Vermont Trip

Summers at the cheese shop here in Chicago are busy. Tons of tourists, picnics for all of the live music festivals at the park and catering galore. Everyone's looking for tasty treats. There's a lot of work and with the heat and humidity you get exhausted before you know it.

I needed to re-charge.

My vacation took me to the east coast and the 2nd annual Vermont Cheesemaker's Festival at the Coach Barn at Shelburne Farms. There were over 50 cheesemakers representing some of the best cheeses that Vermont has to offer. Cheesemakers were set up in the barn offering samples and the opportunity to purchase their wares. From the nationally well-known such as Jasper Hill Cellars, Cabot and Vermont Butter & Cheese Creamery to some local cheese heroes like Champlain Valley Creamery and Lazy Lady Farm. Most of the cheeses at the festival I can't get out here in Chicago so it was a real treat to go back home and stock my brother's fridge with cheesy goodness.

While the festival was a lot of fun and I stuffed myself with wine and cheese all day, one of the highlights of the festival for me is the location.

Created in 1886 as a modern agricultural estate in the 1970's Shelburne Farms became a non-profit with a focus on education. They have more than 100 milking Brown Swiss cows who are on a grass-based diet. The animals are fed on pasture (when possible) and are rotated through the fields to ensure healthy re-growth and renewal of the land.

In addition to farmstead Cheddars, Shelburne Farms has an inn, garden, a restaurant that offers farm-fresh dinners, and they offer fantastic tours and educational seminars. The best part about Shelburne Farms? It's got to be the view. They're located right alongside Lake Champlain and there is nothing finer than grabbing a hunk of cheese sitting down on the grass gazing across the water and listening to it hit the shore.

My suggestion to you is you get on the mailing list for next year's festival and snatch up some tickets as soon as they're made available. You won't be sorry.

Don't feel too left out, a lot of the cheesemakers represented at the festival will be participating in the ACS conference later this month which means...you can eat your way through Vermont at the Festival of Cheese!

Beautiful Lake Champlain


I couldn't pick my favorite cheese from all that I tasted, but this was my favorite t-shirt!


Some of the ladies who work at Shelburne Farms


-aa