Beecher's Handmade Cheese

The building that houses the Vella Cheese Company was built in 1904 as a brewery and it wasn’t until 1931 that prohibition hit and Tom Vella transformed the space into a creamery. Vella had been building a reputation for himself in town, working for the Sonoma Mission Creamery, and was approached by a small group of dairy farmers who told him they would guarantee him a consistent supply of high quality milk if he opened his own cheese plant. During World War II, the cheese company increased cheddar production significantly enough that it made sense to relocate across the town square to the Sonoma Mission Creamery. In the 60’s, he moved back to their original building, producing fine fresh and dry jack along with cheddars and a handful of Italian Style cheeses that were developed upon request from customers. The Vella’s are perhaps most known for their Dry Jack, a cheese they invented as a riff on the popular softer, higher moisture Jack cheese that was created by David Jacks in the Gold Rush days. The Vella Cheese Company is a fixture in Sonoma’s history. Tom’s son Iganzio took over operations in 1981, and now there are two more generations of the family at work in the creamery.

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