While we wait for the first sheep's milk cheeses from Petaluma's Weirauch Farm, we must settle for the cheeses that Joel Weirauch is making with purchased cow's milk.
That is not a big sacrifice. Weirauch's Tomme Fraiche, produced with milk that he buys from a nearby Jersey-cow dairy, is delicious, and I hope it will stay in the lineup even after he debuts the farmstead sheep cheeses that are his ultimate objective.
Both Joel and Carleen Weirauch grew up in Sonoma County. A decade ago, Joel was studying mycology when a professor encouraged him to go to France and spend some time with cheesemakers. These people understand mold.
Joel stayed in France for a year, doing internships with traditional cheesemakers that lasted from a few days to several weeks. He spent most of his time in the Auvergne region, where he witnessed the production of Salers, Fourme d'Ambert and other cow's milk cheeses with centuries of tradition behind them. But he really fell in love with aged sheep cheese.
To read the rest of the story, please go to: San Francisco Chronicle