California's 2nd Annual Artisan Cheese Festival

[GrantK]

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The 2008 festival is almost here! Make your plans to spend a few hours, a day or the whole weekend learning about and enjoying great artisan cheese along with boutique wines, craft beer and fine artisan foods. A few events are sold out already, but there are still tickets for the events highlighted below.

 

* Friday Meet the Artisans Reception & Tasting: Kick off the weekend with a bounty of wonderful cheeses, beer and wine. Welcome some of the "rock star" cheesemakers and cheese experts in an informal gathering.

* Friday Night Petaluma Restaurant Dine-Arounds: Petaluma chefs and restaurants celebrate our festival weekend with specially prepared menus spotlighting cheeses and cheesemakers. Continuous free shuttle service from the Sheraton to stops in downtown Petaluma (7:30 – 10:00 pm) is provided by Pure Luxury Limousine Service.

* Saturday Seminars: There are still choice seats available in these unique sessions. Learn about artisan cheese and how best to enjoy them by tasting and pairing with fine wines and craft beers, taught by the country’s leading cheesemakers and experts. Ticket includes lunch and Tent Activities described below.

* Saturday Festival Tent Activities (10:30 – 4:30): Reduced price - Just $25. Watch cheesemaking demonstrations and recipes created by Chef John Toulze (The Girl and the Fig), Lenny Rice and Brigid Callinan (Fondue). Relax at the Cheese Café with a fabulous cheese tasting plate and beverage.

* Saturday Field Trip: Be the first to see the new artisan buttery on this insider’s tour of St. Anthony’s Farm and Clover Organic Buttery in Petaluma, followed by a private tour, wine tasting and lunch at Keller Estate Winery.

* Sunday Artisan Cheese Marketplace: (11:00 – 4:00) The blockbuster event of the weekend – A $40 ticket includes an insulated cheese tote bag, a festival wine glass and the opportunity to sample and buy cheese and artisan products from more than 25 cheesemakers,10 wineries, 4 breweries and more than 20 other artisan food purveyors. Includes cheesemaking demonstrations and cooking demonstrations by chefs John Ash, Bruce Aidells and Nancy Oakes, and a fabulous cheese tasting plate and beverage at the Cheese Café.

* Monday Field Trip: Enjoy a private, guided tour of historic Marin French Cheese Company and watch and learn how they make internationally awarded Triple Crème Brie and other bloomy rind cheeses. Tour also includes cheese tasting, lunch and a private tour of John Traverna’s Jersey Dairy.

 

 

[Carolyn Tillie]

It is really weird that Sonoma has an almost conflicting Cheese Conference just a few days beforehand. But the Sonoma one seems more designed for the industry versus the Petaluma "festival" for the public.

[syrah girl]

Sounds great, we were in the Sonoma/Santa Rosa/Healdsburg area this past weekend, we had a pretty packed schedule but could have made time for this. We enjoyed wonderful meals at the girl and the fig, General's Daughter, Carneros, lunch at Ledson (picnic) and Cyrus in Healdsburg.