Sue Conley and Vivien Straus will present the “Trail” that promotes artisan cheesemakers and family farmers, connecting cheese lovers to cheesemakers, cheesemaking classes, events, and tours throughout California.
Join us on Tuesday, May 9th, 2022 at 5:30pm at the Petaluma Woman’s Club!
Find Wine & Cheese Ice Cream in Humphry Slocombe shops starting Nov. 4 – Nov. 30
Sonoma County, CA (Oct. 15, 2019) — Celebrate two of NorCal’s favorite flavors when California’s original goat cheese creamery teams up with another California creamery known for its outrageous ice cream flavors and creative collaborations. Sonoma goat cheese producer Laura Chenel and celebrated sparkling wine producer Domaine Carneros join Humphry Slocombe to launch an exclusive new flavor for the San Francisco ice creamery’s November edition of the 2019 Classic Cocktail Series.
Humphry Slocombe Co-Founder Jake Godby brings his unorthodox ice cream alchemy to Wine & Cheese Ice Cream. The flavor is a part of a year-long boozy series showcasing special flavors inspired by classic cocktails. This creation features Laura Chenel Original Chef’s Chevre® ice cream with swirls of Domaine Carneros Pinot Noir sorbet mixed in — a combination that will transport you to wine country. This is the first flavor collaboration with Laura Chenel and the third flavor collaboration with Domaine Carneros, the others being Cherry Fizz in 2018 and Rosé all Day Sorbet in 2017.
Laura Chenel Original Chef’s Chevre is the smooth, creamy go-to goat cheese for chefs nationwide. Handcrafted with fresh goat milk from family-owned farms in the American West and boasting better digestibility than cow’s milk cheese, Laura Chenel Chef’s Chevre has the classic tangy flavor of fresh goat cheese with a spreadable texture perfect for melting into sauces and whipping into cheesecake or — in this case — ice cream.
Iconic, irreverent and fearless when it comes to flavor development, Humphry Slocombe is famous for churning out unusual and creative flavor collaborations with high-profile brands such as Emmy-winning show Queer Eye (Cookies + Graham); Virgin Atlantic (Butter by Moonlight with brown butter and blueberry glaze); San Francisco Brewing Co. (Dynasty Stout); and Chef Melissa King and Whole Foods Market (Mango Mojito). Its signature (and enduringly popular) flavor, Secret Breakfast, features bourbon ice cream with cornflakes.
Laura Chenel CEO Eric Barthome says his company is excited to collaborate with two complementary top-quality Northern California brands doing something fun and unusual with products that symbolize the exceptional character of the Bay Area.
“Wine & Cheese Ice Cream celebrates the Bay Area’s terroir and craft with iconic Laura Chenel goat cheese from Sonoma County and the Carneros[1] based Domaine Carneros Pinot Noir which are sure to be an outstanding combination with Humphry Slocombe’s expertise,” says Barthome.
“With all respect to peanut butter and chocolate, I think wine and cheese is the original ‘two great tastes that taste great together’ and that in the form of ice cream is unique and delicious,” says Jake Godby, co-founder and chef at Humphry Slocombe.
“I am a huge fan of dessert, and working with Humphry Slocombe over the years has been a great excuse to indulge my weakness and share it with our loyal fans,” states Eileen Crane, CEO of Domaine Carneros. “I’m particularly excited about the daring quality of this new flavor. We grow multiple clones of Pinot Noir on all our single vineyards and this promises to be a sheer delight.”
Starting Nov. 4, Wine & Cheese Ice Cream is available by the scoop and hand-packed pints at all Humphry Slocombe scoop shops including the Ferry Building and Mission District shops in San Francisco, The Hive in Oakland and the College Avenue shop in Berkeley. Look for it by the pint at the Domaine Carneros chateau. Available online at GoldBelly.
About Laura Chenel
Laura Chenel introduced a new chapter in American cheese in 1979 when she started making farmstead goat cheese with milk from her own goats using techniques she learned in France.
Today, Laura Chenel still embodies its founding namesake’s pioneering spirit as a leading producer of fresh and aged goat cheeses and goat yogurts crafted with fresh goat’s milk from family-owned farms in California, Oregon, Nevada and Idaho. Located in the heart of Sonoma County, Laura Chenel is the first creamery in the U.S. to be awarded the prestigious LEED Gold certification and its commitment to sustainable practices, including solar energy and recycling, is helping preserve the terroir for generations to come.
For more information, visit us at LauraChenel.com or follow along on Instagram or Facebook @LauraChenel
About Humphry Slocombe
Rebellious and unapologetic, Humphry Slocombe’s ice cream has its own personality and flavors that appeal to adult tastes but is loved by all. Humphry Slocombe has almost 300K followers on social media and was recently named one of “San Francisco’s Most Delicious Instagram Accounts” by 7X7 Magazine. It has also attracted attention from the national press including feature articles in The New York Times Magazine and Bon Appétit and several television appearances, such as the “Top 5 Ice Creams in America” spot by Food Network.
Welcome to the bizarre, delicious, frozen universe of Humphry Slocombe.
For more ice cream updates and news, visit us at www.humphryslocombe.com or follow along on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter @humphryslocombe.
About Domaine Carneros
Founded in 1987, Domaine Carneros reflects the hallmark of its founder, Champagne Taittinger, in creating a vision of terroir-driven sparkling wine while preserving the quality tenets of the traditional method production. Located entirely within the Carneros AVA, between Napa and Sonoma Valleys, the six estate vineyards total approximately 400 acres with 125 acres planted to Chardonnay, 225 acres planted to Pinot Noir, with the remaining acres currently in development. The winery focuses on making ultra-premium Carneros sparkling wines and limited production Pinot Noirs.
