Cheese from Farm to Table

On Friday evening Alex, Cass and I were back at The Cheese School of San Francisco for yet another class (#26 for me). Since we have taken so many classes there over the last two and a half years, we have become a bit more selective with our selections. However, we did not want to miss Friday’s class since it was being taught by Wil Edwards, one of CSSF’s instructors who has taught some of our favorite classes in the past:

~ Pecorino Perfection,
~ Alpine Cheese & Alsatian Wine, and
~ Cheese & Charcuterie.

Friday’s class was titled “Cheese from Farm to Table” and was described in the class schedule as follows:

“The magic of artisan cheese is that it's a living food, and never more so than when the complete story of a hand-crafted cheese, from farm to table, is revealed and explained. In this class, Wil Edwards presents a slideshow of some of the fascinating cheese makers he has encountered in Europe and America, brings their stories to life, and recounts the fascinating journey that brings the precious fruit of their labor – literally as we taste them – to our table.”

Alex, Cass and I arrived at the School on Friday just after 6:00 and were
greeted by Wil and Sara Vivenzio, the School’s Director, who poured us glasses
of Thomas Fogarty Riesling to enjoy while we waited for the class to begin. The
class got started about 6:30 and we all took our seats. Sara introduced Wil and
away we went.

Wil is a very engaging and entertaining guy who has worked in various positions at cheese producers, such as Harley Farms in Pescadero, and at cheese agers, such as Luigi Guffanti in Arona on the shores of Lago Maggiore in Piemonte, and most recently as Editor-at-Large of CULTURE magazine. He is also an excellent photographer and a number of his photos are on display on the walls of the School.

Although we had ten cheeses to sample on Friday night, the thrust of Wil’s presentation focused more on the individual stories behind those cheeses and, in particular, on the individuals involved with their production. For the first time since I have been attending classes there, the presentation area was set up with a slide projector, and over the course of the eveing Wil went through about 150 slides he had taken.

The following were the cheeses for the evening in the order presented:

~ “Fresh Chèvre” from Harley Farms in Pescadero, CA (goat);
~ “Crescenza” from Bellwether Farms in Valley Ford (near Petaluma), CA (cow);
~ “Green Hill” from Sweet Grass Dairy in Thomasville, GA (cow);
~ “Piedmont” from Everona Dairy in Rapidan, VA (sheep);
~ Parmigiano-Reggiano primarily from the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy (cow);
~ “Pleasant Ridge Reserve” from Uplands Cheese in Dodgeville, WI (cow);
~ “Devil’s Gulch” from Cowgirl Creamery in Pt. Reyes Station, CA (cow);
~ “Red Hawk”, also from Cowgirl Creamery (cow);
~ Gorgonzola (the younger “Dolce” vs the aged “Piccante”) primarily from the Lombardia region of Italy (cow); and
~ “Original Blue” from Pt. Reyes Farmstead in Pt. Reyes Station (cow).

The cheeses were accompanied with three wines from Thomas Fogarty Winery:

~ 2008 Skyline Riesling (Monterey County);
~ 2008 Santa Cruz Mountains Pinot Noir (Santa Cruz Mountains); and
~ 2001 Frank’s Vineyard – Vintage Port (Amador County).

Our favorite (top 3 for each of us) cheeses of the evening were:

~ “Fresh Chèvre”/Harley Farms – Cass #1; Alex #2
~ “Green Hill”/Sweet Grass Dairy – Cass #2, Alex #2, Mike #1
~ Parmigiano-Reggiano – Mike #2
~ “Pleasant Ridge Reserve”/Uplands Cheese – Cass #3, Alex #1, Mike #3

Here are photos of some of the producers of the American cheeses who Wil introduced to us during our class:

We were not able to identify the specific producers of the two Italian cheeses – the Parmigiano-Reggiano and the Gorgonzola – since each is produced by several individual producers within the qualifying territories. Those are two of the limited number of traditional Italian cheeses which are regulated under the "Denominazione di Origine Protetta” (DOP) classification (aka “Protected Designation of Origin" (PDO) status under EU regulations), and each has its own “consortium” which regulates its production and promotes the cheese:

~ Parmigiano-Reggiano Consortium
~ Gorgonzola Consortium

I would particularly recommend a visit to the Parmigiano-Reggiano Consortium site since it has some excellent videos demonstrating the cheese’s production (including the “fire branding” of the rind with the Consortium’s mark).

