First the wine, now the cheese!

[KettleWhistle]

After California kicked some French tails in the wine industry, it's on its way to do the same with cheese:

California closing on Wis. cheese crown
By JACOB ADELMAN, Associated Press WriterTue Oct 24, 2:35 PM ET


Fifteen years ago, Anto Baghassarian had a small shop in East Hollywood where he processed blocks of mozzarella from other manufacturers into the string cheese he learned to make at his family's business in Lebanon.
Now his Karoun Dairies Inc. operates a plant in the state's dairy heartland, turning a couple silos of milk each day into about 16,000 pounds of feta, queso fresco and other exotic cheeses adapted for American palates.
Aided by an abundant supply of milk, an increasing nationwide appetite for cheese and some savvy marketing, manufacturers such as Karoun are contributing to a production boom that could soon propel California past Wisconsin to become the nation's top cheese producer.

California is now the home of Hilmar Cheese Co. near Modesto, the world's largest single-site, cheesemaking operation. Every day, the plant churns out more than a million pounds of cheddar, Monterey Jack and mozzarella cheeses that are sold under a variety of brand names.

In addition, small California cheese makers have built a name for themselves among consumers and connoisseurs while winning dozens of awards at national and international competitions, casting a positive light on the producers of so-called commodity cheese that dominate the state's cheese industry.

"California cheeses are really looked upon as coming of age," said Christine Hyatt, a grocery store consultant in Portland, Ore., who serves as a judge at the American Cheese Society's annual competitions.

Last year, California turned out 2.14 billion pounds of cheese — nearly a quarter of the nation's supply. The total marked a huge increase from 1985, when the state had only about 7 percent of the national market.
The growth has put California within striking distance of the 2.4 billion pounds produced every year in Wisconsin, the state that bills itself as "America's Dairyland."

Wisconsin's share of the growing national cheese market has fallen from more than a third in 1985 to just over a quarter last year.

Nancy Fletcher, a spokeswoman for the California Milk Advisory Board, said it's hard to predict exactly when California will overtake Wisconsin, but the production trends make it just a matter of time.

Wisconsin, which lost its title as top milk-producing state to California in 1993, is nowhere near surrendering, said Patrick Geoghegan, a spokesman for the Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board.

"This is not something that we got into over the last 20 years or so," Geoghegan said. "It's been a big part of our past and will continue to be a big part of our future."

Geoghegan said Wisconsin's 1,300 licensed producers make 600 varieties of cheese, compared to the 250 offered by California's 55 producers.
"Bearing the title 'America's Dairyland' is about more than just producing the greatest amount of commodity cheese," he said. "It's about cheese quality, quality, quality."

Cheese has been produced in California since the first European missionaries arrived on the coast with dairy cows in tow. The recipe for its most famous contribution, Monterey Jack, is said to have originated in the Spanish missions.

The modern cheese boom began in the early 1980s, when the California Milk Advisory Board — the marketing agency of the state's dairy business — started promoting the cheese industry as a way to sop up a growing milk surplus.

The group encouraged large cheese producers to set up shop in California, then aggressively marketed the products with the "Real California Cheese" logo featuring a sunrise over rolling pastures and an advertising campaign touting the state's "happy cows."


In the mid-1990s, the board began cultivating smaller, artisanal producers and encouraging dairies to start their own onsite "farmstead" cheese-making operations.

"It's been a very concerted, consistent effort," said Michelle Greenwald, a professor at Columbia University's Graduate School of Business in New York, who uses the board's cheese campaign in class as a marketing success story. "They've left no stone unturned."

Hilmar's factory made 20,000 pounds of cheese a day, five days a week, when it began operating in 1984. It's now a sprawling complex of soaring silos, meandering pipes and milk-filled tanker trucks.

Small cheese-makers, meanwhile, have caught the attention of gastronomes while producing about 10 percent of California's output.
Marin French Cheese Co. in Petaluma took a gold medal for its Triple Creme Brie at the 2005 World Cheese Awards in London, making it the first non-European cheese producer to take top honors in the category.

Another gold medal at those awards went to Modesto's Fiscalini Cheese Co. for its San Joaquin Gold, which began as a failed attempt to make fontina.

