Business & Tech

Here's What's Good at the Farmers Market This Week

Nicasio Valley certified organic farmstead cheese.

Will Marin soon be known for its cheese production the way Sonoma and Napa counties are known for their wine?

The owners of Nicasio Valley Cheese Co. hope that day will come. With six cheeses produced at their 90-year-old Nicasio dairy, the Lafranchi family is a new staple at the Marin Farmers Market at the county civic center in San Rafael.

The cheeses, developed by the Lafranchis with a Swiss cheesemaker, are helping the family to make their ranch sustainable as the demand for their milk production has declined. 

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The Lafranchis, Rick, Randy, Scott, Jan, Diane and Kim, inherited their father, Will's, ranch when he died several years ago. They came up with the plan to produce farmstead cheese — cheese made with the milk produced by their herd.

They flew to Maggia, Switzerland, the family's ancestral home, according to Debbie Lafranchi, who is married to Rick. They met with the cheesemaker and in January, with his help, set up their operation.

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Debbie Lafranchi said rather than seeing the upstarts as competition, West Marin cheese producers like Cowgirl Creamery and the Point Reyes Farmstead Cheese Co. offered support.

"They want to see Marin known for its cheese the way Sonoma is known for its wine," Debbie Lafranchi said. "The farmers really support each other."

At the Thursday and Sunday farmers markets, the Lafranchis offer tastes of Foggy Morning, Formagella, aged Formagella, Black Mountain, aged Black Mountain and Nicasio Square. They are Swiss- and Italian-style table cheeses available for purchase at the market or at the family's store at 5300 Nicasio Valley Road in Nicasio.

 


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