Let’s not forget about the wine tasting. What would a cheese tasting be without the perfect wine accompaniment? About twenty artisan wineries, and a dozen breweries will be pouring at the festival. These are the ideal cheese party companions to keep the cheese flowing and keep festival-goers happy.
Surprisingly, the beer pairings last year were refreshing and delightful. Keep an eye on relative newcomers St. Florian’s Brewery and Baeltane Brewing. A few other favorites include Drake’s Brewing, Maverick’s Brewing, Petaluma Hills Brewing Company, North Coast Brewing,, and of course local fave Lagunitas. All produce high quality artisan beers, all of which are CA locally made.
The wine pairings really can make the cheeses pop with flavor (or totally ruin it; sample around to find the best pairings). The wineries are all from Sonoma County, with a few Petaluma Gap wines in the mix. Suggested wine tastings: Keller Estate Winery, (Petaluma Gap wines), Acorn Winery, Navarro Vineyards, Sonoma Portworks, Gloria Ferrer (bubbles) and Black Kite.
One not to be missed event is the Sunday Bubbles Brunch, featuring guest chef John Ash. Ash has long been considered in the top of wine country chefs and instrumental in defining wine country cuisine. This brunch takes you on a cheese journey that will delight all your senses. This wonderful event is followed by the Cheese Tasting Marketplace. Attend both for a full day of deliciousness.
Check out all the wonderful artisan cheesemakers, wineries and breweries that will participate in the Festival on their website. The festival kicks off on March 18th. The weekend will be filled with scrumptious cheeses, chef demonstrations and pairings, educational sessions by knowledgeable, talented chefs, cheese experts, authors, cheesemakers, expert panel discussions and more.