California Festival Celebrates Artisan Cheesemaking In America

California's Artisan Cheese Festival will take place March 7-10, 2008, hosted by the Sheraton Sonoma County-Petaluma. In its second year, the four-day festival will celebrate American artisan cheesemakers and their craft, highlighting those who hail from California and the Pacific Northwest. A series of educational seminars and tastings with award-winning cheesemakers and internationally renowned experts will introduce consumers to all aspects of cheese tasting, buying, serving, and pairing. Festival organizers hope this unique opportunity to explore a comprehensive offering of artisan cheeses will demystify these cheeses for consumers.

According to the American Cheese Society, artisan cheese is cheese that is produced in small batches, with particular attention paid to the tradition of the cheesemaker's art, and thus uses as little mechanization as possible. The number of American artisan cheesemakers has increased exponentially in recent years. In his Atlas of American Cheese (White River Junction, Chelsea Green: 2006), Jeffrey Roberts identifies over 400 artisan cheese producers across America, about half of whom did not exist in 2000.
Petaluma is located at the crossroads of Marin, Sonoma, and Napa Counties, one of the prime centers of American artisan cheesemaking. Dubbed "A New Normandy North of the Golden Gate" by the New York Times, the region is home to many of California's most-celebrated cheesemakers, including Cowgirl Creamery, Redwood Hill, Bellwether Farms, and Point Reyes Farmstead Cheese Company. California's Artisan Cheese Festival coincides with many barrel-tasting events in Sonoma County during which visitors can meet winemakers and taste wines straight from the barrel, with the option of purchasing wines not yet available to the general public.

Highlights of the festival's expanded program this year include the following:

Friday, March 7
A welcome Meet the Artisans Reception and Tasting followed by a Dine-Around at Petaluma and Sonoma restaurants offering specially designed menus featuring American artisan cheeses.

Saturday, March 8
Keynote speaker Michael Krasny, the host of KQED's Forum, kicks off a day of Educational Tastings and Seminars led by cheese experts, including award-winning authors Laura Werlin and Janet Fletcher, and cheesemakers, including Sue Conley and Peggy Smith (Cowgirl Creamery), Liam Callahan (Bellwether Farms), and Mary Keehn (Cypress Grove Chevre).

An Artisan Gala Dinner emceed by Joey Altman of KRON-TV's Bay Caf� and prepared by celebrity chefs John Ash (chef, author, educator, and radio-show host), Tyler Florence (chef and host on the Food Network), Elizabeth Falkner (Citizen Cake, San Francisco), and Jesse Llapitan (The Palace Hotel, San Francisco). Each of the five courses will feature an artisan cheese and be paired with a boutique wine from California, Oregon, or Washington.

Sunday, March 9
A bustling all-day Artisan Cheese Marketplace, where attendees will have the opportunity to sample and purchase artisan products directly from the participating cheesemakers and artisan food purveyors, vintners, and brewers from California and the Pacific Northwest.

Monday, March 10
Behind-the-scenes Field Trips to Artisan Cheesemakers in California Cheese Country. Customized small group tours will visit creameries and watch cheese being made.

Ten percent of all festival ticket sales will be donated to five nonprofit beneficiaries that support the artisan cheesemaking community and its sustainability, including the Sonoma Land Trust, Marin Agricultural Land Trust, California Artisan Cheese Guild, Petaluma Future Farmers of America, and Redwood Empire Food Bank. The Donald and Maureen Green Foundation, a charitable foundation that supports nonprofits in th