2025 Cheese Trail Map Unveiled: New Cheesemakers, Enhanced Features, and Record Distribution
Santa Rosa, CA — March 2025 — From Crescent City to San Diego, the newly updated 2025 Cheese Trail tourism map showcases 44 artisan cheesemakers inviting visitors to their farms, cheesemaking facilities, and retail shops, offering farm tours, cheesemaking classes, and special events.
Now in its 14th year, the Cheese Trail (CheeseTrail.org) connects cheese enthusiasts with the artisans behind California’s 600+ varieties of cheeses, crafted from cow, goat, sheep, and water buffalo milk, including unique mixed-milk blends. With a record 80,000 printed maps distributed in 2025, this year marks a significant milestone in promoting local cheesemakers.
Journalists: Please contact us to get your copy of the map (both downloadable PDF and printed version).
A Growing Cheese-Centric Community
Beyond the map, the Cheese Trail has evolved into a comprehensive resource, fostering a vibrant cheese-loving community. Recent enhancements include:
- California Cheese Directory – The first and only comprehensive, searchable database of California's diverse cheeses, allowing users to explore by milk type, style, region, and more.
- Business Directory – A Yelp-like guide featuring cheesemakers, cheese shops, wineries, and other destinations along the trail, assisting visitors in planning their cheese-centric journeys.
- B-to-B Section – A dedicated business-to-business platform connecting cheesemakers with retailers, wholesalers, and industry professionals.
- Driving Tour Suggestions & Events Calendar – The Cheese Trail website now offers pre-planned driving routes for cheese lovers, as well as an events calendar featuring wine & cheese pairings, farm tours, cheesemaking classes, and more.
"We’re not just showcasing cheesemakers—we’re building a stronger cheese-loving community," says Cheese Trail founder Vivien Straus. "And soon, we’ll be expanding beyond California, creating even more ways to connect people with incredible artisan cheeses."
New Cheesemakers & Industry Changes
The 2025 Cheese Trail map introduces several new and newly added cheesemakers, each offering unique experiences:
- Mountain Priory – Tehachapi, Kern County
- Cloistered nuns crafting traditional European-style cheeses in the Tehachapi Mountains.
- Carmel Valley Creamery – Carmel Valley, Monterey County
- French-born Sophie crafts small-batch goat and cow's milk cheeses, housed inside her bakery and café.
- Alemar Cheese Company – Sebastopol, Sonoma County (sharing space with Wm. Cofield Cheesemakers)
- Founded by Keith Adams, who also launched Wm. Cofield Cheesemakers, Alemar Cheese Company brings award-winning soft-ripened cheeses to The Barlow in Sebastopol.
- Alexandre Family Farm – Crescent City area, Del Norte & Humboldt Counties
- A pioneering regenerative dairy farm, producing 100% A2 organic milk cheese in far Northern California.
Simultaneously, the cheese landscape has seen changes, with the closures of Bohemian Creamery and the beloved Joe Matos Cheese (both in Sonoma County), Black Market Cheese in Paso Robles, San Luis Obispo County, and Daily Driver in San Francisco's over the past year.
The Cheese Trail’s Impact
For many of California’s ~80 cheesemakers, the Cheese Trail’s printed map and website significantly boost retail sales, with some attributing 20%-80% of their sales to these platforms. An increasing number of cheesemakers are now opening their doors to the public, offering on-site retail shops, tours, and classes.
"The Cheese Trail has really helped folks discover our cheese and butter-making classes," says Sheana Davis, co-owner of The Epicurean Connection in Sonoma, CA. "It’s played a huge role in supporting our entire artisan cheese community."
A Decade of Growing Cheese Tourism
Founded in 2010 by Vivien Straus, inspired by a brainstorming session with Sue Conley (co-founder, Cowgirl Creamery), the Cheese Trail began as a passion project. The first printed map in 2011 sparked a surge in cheese tourism, with one cheesemaker reporting a 25% increase in retail sales within two months.
Today, the Cheese Trail boasts:
- Nearly 1,000,000 printed maps distributed (80,000 in 2025 alone – a record!)
- Over 2 million lifetime page views on CheeseTrail.org
- International media coverage, including features in National Geographic, The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, USA Today, and Condé Nast Traveler
Since 2022, Vivien has collaborated with her brother Michael Straus, leveraging their experience from launching Straus Family Creamery. Together, they have expanded the Cheese Trail, enhancing its impact on agritourism, cheesemakers, and local food economies.
"In the coming months, we’ll be announcing exciting new features and services that will help drive even more visibility and sales for artisan cheesemakers," adds Vivien Straus.
Accessing the 2025 Cheese Trail Map
The 2025 Cheese Trail map is available for free at select locations across California, including cheese shops, farmers’ markets, wineries, and visitor centers, or by download or mail order at CheeseTrail.org/print-map, where all distribution details can be found.
Meet Us at the 2025 Artisan Cheese Festival
The Cheese Trail will host a booth at the Artisan Cheese Festival’s Sunday Marketplace on March 23, 2025, in Santa Rosa, CA. Attendees can pick up a free printed map and explore California’s thriving artisan cheese community.
About the Cheese Trail
Initially established as a nonprofit, the Cheese Trail has transformed into a mission-driven LLC dedicated to promoting artisan cheesemakers, supporting small farms, and fostering a cheese-loving community. Since 2010, it has connected consumers with the artisans behind some of the world’s most celebrated cheeses, bolstering small-scale producers and family farms.
Cheese Trail runs on a lean budget, with key funding provided by our amazing and generous sponsors: California Milk Advisory Board (Real California Cheese); Marin Convention & Visitors Bureau (VisitMarin.com), Sonoma County Ag + Open Space, and American AgCredit; by a one-year marketing grant by the Pacific Coast Coalition DBII, and also our wonderful community of advertisers (please support their businesses)!
For more information, visit: CheeseTrail.org
Press Contact:
Michael Straus
📧 Hello@CheeseTrail.org
📞 (415) 766-1271