Owner John Fiscalini was one of the state's first dairymen to enroll in a cheese-making class started in 1995 by the milk board at California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo.

He now channels about 10 percent of the milk from his 1,500 cows into cheese production and is seeking the county's permission to expand his cheese-making workshop so he can manufacture even more.
"I just got caught up in some of the ambiance and the romance," Fiscalini said.

source: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20061024/...ifornia_cheese

[redcake]

California has had great cheese for a while now. Sonoma Jack is tasty stuff.

[1.5 million]

While I feel great for California and for all the entrepenurs (like fellow Armenian Anto Baghassarian!) - quantity does not necesarily equate with quality (and I'm not at all knocking the quality of their products...I don't know what it is...) - but bottom line - the French still make - overall - the best wine in the world (obviously with many exceptions - but in general it is true) and they also make their kind of cheese better then anyone (I am more of a fan of harder/aged cheese lover myself - not the young soft cheese type...[though it certainly has its place and can be very yummy!] - and in this regard England rules! ...though Vermont is perhaps a close second in terms of quality)...and I've yet to have a Criossant (or a crepe!) outside of France that really measures up - Ok - well once...but again on average no one does it like the French..so credit where it is due....

[KettleWhistle]

While I feel great for California and for all the entrepenurs (like fellow Armenian Anto Baghassarian!) - quantity does not necesarily equate with quality (and I'm not at all knocking the quality of their products...I don't know what it is...) - but bottom line - the French still make - overall - the best wine in the world (obviously with many exceptions - but in general it is true)

That's very much not true. Actually haven't been true for decades. From top-tier wines to the bottom Californian wines are far better in quality. As for mid-to-low priced wines S. Australia is just as good as must Californian locales. Generally speaking whether you want to spend $10-15, ~$35, or over $100 per bottle, you (generally) get noticebly better quality with Californian wines.

and they also make their kind of cheese better then anyone

That's true for some of their cheeses, but you might be pleasantly surprised by a trip to the Californian dairyland. E. Washington and Montana have pretty good local chese producers too. Those are pretty good in quality, although their assortment is more geared toward traditional American tastes.

[Mira]

Huh? You can't say one region in the world makes "better" wine than another. It depends on the qualities in wine that you like. California wines generally have more up front fruit and French wines generally have more earthy qualities, but you will find these qualities in wine from both countries. The higher end California and Oregon wineries produce bottles that rival the higher end French wines, but I will say that the French are probably better at making consistently better mass produced wines and I'm not sure why that is. California wines generally don't have to be layed down for long ( a couple of years maybe for some and most are drinkable right away) while many higher end French wines take some time to develop. Australia now makes some fo the best Syrahs in the world that can rival anything the French put out and when all is said and done, probably the single most influential factor in wine today comes down to the taste preferences of Robert Parker.

[1.5 million]

Obviously with wine there is the issue of personal preference - including preference for varietal/blend/style - but in fact - if you were to poll wine critics or serious wine enthusiasts - worldwide - I would surmise that you would find very few who would rank wines produced in California (Napa/Sonoma primarily) on par with those produced in France (Bordeau/Burgundy/Rhone - North & South) and just in general. Sure - there are some individual producers (primarily in Napa) who are making exceptional wine...however on average there is a great deal more wine being produced in France which is of superior quality than most produced in California or elsewhere. While I like California wines (and in fact prefer their more fruity Pinots to those of Burgundy - particualrly for the price...and also love various Cabs & Zins and such) there is no question in my mind that I prefer French wines..and even Italian and Spanish to those of California - in general. I particularly like Rhone wines (Cote-Rotie! Chatenauef du Pape! etc) and Sauternes and right bank (primarily Merlot based) Bordeaux - which California cannot compete with in style/quality at this time. I also prefer Barolos/Barberescos (Nebbilio grape) from Piedmont in Italy, Brunnellos (from Tuscany) and Priorat (blended) wines from Spain over most anything from California and certainly would rather do without all California wines then not be able to access and drink any one of these wines. Aussie wines certainly have their place as well - can bu yummy yummy delicious...but again - except for a few producers and their very top limited production vinyards - quality is still not on par with the best of France, Italy or Spain...and neither is California - regardless of what people who have not had proper exposure to these other wines might think.