Following the Oregon Cheese Trail

The state is known for its diverse creameries and cheeses.

Although it may not have as many creameries as Wisconsin or California, what makes Oregon a standout state for cheese is its diverse cheesemakers. Each is unique in size, production and styles.

Approximately 20 of the state’s commercial artisan cheesemakers are represented by the Oregon Cheese Guild. Founded in 2006, this nonprofit association is a collaborative effort to increase awareness of Oregon’s artisanal cheeses, create educational opportunities, and provide a platform for cooperation and shared resources among Oregon cheesemakers.

According to Katie Bray, who became the guild’s first executive director in 2015, “[Oregon cheesemakers are] extremely collaborative. The buzzword in the industry is ‘precompetitive,’ but I don’t like that word because our cheesemakers are not really competitive. Each is unique, no matter if they’re a homestead operation or buying milk from other farms.”

Here, Cheese Connoisseur highlights a select Oregon artisan cheesemakers.

ROGUE CREAMERY
CENTRAL POINT, OR

Operating in southern Oregon since 1933, Rogue Creamery is known for its blue cheese.

“In the ’50s, our founder traveled to Roquefort to learn the art of cheesemaking,” says Marguerite Merritt, senior brand manager. “He came back with plans for a factory to make a blue veined cheese.”

Rogue Creamery has become well-known internationally. The company rebranded its flagship blue cheese, Oregon Blue Veined Cheese, as simply, “Oregon Blue,” in 2000.

“We use this as the base for many of our other blue cheeses, including Smokey Blue, which is cave-aged and cold-smoked over hazelnut shells and Alderwood,” Merritt explains. “The flavor is akin to candied bacon, and we call it our gateway blue since it wins over blue cheese skeptics.”

But probably its most well-known cheese is the award-winning Rogue River Blue, which debuted in 2001.

“It undergoes various unique treatments over several months,” notes Merritt. “This includes extended aging, as well as being wrapped in grape leaves.”

She adds Oregon cheesemakers are driven by a sense of artisan craftsmanship, more so than any other U.S. state.

“Every cheesemaker in our state puts attention to detail and to the craft. They want to create something unique,” says Merritt. “Oregon cheeses are often recognized for their superior quality, even while not having the same reach as Wisconsin or California.”

Rogue Creamery has been leaning into R&D by developing innovative recipes to take its blue cheese to the next level.

“One that we’re finalizing this year is blue cheese soaked in a plum shrub or sweetened plum vinegar,” says Merritt. “The flavor combination is fantastic, as the plum augments the fruitiness.”

The company has partnered with Wegmans to create a blue cheese infused with yuzu, similar to a grapefruit, called BluZu.

FACE ROCK CREAMERY
BANDON, OR

Face Rock Creamery, in business for close to 15 years, is only 70 miles from the California border.

The company specializes in cheddar, both aged and flavored. It has carved out a unique niche, which includes its most popular cheese, Vampire Slayer Garlic Cheddar. Its award-winning clothbound cheddar and spicy three pepper cheddar, In Your Face, are also big sellers.

“We’re not a farmstead creamery, but we purchase all our milk from local Oregon dairies,” says Greg Drobot, president and chief executive. “This includes a third-generation farm.”

Face Rock introduces new cheddar flavors each year. Its most recent has an onion and chive flavor, like a Cotswold.

“Our cheesemakers are like mad scientists coming up with new flavors,” notes Drobot.

The company enters the American Cheese Society (ACS) competition every year and received a silver medal in 2025 for its peppercorn harvest curds.

“We have won 20 first-place ACS awards, along with a bunch of second and third place honors,” notes Drobot.

He says Oregon cheesemakers benefit from the temperate environment.

“Grass grows great in Oregon, as it’s not too hot or cold, and the animals are happy,” says Drobot. “Farms in less desirable climates can’t pasture as much; our cows can roam in moderate temperatures.”

About 70% of Face Rock’s business is wholesale.

“We sell through all of the main specialty distributors across the country, with our cheese available in Kroger, Whole Foods, Costco and Safeway,” says Drobot. “We’re mainly on the two coasts and trying to fill out stores in the Midwest.”

APPLEGOAT VALLEY FARM,
HOME OF MAMA TERRA MICRO CREAMERY
JACKSONVILLE, OR

Applegoat Valley Farm is a family-run dairy with owner/operator, Sarah Kucera, her partner, Thomas McEiver, and their two young sons, Farmer, 6, and Maverick, 4. In addition to cheese, the farm produces grass-fed beef, goat meat and heritage pork.

However, the cheese operation is fairly new. In 2024, Applegoat Valley Farm was approached by Mama Terra Micro Creamery to see if there was a purchasing opportunity.

“Applegoat raises goats for dairy and meat, and Mama Terra’s owners asked if I wanted to buy them and run the creamery,” says Kucera. “There was a neighboring farm, By George Creamery, that was closed for about four years and was leasing the dairy. So we moved the business there.”

After getting the dairy recertified, it was up and running.

“Mama Terra was sold to us in June, and we obtained our license in October, so there was no lapse in production,” Kucera notes. “We also bought their goats, combined our herds, and took over their equipment. It was like three farms combined into one.”