When Nancy and I visited Italy in 2006 we toured Caseificio Castelnovese, one of the cooperatives producing Parmigiano-Reggiano just outside of Modena. It was an awesome site to enter their aging area and see aisle upon aisle of approximately 80-pound wheels of Parmigiano-Reggiano stacked from floor to ceiling - and, of course, that is just one of many such producers.

One thing I learned at our class on Friday is that each wheel of Parmigiano-Reggiano is marked with a unique identification number assigned to the producer (the “matricola” -- e.g. 2973 for Castelnovese).

So if your cheese monger has an entire wheel of Parmigiano-Reggiano, you should be able to determine who produced it and where it came from. Here is a page on the Consortium’s website with identification numbers for at least those producers which have websites.

In addition to highlighting the human stories behind the cheeses, Wil also pointed out European roots for several of the American cheeses we sampled - for example, Bellwether Farms’ “Crescenza.”

That cheese has an Italian heritage as indicated by the following passages from Bellwether’s website and a San Francisco Chronicle “Cheese Corner” article by Janet Fletcher, another of our CSSF favorites:

From the Bellwether Farms Site: The recipe for our Crescenza was learned
on a trip to Northern Italy in the spring of 1996. One of our customers, Carlo Middione, recommended we try this cheese. We were introduced to a small cheese maker a little west of Milan who processed about 100 gallons of milk at a time and made a variety of cheeses from each batch. Her creamery was a two person operation located on her family’s dairy. The dairy was large and sold most of its milk to some large customer but she ran the small creamery and cheese shop herself. We spent the day with her and were able to help her make her cheeses. After returning to the US, I began working on the Crescenza. It took about 6 months before I was able to adjust the recipe to account for the higher butterfat and solids of the Jersey cow’s milk we were using. The secret of this cheese is balancing the acid development with moisture level in the correct he cheese to have it ripen properly.

From the Janet Fletcher Article: Bellwether cheesemaker Liam Callahan went to Italy's northern Lombardy region to learn the techniques of making Crescenza, also known there as Stracchino. He uses the same culture and roughly the same method and, according to his mother Cindy, who started the dairy, the results are comparable. Some Italian chefs have told Cindy that they like her Crescenza better, an astonishing admission given Italy's chauvinism in culinary matters. The Callahans use pasteurized Sonoma County Jersey cow milk, which is higher in protein, fat and beta carotene than the milk from most other dairy breeds. In these qualities it resembles the milk from the tired (stracca) cows that have
traipsed up and down Lombardy's mountains in search of pasture. Contrary to what you might think, the extra effort causes cows to give extra-rich milk.

There was some discussion at class of the origin of the name “Crescenza,” although no one seemed to know the answer. From further research it appears it is a derivation of either (a) the Italian verb “crescere” – to grow, or (b) the Latin “carsenza” – another name for focaccia bread – in either case it is an apparent reference to the fact that the cheese apparently expands in size as it ages.

Wil also highlighted the differences that milk makes in the cheese. For example, although both Cowgirl Creamery cheeses are made from cow’s milk, their new “Devil’s Gulch” cheese is made from the milk of Jersey cows from the John Taverna dairy in Sonoma, while their traditional “Red Hawk” is made from the milk of Holstein cows from Straus Creamery in Marin.

As noted earlier, in addition to his other activities Wil is Editor-at-Large of
CULTURE magazine and, at the end of the evening, he showed us a sample of some
of his photos of cheese rinds (including one of the very colorful red pepper covered “Devil’s Gulch” we enjoyed during the class) that both are featured in the latest issue of CULTURE (Spring 2010 – Vol. 2, Issue 2), and will be on display in the near future at Barn Diva in Healdsburg.

It was a most enjoyable class!

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The Perfect Couple – Cheese & Charcuterie

I do not think I have been more excited about a class at the Cheese School of San Francisco than I was for our class last Monday entitled “Cheese & Charcuterie”. First, while I love cheese, I really love charcuterie (although I am partial to the term “salumi”), and in all classes I have been to at the Cheese School (this being #24), this was the first time that “tasty salted pork parts” (to borrow Boccalone’s tag line) was going to be featured. Second, Wil Edwards, one of our favorite instructors, was teaching the class. Finally, Diane and Terry, Cass’ parents, were in town and were joining Alex, Cass and me for the class.