Domaine Carneros’ château has become a landmark and symbol of the region. The architecture and interior design were inspired by the 18th century Château de la Marquetterie, the Taittinger family residence in the Champagne region. The winery also places a high value on preserving the environment and has farmed sustainably since the late 1980s. The roof of the pinot noir winery adjacent to the château hosts a solar array that was the largest on any winery in the world when it was installed. Eileen Crane, CEO & Founding Winemaker, has overseen 31 harvests at the château and in 2018 celebrated the 20th anniversary of the release of the winery’s luxury cuvée, Le Rêve Blanc de Blancs.
For more information, visit: www.domainecarneros.com
Instagram: @domainecarneros
Facebook: @domainecarneroswinery
Twitter: @domainecarneros
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MEDIA CONTACTS:
For Laura Chenel: Deborah Kwan
deborah@dkprfood.com or 415.948.4370
For Domaine Carneros: Kimberly Charles
kcharles@charlescomm.com or 415.701.9463
For Humphry Slocombe: Emel Shaikheshaikh@js2pr.com or 323.866.0880 x110
An American original with Swiss roots.
The year is 1886, when Mateo Fiscalini emigrates from Switzerland with his family. First finding work on the railroad, he eventually settles all the way west in Cambria, California.
In 1912, Mateo’s son, John Baptiste Fiscalini, a graduate from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, purchases 160 acres of land in Modesto. Two years later he starts a dairy farm with ten cows.
By 1995, two generations later, the Fiscalini farm has a large herd of Holstein cows. And in 2001, John Fiscalini, the grandson of John Baptiste, who has dreamt of making cheese, is introduced to Mariano Gonzalez, master cheddar-maker from Paraguay. Mariano develops a bandage-wrapped cheddar, sweeping up many awards, and giving British cheeses a run for their money.
Today, Fiscalini Cheese produces award-winning cheeses with the knowledge and spirit of four generations of family behind them. And, best of all, you can visit them.
Stop by their farm and creamery (yes, the cows are right there!) to pick up cheese in their front office. If you feel like making it a bigger cheese journey, Fiscalini can be just one of your stops on the Central Valley Cheese Loop #1.
This month you can find Fiscalini’s San Joaquin Gold on promotion at Whole Foods Market in Northern California. San Joaquin Gold is an Italian-style, semi-hard cheese made from raw cow’s milk. It is named after the beautiful San Joaquin valley where it is made.
Spring is one of the best times to visit a cheesemaker’s farm. You’ll have sunny days and plenty of time to interact with all the hardworking girls who make cheese possible!
On a tour you might see the loafing barns, the milking parlor or the cheese plant. It depends on the farm, so check ahead of time. And you always get tastes of cheese.
Whether cows, goats or sheep, each cheese has its own distinct flavor.
In general, cow’s milk, with larger fat molecules, has an earthy taste. The smaller fat molecules in goat’s milk contribute to a slightly tangier flavor profile. Sheep’s milk has the highest content of fat molecules which leads to a more nutty taste.
Each girl on Achadinha Cheese Co has its own name and personality. You’ll meet William’s Jersey Cow Macy (#77) who has a tendency to walk in front of the cheese plant so she can look at her own reflection in the windows.
At Monkey Flower Ranch, there are over 100 ewes providing milk for Garden Variety Cheese. Each ewe is named after a garden flower and produces milk for about 6 months of the year.
In addition all the dairy goats, Harley Farms also has guardian llamas, Anatolian shepherds and Rosie the Donkey. Rosie will look at you with a pleading, hungry face. But resist feeding her!
At Long Dream Farm, you’ll catch gorgeous heritage cattle roaming around the farm. They live outside year-round!
Cheese is made seasonally at Pennyroyal Farm. Each cheese is named from Boontling, a unique language that originated from Boonville and the surrounding hills at the end of the 19th century.
At Spring Hill Farmstead Goat Cheese, you’ll find La Mancha dairy goats roaming around the farm.
Use our list of cheesemakers to plan out your next visit to a California cheese maker!
As a Bay Area resident, there’s nothing like taking a drive out to the coast. As you head out towards Point Reyes from Petaluma or Marin, slip down a side road to find the only farmstead, organic cow cheesemaker in California, located in the one-block town of Nicasio, population 96.
There you’ll see St. Mary’s, a sweet church built in 1871, Rancho Nicasio, a restaurant with live music (they get some pretty hot bands) and Nicasio Valley Cheese Company, a tiny creamery & retail shop filled with yummy cheese and other goodies.
The Lafranchi family, originally from Maggia, Switzerland, dairy farmers in the U.S. for 3 generations, have the ONLY farmstead, certified-organic cow dairy making cheese in California.
Farmstead means that the cheese is made on the farm with milk from the farmer’s own herd (which is right down the road from the shop).
At their creamery, you can watch them make cheese through the floor to ceiling window (best during the week), sample each and every one of their cheese, and purchase cheese and other picnic items. Tomino and Locano are their latest creations. They’re gooey and absolutely fine. I’m especially in love with the Tomino, a washed-rind (it has a lot of flavor!) and their fresh Foggy Morning. But you’ll find your own favorite, of course.
The shop is open 7 days a week, 10-5. Nicasio Valley Cheese Company is on the Marin County Cheese Trail, just a short jaunt off the Point Reyes Petaluma Road or, coming from the other side: Sir Francis Drake or Lucas Valley Road.
