Beecher's Handmade Cheese

The LaFranchi family has been in the dairying business in Nicasio, CA for over 90 years. Nicasio is a small community in the northwestern reaches of Marin County. The LaFranchis have grown their herd of Holsteins to 400, 75% of which are certified organic. The reason for not going 100% organic was to give the dairy the option to keep cows that might have injury or illness that cannot be treated with organic methods. Having that non-organic outlet allows them to keep the cows on the farm rather than culling them. Cows at Nicasio Valley are out on pasture as much as weather permits, which is about 1/3 of the year. Their herd has been closed for at least 25 years, meaning that they raise all their own calves and don’t purchase animals from other farms. The patriarch of the LaFranchi family immigrated to America in the early 1900’s from Maggia, Switzerland, a region rich with cheesemaking traditions. A strong relationship with their Swiss relatives has been maintained over the years and one thing the LaFranchis observed on their visits to Maggia was the abundance of delicious cheeses. For decades, they had considered making the move to produce cheeses themselves. As luck would have it, Nicasio Valley is right smack in the middle of one of the fastest growing artisan cheesemaking regions in the U.S. and this movement, along with an increasingly tough fluid milk market, encouraged the LaFranchis to take the leap. They turned to their Swiss heritage for inspiration. Swiss master cheese maker Maurizio Lorenzetti came to the U.S. to mentor cheesemaker Scott LaFranchi and since those first lessons in early 2010, Scott has made the shared recipes his own. Nicasio Valley produces a range of pasteurized cheeses with their organic milk supply- fresh Foggy Morning, the mountain cheese Loma Alta, and even a washed rind called Nicasio Square.

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