The class was described in the Cheese School’s program as follows:

“Cheese and charcuterie are really about solving the same problem: how to
preserve the flavors and nutritional value of two precious foods, fresh milk and raw meat, that would otherwise have a very short shelf life? Wil Edwards will lead this class in exploring how cheese makers and charcuterie artisans each go about their craft, the explosive and concentrated flavors that can result from the preservation process, and the links between the two – from farm to table.”

Part of my anticipation regarding the class related to speculation about which charcuterie we would be sampling at the class. As reflected in part by the logos at the start of the post, we are incredibly fortunate here in the Bay Area to have a number of establishments producing charcuterie and I have tried many of them including Boccalone (established by Chris Cosentino and Mark Pastore of Incanto), the Fatted Calf (run by the husband and wife team of Taylor Boetticher and Toponia Miller), and Fra’Mani (established by Paul Bertolli when he left Oliveto). I like them all and have my particular favorite products from each of them, including Fra’Mani’s salame rosa and salame gentile, Boccalone’s mortadella and lardo, and the fabulous freshly-roasted porchetta we had enjoyed just a few days earlier on our visit to the Fatted Calf’s store in the Oxbow Market in Napa.

I arrived at the School a bit late and the pre-tasting festivities were already well underway. After greeting Diane, Terry, Alex and Cass and grabbing a glass of Prosecco, I looked around and was overjoyed to see that not only Wil Edwards was in attendance, but also Taylor and Toponia from the Fatted Calf who were hard at work slicing and laying out a fantastic array of their products. It was clear that this would be an evening to remember.

We were soon asked to take our seats and the class got started. What a spectacle awaited us! Not only was there the customary spectrum of cheeses that we had become accustomed to from prior classes (nine in all), but Taylor and Toponia had gone above and beyond the call with an offering of six of the Fatted Calf’s products.

On the cheese front Wil and the Cheese School staff had selected the following for the evening:

1. “Marinated Fetta” from Yarra Valley Dairy – Victoria, Australia – Cow

2. “Humbug Mountain” from River’s Edge Chèvre – Logsden, Oregon – Goat

3. Brillat-Savarin – Burgundy, France – Cow

4. “La Tur” from Caseificio dell'Alta Langa - Piemonte, Italy – Cow, sheep and goat

5. Abbaye de Belloc – Pyrénées, France – Sheep

6. Roncal – Navarre, Spain – Sheep

7. “Bandage Wrapped Cheddar” from Fiscalini Farms – Modesto, California – Cow

8. Brescianella Stagionata – Lombardia, Italy – Cow

9. Grevenbroecker – Flanders, Belgium – Cow

Those were accompanied by the following from the Fatted Calf (descriptions care of the Fatted Calf website), a great mix of Italian, French and Spanish traditions:

1. Bresaola - traditional Italian air-dried beef made with Marin Sun Farm’s grass-fed beef, organic garlic, red wine, spices, sea salt and curing salt.

2. Pâté de Volaille - a robust pâté of game hen, squab, pastured chicken, pork and duck with walnuts and sherry, made from organic pastured chicken, Liberty duck, Wolfe Ranch squab, organic game hen, organic cream, breadcrumbs, walnuts, organic herbs, sherry, sea salt, curing salt and spices.

3. Mortadella - fine textured cooked salami garnished with pistachios, made with pasture raised pork, pistachios, organic garlic, spices, organic evaporated cane juice, dry milk powder, sea salt and curing salt.

4. Saucisson Sec - aromatic French style salame, made with pasture raised pork, spices, brandy, sea salt and curing salt.

5. Finocchiona - spicy salame with whole and ground fennel seed, made with pasture raised pork, organic garlic, spices, sea salt and curing salt.

6. Spanish Style Chorizo – earthy, crumbly, paprika laden dry sausage, made with naturally raised pork, organic garlic, spices, sea salt and curing salt.

The following three wines were poured during the evening:

~ Prosecco di Valdobbiadene from Bellussi Spumanti

~ “Lini910” Lambrusco Rosso from Lini Oreste e Figli

~ “Obispo Gascón Palo Cortado” Sherry from Antonio Barbadillo

Finally, as if we needed anything else, a range of accompaniments rounded out the feast, including Acme bread, fruit, a sugar plum and walnut log from Pastilla Nash, preserved walnuts from Harvest Song and some great fruit pastes.

