The Cheese Tour with Wine, Beer and Cider

The Washington County Cheese Guild’s annual cheese tour, now known as The Cheese Tour with Wine, Beer and Cider, will take place Saturday, September 10 and Sunday, September 11, 2022, from 10 am to 4 pm, offering a self-guided tour of artisan makers with tastings at each location. While the weekend event remains free of charge, the organization has partnered with Washington County’s Comfort Food Community and is suggesting a $5 donation which will support food access, food recovery, and food as health throughout the region.

Adventurers will gather friends and family for this autonomous outdoor adventure to travel, over the course of two days, the twists and turns of Washington County’s country roads, visiting cheesemaking farmers, a farm winery, a craft farmstead brewery, a farm cidery, and a dairy farms’ new farm store. Free product samples may be limited based on turnout, but a full range of products will be available for purchase at each tour location. Other highlights will include live music, hay rides, and specialty menu items – like grilled cheese sandwiches – created just for the tour.

Participants of the 2022 Cheese Tour include The Argyle Cheese Farmer at their new location in Fort Edward, Consider Bardwell Farm in  West Pawlet, VT and Hebron, NY, Dancing Ewe Farm in Granville, R.S. Taylor & Son Brewery in West Hebron, Slyboro Ciderhouse in Granville, and Victory View Vineyard in North Easton.

Joining this year’s tour is Tiashoke Farm, a fourth-generation dairy farm located in Buskirk, but with a new farm store in Easton, NY where tour guests will be able to enjoy hay rides and purchase cheese along with pumpkins and other goodies.

Also new this season is The Cheese Tour’s partnership with Comfort Food Community: a nonprofit that works to end hunger, support local farms, and build healthy communities throughout Washington, Warren, and Saratoga counties. Volunteers of Comfort Food Community will be at several participating farms during the tour to lend a hand and answer any questions. To support the important work of this local organization, a donation of $5 is suggested which can be made via Comfort Food Community’s website.

“All of us who are part of The Cheese Tour always look forward to welcoming guests back to our farms,” notes Angela Miller, President of the Washington County Cheese Guild – which organizes the event – and co-owner of Consider Bardwell Farm. “We’re excited to see old friends and new faces, and share our passion, all while providing a better understanding of our craft with our customers,” states Miller. “We’re also thrilled to be partnering with Comfort Food Community this year as the organization is vital to our community’s food needs.”

Details of the participating farms and the activities at each location for this 2-day tasting extravaganza are available online.