A family owned and operated grass-based dairy making hand-crafted cheeses, with eighteen different types of cheese and seasonal variations using raw cow and goat milk .
Estrella's Cheese can be found at Beecher's Handmade Cheese, DeLaurenti, Whole Foods, Madison Market and The Cheese Cellar.
My fiance' and I had signed up with a tour group sponsored by The Edgewater Hotel. We met at the Hotel around 8:00am and joined an intimate group of 6 which included a couple visiting Seattle, a father and son duo, the Chef and our Tour Guide. The tour provided transportation and a boxed lunch courtesy of the Chef.
The ride down to the Creamery would average around 45 minutes to an hour so Chef supplied a well planned out game which he tested our knowledge on cheese and congratulated the winning team with Max McCalman & David Gibbons book "A Connoisseur's Guide to the Worlds Best Cheese". We didn't win. :( boo. lol
Arriving around 9:30am, we were greeted by the entire Estrella Family. Kelli led the tour which took us through their entire operation to how they raise and milk their cows and goats and the cheese cellar where we got a chance to see more than a decade of cheeses.
After the tour of the farm, Kelli brought us into the factory. Sanitized, capped and booties on, we were ready to make some cheese! It was so much fun! Having the chance to be a part of the process was amazing!
After cleaning up, we headed outside where Kelli surprised us with wine and a table spread of cheeses. It was so fresh! I have never tasted cheese with so much flavor and definition. You could taste the freshness of the farm and the care they take in the process.
At the end of the tour, we made sure to bring home a bag of this organic goodness and not to mention, made some great new friends.
What a great day! :) read more