The 14th edition of the Cheese Trail map of California was released this month, the map’s publisher said.
The 2025 map features over 44 artisan cheesemakers across the state, including 23 in the Bay Area, most of which offer tours, tastings and retail sales.
For over a decade, the Cheese Trail map has guided foodies through the backroads and city streets of the Bay Area in search of handcrafted, locally made cheese.
In 2010, Vivien Straus, whose family owns and operates Straus Family Creamery in Petaluma and its ranch in Tomales Bay, created the Cheese Trail map to help the culinarily curious learn more about the local creameries and dairies in the Bay Area. Today, Straus runs the project with her brother, Michael.
The 2025 Cheese Trail map features four new cheesemakers, including Carmel Valley Creamery in Carmel Valley and Alemar Cheese Company in Sebastopol.
Over 600 cheeses are crafted by the many cheesemakers on the map, the Cheese Trail said, including cow, goat, sheep and water buffalo milk cheeses.
One of those cheesemakers is Sheana Davis, co-owner of The Epicurean Connection in Sonoma. Davis took home the first-place prize at the 2010 American Cheese Conference and Competition for triple-cream cheese Delice de la Vallee. In addition to cheesemaking, she offers culinary classes, teaching people how craft their own dairy centric delights.
“The Cheese Trail has really helped folks discover our cheese and butter-making classes,” Davis said, “It’s played a huge role in supporting our entire artisan cheese community.”
And what started as a passion project for Straus has evolved into a celebration of not just cheesemakers, but also cheese shops, farmers markets, wineries, cafes, and agritourism in California, Oregon and Washington.
An accompanying website, cheesetrail.org, offers a virtual version of the map, a searchable database called the California Cheese Directory, driving tours, an events calendar and a business directory.
“We’re not just showcasing cheesemakers – we’re building a cheese-centric community,” Straus said.
Cheese Trail maps can be found at cheese shops, farmers markets, wineries and visitor centers across the state. A full list of locations can be found at cheesetrail.org.
This article was originally written by Sarah Stierch for Bay City News.
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