Point Reyes Light - December 21, 2000
New cheese: Original Blue makes the rounds
By Stephen Barrett
Fresh milk from the Robert Giacomini Dairy, a touch of coastal fog, and the green pastures above Tomales Bay are the secrets behind the Point Reyes Farmstead Cheese Company’s new "Original Blue" cheese, which started appearing this week in West Marin stores.
"It all begins with the land," explained rancher Bob Giacomini, who with his daughters formed the cheese company in 1999 on his ranch north of Point Reyes Station. The hope is to diversify the family business and develop a niche in the Bay Area’s culinary market.
It’s a "farmstead" cheese because the milk in Original Blue comes directly from the Giacomini herd and never leaves the ranch. Indeed, roughly half the milk produced by the herd now goes toward making blue cheese four days a week.
Fresh as it gets
"It’s as fresh as it can get," daughter Lynn Giacomini Stray said. "We’re milking in the morning and making cheese for the next three hours."
Artisan cheese-makers Monte McIntyre and Terry Roll joined the company this summer to get production underway. With their help, the company has crafted a recipe akin to the blue cheeses made in France and Denmark, but with a flavor unique to California.
Point Reyes Farmstead Cheese Company produced its first rounds of cheese on August 1. It has taken nearly four months in cold storage for the rounds to develop their creamy texture and full flavor, which Giacomini said reflects the salt air and green pastures that his cows graze.
One of the main reasons the family chose to produce blue cheese is because there is no one else making it California, even though it is a natural complement to the wines and other fine foods so widely appreciated in the Bay Area, Giacomini said.
Where to find Original Blue
The family is selling their cheese at the Palace Market, Tomales Bay Foods, and other local stores, and has plans to market it throughout the Bay Area next year. By then, the company plans to double its production to about 480 rounds of cheese per day.
If the Point Reyes Farmstead Cheese Company proves successful, Giacomini said he plans to reduce his herd of dairy cattle from 400 to 200 head, making the dairy operation more manageable for its workers and more light-footed on the land.
Some ranch hands have already shifted to the family’s cheese operation, while the Giacomini daughters manage the marketing and sales of "Original Blue" with assistance from the California Milk Advisory Board.
After working in the Midwest for corporate cheese manufacturers, McIntyre said it is a welcome delight to produce blue cheese on a smaller scale, with a family dedicated to building a successful business on a quality product.
"For the last 50 years in this country, bigger has always been better," he said. "This is really the way to do things. Making cheese is both a science and an art."