Walter Nicolau of Nicolau Farms started with one goat. That turned into 200. As a descendant of Portuguese immigrants from the Azores who came to America and had a cow dairy, Walter had farming in his belly. He simply reinvented himself and the farm. His one Alpine goat, that turned into a flock, a trip, a tribe, a herd (all names for a group of goats), then inspired the making of some stupendously unique cheeses.
I taste a lot of cheese, but at least twice a year I discover one that blows my mind. Walter's Bianchina does that for me. It's a blend of cow and goat milk, creamy and addictive. Look for it.
Walter, along with his wife Elizabeth, and children, farms on 30 acres, grows hay and makes about a dozen different cheeses. Besides Bianchina, he makes the award-winning Capra Stanislaus, an aged and nutty goat cheese. I'm never one to use descriptives for cheese. I don't really get all that. But I'm using the term "nutty" because that's how Walter calls it. :)
But whether you know what "nutty" means when it comes to cheese or if you're just plain "nutty" yourself, know that if you book ahead, Walter will explain it all to you, show you around the farm and creamery, talk cheese stories, let you taste and also purchase cheese to take home. His farm is just outside the town of Modesto, in the Central Valley, down a remote road. He prefers groups of six or more. After all, he's got to save time to create more nuttiness.
Click here [link coming soon] to find where else you can purchase his cheese. And while you're in Modesto, think about visiting Fiscalini Cheese as well. I'll talk about them next time.
