Join OLLI to indulge in the time-honored culinary excellence and dairy farming legacy of the Sonoma Cheese Trail! Experience the stories and vistas that make this region so memorable. We’ll savor local specialties and learn about the individual passions of farming families who make some of our state’s most celebrated cheese.
After departing from Davis via luxury motor coach, we’ll visit Achadinha Family Creamery just outside Petaluma. Jim Pacheco is a career dairyman and shepherds a family dairy business that began three generations ago in Achadinha, on the Azorean island of Sao Miguel. He and his wife Donna began producing cheese based on their Azorean Portuguese traditions in 2000 and have passed their passion on to their children who help run the farm.
The Pacheco’s take great pride in their Guernsey milk cows, from #44, known as “The Queen” (the first in the milking barn each morning and ‘leader’ of the herd) to #77, “Macy” who likes to check out her reflection daily in the windows of the cheese plant. Their Nubian goat herd is equally precious to the ranch and treasured for their milk production.
We will sample six cow’s milk cheeses during our tour at Achadinha Creamery where we’ll visit the farmhouse, the milking parlor, the loafing barns and the cheese production plant.
Next, we’ll enjoy a picturesque drive to the village of Nicasio for lunch at Rancho Nicasio, a historic roadhouse still situated in the town square. Established in 1941, Rancho Nicasio is a lively eatery as well as the local post office, general store and home to a volunteer fire department! Our group will be seated outdoors on the patio for a plated lunch to enjoy the fresh air and tranquil village charm of this historic stop on the Cheese Trail.
Our last stop will include a tour and tasting at Nicasio Valley Cheese Company. Their handcrafted organic farmstead artisan creamery celebrates traditional recipes from the alpine village of their ancestral Lafranchi family homeland in Maggia, Switzerland.
Spanning generations, Fredolino Lafranchi established a dairy here in 1919 and the family have been ranching on the same land ever since. The Nicasio Valley Cheese Company was founded in 2010 when Swiss master cheesemaker Maurizio Lorenzetti mentored the Lafranchis in the art of Valle Maggia cheesemaking. Their commitment to producing organic, farmstead cheese extends to ensuring their ancestral cheese culturing practices would be replicated for generations to come.
Our group will tour their cheese making facility and taste six different cheeses during our visit before our restful return ride to Davis.
Participants should prepare for extensive walking throughout the day, and standing for limited periods of discussion. We are visiting working farms – not the best setting to wear fancy footwear. Wear sturdy athletic shoes and layered clothing suitable for the setting and changing temperatures. Lunch order information (included in price) and further details for bus pickup and the day will be provided one week in advance. Please contact olli@ucdavis.edu with accessibility concerns before registering.