Cheese: Marin & Sonoma Counties, CA

One look at the green hills of Marin and Sonoma Counties, and you begin to see why this place has the most cheesemakers per capita in the West: cows (and sheep and goats) + grass = good cheese. Farms in these lush hills have been supplying dairy products to the San Francisco Bay Area since the Gold Rush days.  Now, San Francisco’s obsession with exceptional local food is giving cheese an even bigger boost. The result? Spectacularly good cheese. Some cheesemakers welcome visitors (usually by appointment), so map out your cheese­tasting trail today!

• Cowgirl Creamery, Point Reyes Station
• Point Reyes Farmstead Cheese Company, Point Reyes Station
• Achadinha Cheese Company, Petaluma
• Bleating Heart, Sebastopol
• Bodega Artisan Cheese, Bodega
• Marin French Cheese Company, Petaluma