It was a fun evening. Wil’s approach – with input from Taylor and Toponia along the way (especially regarding the proper pronunciation of Bresaola (bre-SAOH-la)) – was to have us match cheese with charcuterie, a break from past classes where we were focused on cheese and wine pairings. That was a bit beyond me, but it was an interesting experiment and the combination of three fermented products – wine, cheese and charcuterie – was certainly something anyone would enjoy, and enjoyment is always Wil’s focus, which is why we like his classes so much.

At least for Alex, Cass and me, our individual top cheeses of the evening were:

Alex: 1. Brillat-Savarin; 2. Abbaye de Belloc; 3. La Tur

Cass: 1. La Tur; 2. Humbug Mountain; 3. Marinated Fetta

Mike: 1. Abbaye de Belloc; 2. Marinated Fetta; 3. Brillat-Savarin

We did not do a full rating of the charcuterie, but my favorites were: 1. Bresaola (really good); 2. Pâté de Volaille; and 3. Chorizo.

While Fra’Mani does not have a dedicated retail outlet in the Bay Area, both Boccalone in the Ferry Building and Fatted Calf in Napa do and they are well worth visiting and getting to know. Some of my favorite moments on trips to Italy have been when hanging out in salumeria (shops specializing in charcuterie), macelleria (butcher shops) and norcineria (butcher shops specializing in pork products – the name deriving from the town of Norcia in Umbria where pork is king). The following are just a few such shrines – Bruno e Franco Salumeria in Bologna, Dario Cecchini's Macelleria in Panzano in Toscana (where in fact Taylor and Toponia worked for a bit), and the Fratelli Ansuini’s Norchineria in Norcia.

I have to say I am not sure about the extent to which “charcuterie” and “salume” may overlap. In Italy, salumi (the term on which the name of the salumeria establishment is based) is a broad term which includes a variety of cured or otherwise preserved meat (primarily pork) products. Many of those products are classified as salami, a product made from chopped or ground pork and spices, which is encased (for example in an intestine) and then typically cured. However, salumi also includes whole muscles or other cuts of meat which are salted and preserved, including prosciutto, guanciale, lardo and, on the beef front, bresaola. Hence all salami are salumi, but not all salumi are salami. To further complicate matters we have the singular and plural issue:

~ one salame, two salami
~ one salume, two salumi

Of course the French go quite a bit farther than the Italians when it comes to pâté, so perhaps charcuterie is a broader term than salumi. All I know is that it eats good and we are lucky to be able to get it here in the Bay Area.

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Got (Alpine) Cheese? Pairings with Alsatian Wines

After as many classes as we have taken at The Cheese School of San Francisco (now over 20), we have covered many of the best known cheeses and cheese types and have become a bit more selective about the classes we attend. However, in January when we saw the offering of “Alpine Cheese & Alsace Wine” on the School’s calendar of Spring classes, we realized that there were still new pastures to explore. Last Thursday evening Alex, Cass and I were back at the School for that program:

“Yodel-ay-hee-hoo! You’ll want to shout from the mountaintops after
indulging in this deep dive into the best alpine cheeses from Switzerland,
France, Italy and Germany – known for their creamy, nutty, sweet goodness – paired with Alsace wines from along the banks of the Rhine, which originates high in the Alps and flows throughout the valleys in which Alpine cheesemakers have traditionally brought their wheels to market.”

Mark Todd had been scheduled to teach the class, but at the last minute had a conflict, so a team comprised of veteran School instructors Wil Edwards – who had taught our “Pecorino Perfection” class in January and who we had just seen at the Artisan Cheese Festival the previous weekend - and Melissa Schilling, stepped in to fill Mark’s shoes.....

Although I like to think that I have a fairly good sense of geography, I realized when we signed up for the class that I was not sure where Alsace was, over what area the Alps extended, or where they were in relationship to each other. The following map answers all of those questions (the numbers on the map correspond to the ten cheeses listed below and show the general areas where each cheese is produced):

It is always a pleasure to attend a class at the Cheese School at any time of the year. However, on Thursday evening was the first class we had attended in some time where we arrived when it was still light out, and the classroom on Thursday evening with all the cheeses set out and lit by the natural evening light struck me as particularly beautiful:

At the beginning of the program, Sara Vivenzio, the founder and Director of the School, introduced Wil and Melissa.

