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Sixth Annual Oregon Cheese Festival Dished up Delicious Events;
Hosted by Rogue Creamery
Oregon Cheese Festival
March 20th 2010
Rogue Creamery
311 North Front St, Central Point, OR.
Thank you to our great vendors who displayed their goods at the show!
Wines, Beer & Cider:
Agate Ridge Vineyard
Cliff Creek Cellars
Cowhorn Vineyard
Cuckoo’s Nest Cellars Del Rio Vineyards
Devitt Winery
LongSword Vineyard
Oakshire Brewing
Pallet Wines
Rogue Ale
Roxy Ann Winery
Slagle Creek Vineyards
Southern Oregon Brewing
Trium Winery
Valley View Winery
Wandering Aengus Ciderworks
Wild Wines
Artisan Food & Beverage:
Anjou Bakery
Applegate Valley Artisan Breads
Boletus Wild Foods
Butte Creek Mill
Fruit Frommage
Gary West Smoked Meats
Harry & David
Henry’s Olives
Hot Lips Soda
Lillie Belle Farms
Noonan Farms
Palace Cafe and Madrone Kitchen & Wine Tavern
Pennington Farms
Rising Sun Farms
Rogue BBQ
Rogue Valley Fresh Seafood Company
Steven Smith Teamaker
Vintner’s Kitchen
We’re All Nuts!
Cheesemakers and Cheese Trade:
Cheese Connoisseur Magazine
Culture Magazine
Dairy Farmers of Oregon
Fairview Farm Goat Dairy
Fern’s Edge Goat Dairy
Fraga Farms Goat Dairy
Gordon Edgar: Author & special guest
Jacobs Creamery
La Mariposa Creamery
Mama Terra Micro-Creamery
Max McCalman: Special Guest & author
Ochoa Cheese Factory
Loleta Cheese (with Oregon Artisan Foods)
Oregon Cheese Guild
Pablo Battro: Special guest & Argentine cheesemaker & international cheese consultant
PNW Cheese Project: Tami Parr -author
Pholia Farm: Gianaclis Caldwell - author
Rivers Edge Chevre
Rogue Creamery
Rogue View Dairy
Tillamook County Creamery Association
Tumalo Farms
Vella Cheese
Vitaly Paley: Special Guest & author
Willamette Valley Cheese Company
Artisan Craft:
Red Oak Glass
Local Community:
Children’s Coloring Corner
Crater High School
THRIVE ( Rogue Flavor)
Music:
Crater High School
Youth Symphony of Southern Oregon
Coffee at 245B Front St:
Churn
Artisan Tasting Room at 245A Front St:
Daisy Creek Vineyard
Madrone Mountain Vineyard
Plant Arrangements:
Valley View Nursery
Tent/Equipment:
Party Place
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Oregon-inspired culinary events, including a Meet the Winemakers and Cheesemaker Dinner and a farmer’s market-style artisan food and wine festival, kicked off with the Oregon Cheese Festival during the third weekend in March.
At the festival on Saturday March 20th, over four thousand of visitors sampled cow, sheep and goat cheese from Oregon and Northern California creameries, including Fraga Farm, Juniper Grove Farm, Pholia Farm, Tumalo Farms, Silver Falls Creamery, Siskiyou Crest Dairy, Tillamook County Creamery, Willamette Valley Cheese Co., Fern’s Edge Dairy, Rivers Edge Chevre, Ancient Heritage Dairy, Cypress Grove, Vella Cheese, Rogue Creamery, and many others. Held under a giant tent at Rogue Creamery's Central Point facility, the sixth annual festival invited guests to shake hands with cheesemakers.
"The farmer's market format presented an interactive experience between makers and visitors, giving everyone an opportunity to talk about the product, the process and learn each individual cheesemaker's story," says David Gremmels, owner with Cary Bryant of Rogue Creamery. "It's a way to truly be connected with the source of the cheese being presented."
Samples and sales were offered at each booth. Festival music was provided by Crater High School students of Central Point, Oregon, and children were invited to participate in the event's annual coloring contest, sponsored by the Dairy Farmers of Oregon.
To commence the festival, a sumptuous meal introduced guests to participating artisans. It was held at the historic U.S. Hotel Ballroom at the Jacksonville Inn in Jacksonville Friday night, March 19th from 6:15 P.M. – 9:00 P.M. The dinner was for the benefit of the non profit 501 (c) (6) Oregon Cheesemaker Guild.
“The event gave the public a chance to have an intimate conversation with the experts at an elegant dinner at the Jacksonville Inn prepared by Chef Platon Mantheakis and his culinary team," says Gremmels.
Each course put the spotlight on a cheese made by one of the festival's artisans paired with a local wine. Throughout the meal, celebrated cheese expert Max McCalman acted as emcee and joined the winemakers and cheesemakers in discussing the showcase dishes. He is the author of 4 books on cheese, including the recently released Mastering Cheese: Lessons for True Connoisseurship from a Maître Fromager. Max lead festival-goers through Oregon cheese and wine sensory experiences during the Saturday event. The festival also featured the talents of Vitaly Paley, restaurant owner of Paley’s Place in Portland, Oregon. Paley is a French trained chef and winner of the coveted James Beard Award for Best Chef Northwest.
The Oregon Cheese Festival was open to the public Saturday, March 20th from 10a.m. to 5 p.m. at Rogue Creamery, 311 North Front St, Central Point, OR.
A $10 entry fee included tastings and demonstrations. A $5 wine tasting fee included a commemorative wine glass with the Oregon Cheese Guild logo. For more information on next year's event, contact Rogue Creamery at 866-396-4704.
The festival would not have been possible without the generous support of the City of Central Point, the Medford Visitors and Convention Bureau, the Dairy Farmers of Oregon, Oregon Department of Agriculture, the Oregon Economic & Community Development Department, Cheese Connoisseur, PremierWest Bank and the members of Oregon Cheese Guild.
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