Holidays in Sonoma – Local Cheese in Sonoma

Besides local beer, I am always looking for local cheeses as well when I travel. When you are in Sonoma, there are several to choose from- in fact, there is a whole Cheese Trail if you are so inclined. With our Thanksgiving weekend visit the timeline was too short to fit such a trip in, but it’s an interesting activity to consider for a future visit for me.

Besides, you will inevitably want some bread, crackers, and cheese as a absorbant snack while you are out on the wine tasting room visits, right? And, while here you want to choose to support artisans here by getting the local cheese in Sonoma right?

The most convenient cheese stop is right in Sonoma Plaza, in fact it’s even right by a free parking lot! That stop is The Sonoma Cheese Factory. Inside you will find a whole two cases worth of various cheese they produce, as well as a large deli that offers other products for a Sonoma picnic, microbrews and local wine for you to take home as well- even BBQ! They offer some tasty sounding sandwiches or you can build your own selecting from among 16 different proteins, half a dozen types of bread, almost a dozen cheeses, and more than 20 extras varying from brown sugar pecan mustard to three types of aioli or bacon, jalapenos, roasted red peppers, even sauerkraut. You can make your sandwich a lunchbox to take with you if you’d like.

In the cheese cases I was mentioning, they have several that you can sample, and when I saw they had a buy 2 get 1 wedge of Sonoma Cheese Factory Cheese (nicknamed SCF) I couldn’t resist over-purchasing even though there were just four of us.

Most of the cheeses at SCF are Jack type cheeses, and vary from the traditional to some of our favorite flavorings that we picked out of Garlic Jack, Habanero Jack, Pesto jack and Mediterranean Jack Cheeses. They also had some aged Cheddars. The three we ended up getting that you see are the square aged cheddar, the white is the Garlic Jack, and the one with all those flecks is the Mediterranean Jack.

While you are here in Sonoma Plaza, I might suggest you grab some bread at nearby (literally a block away) Basque Boulangerie, which has some great sourdough and French breads. If it’s late and Basque is closed, you might also consider visiting the local grocery store Sonoma Market where I also appreciated they had lots of local bread.

Also nearby to Sonoma Plaza is Vella Cheese, Besides Jack cheeses and Cheddar, they also have some Italian style cheeses. And, they only use vegetarian rennet.

Another option is the Epicurean Connection Cafe, Beer and Wine Bar, where you can stock up on goods and also get some tasty versions of cheesy sandwiches (including more than half a dozen grilled cheese sandwiches), tartines, crepes, salads and cheese plates. Some of the spreads you saw in my first photo of the post are from Epicurean, including a triple cream Les Trois Fromage made from cow, goat, and and sheep milk.

My favorite cheese visit though was much more out of the way. This visit the cheese maker Matos Cheese Factory. The name says Factory, but you are going right to the Farm. Matos Cheese Factory only makes one type of cheese, St Jorge Cheese. This cheese’s heritage comes from Sao Jorge, Portugal, the original homeland of the founders Joe and Mary Matos.

It involved driving up towards Sebastopol as we were heading towards Iron Horse Vineyard anyway, and was only a little 10 minute drive from California Route 116 anyway that you would be taking. Be prepared to be driving a bit longer than you might think on an all dirt driveway up to the farm buildings. And, you are literally parking in the space amid their barns, there is no parking lot. As you are driving up to the farm you will even pass by the cows who produced the milk for the cheeses. You can see they are so impressed by your visit and getting this far.

As you walk in you might encounter one of the farm cats like we did, or the farm dog as well. The little shop has a little bell that rings as you open the door so that wherever they may be working they then know you are there. The little shop is really more of a counter that only fits a handful of people, though it also offers a glimpse into the much larger aging room.

They are happy to let you taste two version of their St George, also known as St Jorge Cheese – a younger version and an older version, so you can contrast the more buttery younger version that is like a cross between Havarti and Manchego, and also we tried a more aged one that turns crumbly and is a bit more like Parmesan.

Your whole visit will likely only last 15 minutes or so, but I left with really delicious cheese and the happy feeling of buying directly from the farmers themselves – in fact in my case, directly from the granddaughter of founder Joe Matos himself. They only accept cash or check.

I didn’t have time for this last two cheese locations, but in Petaluma there are also the options of Marin Cheese, which produces a softer cheese in a French style like brie and camembert, and the Petaluma Creamery that offers tries of their Spring  Hill Jersey Cheese, and Petaluma Creamery  cheeses as well as pizza and ice cream.

Have you had cheeses in Sonoma?

This post is part of my series on my trip to Sonoma where I list various recommendations.

• Arriving in Sonoma – kick off with Gloria Ferrar and Viansa right at the entrance on Route 121
• The gorgeous castle of Ledson Winery and Vineyards
• Continuing south on Highway 12 with visits at St. Francis, Chateau St Jean, Kunde Family Estate, Arrowood Vineyards and Winery, Imagery Estate Winery
• Thanksgiving dinner at the girl and the fig
• My favorite winery in Sonoma that I visited, the sparkling of Iron Horse Vineyards
• Visiting breweries in the Sonoma area: Lagunitas, Russian River, and Bear Republic.
• Love cheese? Recommendations for visiting local cheesemakers in Sonoma
• The sister wineries of Cline Cellars and Jacuzzi Family Vineyards