SEPT. 30, 2019 • WINE SPECTATOR 47PA
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by the former cheesemaker at Tomales Farmstead.
“I modeled this on the Cheese Board in Berkeley,” says Mueller,
referencing the venerable shop across the street from Chez Panisse.
He tried making cheese, even going to Vermont to study how, but
ultimately chose to sell it instead. He knows his cheeses, is quick
with a taste, and is handy with a crepe pan.
Restaurants in this region take advantage of local farms that sup-
ply meat, poultry and vegetables that are second to none. The Girl
& the Fig, a few blocks from Vella on the Sonoma town square, has
been plying those waters successfully for more than two decades and
has a cheese bar with a rotating selection of California cheeses. John
Ash & Co., which pioneered California cuisine in 1980, offers a
cheese board comprising exclusively California artisanal cheeses,
as well as a Wine Spectator Award of Excellence–winning wine list.
If you’re in Petaluma on a Thursday, Friday or Saturday, it’s hard
to resist Twisted 2, where chef Julie Warner and her wine retailer
husband, Dick, serve locally sourced multicourse dinners in a cel-
larlike space enhanced by live music. The prix fixe menu is simple
and direct, offering choices for each course. Dick’s business pays
dividends in the wine-matching lineup.(Look for listings online.) Smaller
producers sell their cheese only at
these markets, among them the dis-
tinctive Portuguese São Miguel
Island–style offerings from Achad-
inha, close to Petaluma.
Looking to survive repeated
downturns in the price of fluid milk,
Donna Pacheco and her husband,
Jim, first tried growing a few acres of
grapes on their 230-acre Achadinha
farm. They did better with goat’s and
cow’s cheese, made in a compact
creamery. The semifirm Broncha has
butterscotch overtones to earthy fla-
vors. The smooth-textured soft-rind
goat’s cheese Capricious is another
winner. Tours are available Satur-
days by appointment.
At Joe Matos Cheese Factory,
outside Sebastopol, some 30 cows loll behind a vineyard. In the
rambling structure housing the creamery and shop, you can taste
the lone cheese, St. Jorge, available at three stages. The fine regu-
lar version ages three months; at nine months, Picante gains layers
of flavors; and at 16 months, Patrão takes on the crystal-flecked
structure and depth of a Parmigiano-Reggiano. A bulletin board
overflows with business cards from restaurants that serve Matos’
cheese, but many of the company’s wheels are destined for Portu-
guese communities in Rhode Island.
In Sebastopol proper, Wm. Cofield Cheesemakers welcomes
weekend drop-ins to taste serious British-style cheeses at its cream-
ery in the Barlow, an open-air collection of stores, restaurants, wine
tasting rooms and artisans adjacent to downtown.
A short drive west from Sebastopol, Freestone Artisan Cheese
offers a chance to compare trendy local cheeses with some of the
world’s best. Omar Mueller, a former wine buyer for a grocery chain,
opened this charming bungalow in 2013 to purvey local food prod-
ucts, especially artisanal cheeses. Before saying hello, Omar is likely
to cut you a sliver of Estero Gold Reserve from Valley Ford Cream-
ery, or a bite of Companion, a soft-rind cheese from Moonside madeWhere to Visit
(^6) Achadinha Cheese Co.
750 Chileno Valley Road,
Petaluma Telephone (707) 763-
1025 Website achadinhacheese.com
(^7) Freestone Artisan
Cheese
380 Bohemian Highway,
Freestone Telephone (707) 874-
1030 Website freestoneartisan.com
(^8) Joe Matos Cheese
Factory
3669 Llano Road, Santa Rosa
Telephone (707) 584-5283
Website sonomacounty.com/
culinary/joe-matos-cheese-factory
(^9) Vella Cheese Company
315 Second St. East, Sonoma
Telephone (800) 848-0505
Website vellacheese.com
(^10) Wm. Cofield
Cheesemakers
The Barlow, 6780 McKinley St. Ste.
110, Sebastopol Telephone (707) 755-
0130 Website wmcofieldcheese.com
Where to Eat
The Girl & The Fig
Sonoma Hotel, 110 W. Spain St.,
Sonoma Telephone (707) 938-
3634 Website thegirlandthefig.com
John Ash & Co.
Vintners Inn, 4330 Barnes Road,
Santa Rosa Telephone (707) 527-
7687 Website vintnersinn.com
Award of Excellence
Twisted 2
29 F Petaluma Blvd. N.,
Petaluma Telephone (707) 789-
9914 Website twisted2.net
Where to Stay
Metro Hotel & Cafe
508 Petaluma Blvd. S.,
Petaluma Telephone (707)
773-4900 Website
metrolodging.com Rooms 15
Sheraton Petaluma
745 Baywood Drive, Petaluma
Telephone (707) 283-2888 Website
marriott.com/hotels Rooms 183
Vintners Inn
4330 Barnes Road, Santa Rosa
Telephone (707) 527-7687 Website
vintnersinn.com Rooms 44
SONOMA HOT SPOTS
The Girl & the Fig