She decided to retain the Mama Terra label for the farmstead goat cheese, which is all produced on-site.

This includes fresh chevre in three staple flavors, with a limited flavor of the week.

“Our core flavors are Plain with Sea Salt, Mediterranean Herb with local lavender, and Caramelized Garlic, which is our bestseller,” says Kucera. “All are made on site in one place with local ingredients and are either organic or certified organic.”

The flavor of the week is popular and based on seasonality.

“It’s whatever is fresh and available, with some coming out of our herb garden, like thyme, oregano or rosemary,” says Kucera. “In spring, we do garlic scapes cheese.”

She is considering revamping Mama Terra’s packaging and label, which have been retained.

“We’re considering color coding the packaging to signify the flavors,” Kucera explains.

The farm, which includes Nubian and Lamancha goats, is not high production.

“Our goats make mild cheese, and we concentrate on quality over quantity,” Kucera explains. “We’re looking for that best milk for our cheeses, so our goat cheese is not goaty tasting; people who don’t like goat cheese like our cheese, which is very mild and fresh.”

Cheese is made every other day and sold at the farmers market three times a week, 15 food co-ops and specialty stores.

“We are more farmers and ranchers than cheesemakers, since we have minimal and simple equipment,” Kucera says. “It takes two days to get milk for one cheese batch.”

UMAPINE CREAMERY
MILTON-FREEWATER, OR

Umapine Creamery started as a dairy farm, but veered into cheesemaking to become more profitable.
“I’m a retired registered nurse, and I started cheesemaking with a friend,” says Yvonne Carroll. “We have since sold the dairy to our son and daughter-in-law, and I buy milk from them.”

The two-person operation mainly sells cheeses at local farmers markets within 100 miles of the operation. It’s the perfect place to taste test new varieties.

“We also have a small farm store where we sell Creamline Farms milk, butter, cream and my cheese,” says Carroll. “One of the benefits of what we do is it allows us to help support other community projects, like the library and junior show.”

It has also given Carroll and her husband time to travel.

“We have met other cheesemakers and dairymen to share stories, experiences, recipes, information, and lifestyles, discovering that we’re not so different after all,” she says.

Umapine primarily offers raw milk cheeses and is known for its flavored Gouda-style varieties.

Her favorite cheese is the Madam Gouda, a hard cheese that’s aged for a year.

“It’s rich, nutty and powerful,” says Carroll. “Also, our Just Cheese is a farmstead cheese and the only one I wax now.”

Umapine’s Holy Cow cheese features tomatoes, ghost pepper and old Italian holy basil.

“The ghost peppers are latent in the cheese, so it has a delayed heat,” Carroll explains.

Its newest popular variety is Angry Cats. “I was looking for a different hot sauce because the one we used wasn’t available,” says Carroll. “We met these guys at the Oregon Cheese Festival and decided to use their Hero sauce.”

The creamery also offers Mexican cheeses, including one with mangos and ginger.

“My milk comes from cows on my farm, and you can’t get much fresher than that,” says Carroll. “We also have great grass throughout Oregon, which gives us a great product to make cheese with.”

OREGON STATE UNIVERSITY
CORVALLIS, OR

In April, 2025, Oregon State University (OSU) opened an on-campus creamery that sells student-made cheese, ice cream and honey to the public.

The Beaver Classic Creamery produces Beaver Classic products made and grown by students in Oregon State’s College of Agricultural Sciences.

This is the second time OSU has operated a creamery from historic Withycombe Hall. The original creamery was completed in 1952 but closed in the late 1960s to make way for the OSU Theatre.

“There was a small revival of the creamery here in Withycombe Hall that existed from 2012 to 2022, which motivated the college to fundraise for the newest version, so this is really the third iteration,” says former OSU food science student and current dairy pilot plant manager, Brandon Riesgaard.

Now, more than 50 years later, following a $71 million renovation of the 81,000-square-foot Withycombe Hall, the creamery is back making Beaver Classic. The cheese is made with milk from cows in the Arbuthnot Dairy Center.

“What started as updating the creamery and putting in a scoop shop turned into an entire renovation,” says Riesgaard. “The creamery took over the theater.”

After the three-year renovation, he came on as pilot manager.

“All employees are students, so I give them experiential learning to work in a cheese plant,” says Riesgaard. “I work with many different partners, including Tillamook’s management, to pinpoint skills students may not have out of college, then implement those. So if Tillamook hires one of my students, they are partially trained.”

• • •

Oregon’s Cheesy Events

• Oregon Cheese Festival: Created by cheese guru David Gremmels as a way to celebrate all cheeses made in the state, the festival is now a celebration of cheese and everything that goes with it. The two-day late-April event attracts cheesemakers from all over the country and Canada.

• Oregon Cheese Trail: Visitors can use a hard copy or digital version of a map to visit local cheesemakers.

• Oregon Cheese Month: In September, the guild celebrates Oregon’s artisan cheesemakers and their wares at retailers, cheese shops, restaurants and farmers markets.

• Wedge Festival: The Wedge, held in September, celebrates cheese and everything that goes with it. Attendees can taste and buy hundreds of local artisan cheeses, specialty foods, beer, wine, spirits and cider.