmers, chefs, brewers, winemakers, distillers, and artisan food purveyors and to sample their products.