Then we were off. The following ten cheeses from the general area of the Alps – all cow milk, six Swiss, three French and one Italian - had been selected for the evening:

1. Emmentaler Switzerland – “Höhlengereift” (cave-aged)
2. Le Maréchal – Switzerland
3. Appenzeller – Switzerland
4. Le Chartreux – France
5. Comté – France
6. L’Etivaz Gruyére - Switzerland
7. Bettlemat – Italy
8. Vacherin Fribourgeois – Switzerland
9. Grès des Vosges – France
10. Forsterkase – Switzerland


They were paired with the following five Alsatian wines:

1. NV Cremat d’Alsace - Jean-Philippe et François Becker
2. 2006 Pinot Blanc Reserve – Pierre Sparr
3. 2006 Riesling – Trimbach
4. 2007 Muscat – Allimant Laugner
5. 2005 Pinot Noir – Charles Baur

Here are a couple of maps of the Alsace region showing both the wine producing area and the topography – the Vosges Mountains to the west (with the vineyards on their eastern slopes), and the Rhine river, the border with Germany, to the east.

The wines were all very good and well worth trying again. There is much more to explore on the Alsatian wine front, and there are some helpful online resources here, here and here.

There were a full range of accompaniments presented with our wine and cheese, bread, dried and fresh fruit, chutney, and nuts. In addition, for the first time we were served Hibiscus flowers (on the left in the following picture - who knew they were edible!) – which hade been dried and then reconstituted in white wine. They were quite good - crisp and not overly sweet.

It was an entertaining (and filling!) evening, although given the large number of both cheeses and wines and the amount of information that they wanted to present, it seemed that both Wil and Melissa – who are both high energy people - were in many places rushed to get through the program, and it was frankly not the best coordinated class we have attended at the School. This seems to me to have been one class where less would have been more.

As far as the cheeses go, there were three – the Appenzeller, Comté, L’Etivaz Gruyére – that we had sampled at earlier classes at the School. However, looking back at those earlier notes it was interesting to see that at least my reaction to the cheeses this time was quite different for the Appenzeller (which I liked much better this time) and the L’Etivaz Gruyére (the reverse) – no doubt the pairings are a contributing factor (the earlier class was Sheana Davis’ “Belgian Beer & Cheeses” class!). The one unwavering cheesy beacon was the Comté which we have had a number of times (just last week again at the Cheese Festival and which is perhaps my favorite cheese of all (as long as it is Daphne Zephos selection!). This time, just a step below the Comté on my “Mike Likes” scorecard, were the Appenzeller, Le Maréchal and Vacherin Fribourgeois.

A couple of interesting things to note regarding the cheeses:

~ The name “Emmentaler” is not a protected name, such that much cheese called “Emmentaler” comes from other areas. For the traditional and best Emmentaler, look for “Emmentaler Switzerland” (which is a protected name). Höhlengereift” (cave-aged) indicates a further step up in quality.

~ Traditional fondue is made with a combination of three of the Swiss cheeses: Emmentaler, Appenzeller and Vacherin Fribourgeois.

~ The Grès des Vosges – the only one of the ten cheeses that was from Alsace - is named after a orange sandstone found in the Vosges Mountains given the orange color of its washed rind. The famous Chateau de Haut-Koenigsbourg, which is on the heights above the vineyards on the eastern slopes of the Vosges, is made from the same stone.

~ The Forsterkase is wrapped in fir bark, which you can just make out in the photo of the cheeses.

That was our second to the last class at the School for the current term. We are looking forward to "La Dolce Vita: Italian Cheese & Dessert Wine" on April 7!

Alex and Cass (far right) with Cheese Elves, Abby and Rebecca

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Sheepish Goodness - Pecorino Perfection at the Cheese School

On the walls of the Cheese School of San Francisco hang a number of large, framed, black and white photographs that relate to the cheese making process. One of my favorites has always been one titled “Lactating Ladies”– a group of Sardinian sheep ("Pecora Sarda") taken at a farm named Il Casale just outside Pienza in the Toscana region of Italy, about 50 miles southeast of Florence.

Last night Alex, Cass and I were back at the Cheese School, this time for a program entitled “Pecorino Perfection” given by Wil Edwards. Wil is one of the most recognized figures in the cheese world in Northern California, and also the photographer who took the photos at the Cheese School – and also a most entertaining speaker!

