Laura Chenel Chèvre

Location:

Sonoma, California

Best Cheeses:

• Fresh chèvre - fluffy with a gentle tanginess. Available in log and barrel shapes
• Cabecou - slightly aged rounds of goat cheese marinated in olive oil
• Taupinière - slightly aged goat cheese with a bloomy rind and outer layer of ash

  Cheesemakers:

  Laura Chenel began making goat cheese in Sonoma, CA in the late 1970s and was perhaps the first American cheesemaker to bring fresh goat cheese to restaurants and stores. Since then, her cheese empire has grown tremendously and in 2006 the company was sold to a French cheesemaking operation. Ms. Chenel is still involved in the cheesemaking process and the milk still comes from the goats she tends.