Finger Lakes cheesemakers use fresh, farmstead raw milk to make several artisan cheese styles, including European, French, Italian, Dutch, Portuguese, Spanish, and much more.   Many of the operations invite the public to come right to the farm, and see how the cheese is made. Check their Web sites for hours, as many are seasonal, and some only sell at farmers markets.  Next time you are on the wine trail, look up some of these proud suppliers of artisanal, local cheeses and enjoy this video of the Getaway Guy visiting two the farms along the trail.

Visit us at an upcoming open house... October 9-10 and December 11!

On the go? Print off the Cheese Trail one-pager info sheet, complete with a trail map, business locations, and phone numbers. Click here to open the PDF.

Finger Lakes Cheese Trail listings:
Sunset View Creamery - The Hoffman Dairy in Odessa, is a 5th generation operation. Carmella Hoffman and family have been crafting Cheddars, Monterey Jack Style Cheeses and Fresh Cheese Curds for nearly six years, using pasteurized milk from the family dairy.

Finger Lakes Farmstead Cheese Co - Nancy Richards has been crafting cheeses, made from raw cow’s milk, belonging to Nancy’s family - Taber Hill Farms in Mecklenburg.

Hillcrest Dairy - A small, family run dairy in Moravia, New York. Their cows are pasture raised and their milk is minimally processed. On the farm, they produce several cheese, milk, and butter products, and offer tours by appointment.

Keeley’s Cheese Co – A new venture, Keeley McGarr is producing cheeses on her family’s dairy farm in King Ferry, on the East side of Cayuga Lake.

Finger Lakes Dexter Cheese Creamery - Rose Marie Belforti is the first and only producer in the western hemisphere to offer an authentic, probiotic kefir cheese from raw milk from grass-fed Dexter cows in King Ferry.

Muranda Cheese – The Muranda Cheese House created by the Murrays in Waterloo is producing cheddar from raw cow’s milk.

Lively Run Goat Dairy – One of the first commercial goat dairy operations in New York State, beginning production in 1982 and located in Interlaken. Chevre, made in the traditional French style, Feta, and a goat blue cheese are available.

Northland Sheep Dairy - Located in Marathon, Donn Hewes and Maryrose Livingston produce handmade hard and soft cheese using raw sheep milk from 100% grass fed animals.

Side Hill Acres Goat Farm - Russell and Rita Kellogg established a goat dairy in 1982 in Candor. In 1994 they started a goat cheese processing plant and produce premium quality hand crafted goat cheeses and milk products.

Engelbert Farms - Owned and operated by Lisa and Kevin Engelbert, it is a certified organic farm raising dairy, beef, veal, and pork on their 600 acre farm in Nichols, NY on the Pennsylvania border. The farm's milk is being made into 16 varieties of cheddar, gouda, swiss, jack and mozzarella cheeses, sold via their new farm store and at a few retail outlets near the farm.

Wake Robin Farm - Meg and Bruce Schader, started their dairy farm in 2006 with a small herd of Jersey cows and built a small processing plant to produce their all natural yogurt. Wake Robin Farm started by making yogurt which can now be found in many retails stores in central NY. They are now diversifying their product line to include three varieties of artisanal cheese: Baliwick Cheddar, an italian style cheese they call Mona Lisa, and Caerffili, a semi soft cheese recipe originating in Wales.

Pairing Cheese with Wine at Sunset View Creamery

• Razor Sharp pairs well with the dryer wines--it helps to bring out the flavor of the wine and the cheese.
• Down on the Beach pairs well with Oaked or Stainless Chardonnay, BacoNoir and Merlots.
• Deep Seneca goes best with Semi-Dry Reislings (the Finger Lakes Reislings are wonderful) Johannisberg Reisling, Pinot Gris, and the Semi-dry reds.
• Tomato Basil Jack or Curd pairs well with the Dry Reds (they go well with Pasta) and the Rose' style wines.
• Tyson's Zatar pairs well with ANY AND ALL Reislings! and the Gewurztraminers. This cheese will amaze you. Depending on what it is paired with depends on what flavors are brought forward. Any of the wines that compliment "spice" will pair well with this cheese.
• Buffalo Curd: This is traditionally a "beer and cheese" combo, but pairs well with the lighter bodied sweeter wines both red and white.
• KTM's Garlic Delight: pairs well with any of the middle of the road wines, but goes nicely with a Seyval Blanc or Cabernet