Wil amusing Alex and Cass with an explanation of proper sheep milking grip

Since sheep milk cheese is my favorite of all cheeses, I was particularly looking forward to last night’s program (“pecora” means “a sheep” in Italian, and “pecorino” is the generic word for cheeses made with sheep milk):

“Sheep, or ‘pecore’ in Italian, produce remarkably rich milk higher in fat content than other milk types. That alone makes cheese made from precious sheep milk incredibly easy to love. But in the hands of Italian cheesemakers and their colorful history, sheep milk cheeses can be truly palette pampering. In this class we’ll taste luscious, creamy sheep’s milk selections from all around Italy, covering the gamut from classic Dolomite mountain cheeses, to aged Tuscan gems, to Sicilian and Sardinian rarities.”

Wil is now working with the famous family-owned (now in the 5th generation) Italian cheese-aging firm (“affinatore” – the Italian version of the French “affineur”) named Guffanti to help promote the many types of cheeses produced throughout Italy that Guffanti coaxes to a perfect state of ripeness in their caves in Northern Italy (they have an excellent website with a great deal of information about their cheeses). The firm was founded in 1876 by Luigi Guffanti (the company’s formal name is Luigi Guffanti 1876 s.r.l.) and is headquartered is in the Piemontese city of Arona in the province of Novara on the shores of Lake Maggiore.

We enjoyed the following 10 cheeses from Guffanti accompanied by a 2005 Gavi Principessa Perlant by Banfi, a slightly sparkling white wine from the Piemonte (100% Cortese), and a 2006 Valpolicella Bonacosta by Masi, a young red from the Veneto (70% Corvina, 25% Rondinella, 5% Molinara):

1. Ricotta Moliterna – Sardegna

2. Ricotta Salata [“salted”] di Pecora “Sicilia” - Sicilia

3. Pecorino Monti Sibillini Latte Crudo [“raw milk”] – Abruzzo

4. Pecorino del Monti della Laga Stagionato [“aged”] – Le Marche

5. Pecorino di Pienza Stagionato – Toscana

6. Pecorino Foglie Noci [“walnut leaves”] – Toscana

7. Pecora Siciliano Stagionato Pepato in Crosta [“with a pepper crust”] – Sicilia

8. Piacentinu [from the Italian “piacere” = “to be pleasing”] di Enna – Sicilia

9. Ricotta Affumicata [“smoked”] Calabra – Calabria

10. Erborinato [“with herbs”] di Pecora – Tretino-Alto Adige

We tasted a number of the in pairs to contrast their flavors cheeses (1 and 2 (both ricottas), 3 and 4 (produced 80 miles apart in an area of mountainous national parks - Parco Nazionale dei Monti Sibillini and Parco Nazionale del Gran Sasso e Monti della Laga), and 5 and 6 (both from the Pienza area of Toscana)). The cheeses were all interesting, and, as you can see from the map, were produced all over Italy.

Alex, Cass and I agreed that our favorites of the evening were the Pecorino Monti Sibillini Latte Crudo from the Sibillini Mountains and the Pecorino di Pienza Stagionato (perhaps produced by the very sheep in the above photo!). Nancy and I had visited Pienza on a trip to Italy in 2006. It is a beautiful hilltop town - see photo below - in the Val d'Orcia between the famous wine towns of Montalcino (Brunello) and Montepulciano (Vino Nobile).

Among the other cheeses of the evening two others stood out - the Piacentinu di Enna for its use of saffron (which helps account for its more vivid yellow color) and the Ricotta Affumicata Calabra for its intense smoky flavor. The Erborinato di Pecora is a blue cheese and quite good, although the one we sampled last night was a bit too salty for my taste.

Wil also talked a bit about the annual cheese festival (Cheese, La Forme del Latte) held every September in the city of Bra in the Piemonte organized by Slow Food. Wil will be leading a small group to the Festival this September (hmmm, what’s on my calendar for September??). Also on the cheese program front, Lynne Devereux – another instructor at the Cheese School – was in the audience last night and made some comments about the 3rd annual Artisan Cheese Festival which will be held in Petaluma in March and which Lynn is helping to organize. We already have signed up!

Wil thanking Ariel Clute and Arielle Segal of the Cheese School for their help during the evening

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