Kurtwood Farms Camembert-style cheese with a white rind on the left. Photo by Morgen Schuler

“[The cheese scene] reminds me of the Northern California wine biz in 1965,” says Kurt Timmermeister, owner of Kurtwood Farms on Vashon Island, whose homestead cheeses are ubiquitous on all the snazzy restaurant menus in Seattle, in particular his Dinah’s classic Camembert-style cheese and his LogHouse semi-hard tomme-style cheese.

He’s talking to a few folks at a media preview who are here to taste several cheeses from Washington artisanal cheesemakers—and who will be sharing their fromage at the upcoming Washington Artisan Cheesemakers Festival on Saturday, September 27th at Seattle Design Center.

Besides Timmermeister, there’s also cheesemonger Sheri LaVigne of The Calf & Kid, as well as cheesemakers from Bellingham, Bow, Duvall and Doty, among others. The styles range from hard sheep’s milk Manchego-style to soft, bloomy rind Camembert-style—most of them homestead, meaning the cheesemakers raise the cows or goats for the dairy used in their cheeses.

Fortunately, I skipped lunch before the event. Among my favorites: Cherry Valley Dairy’s “Dairy Reserve” from Duvall which won first place in this year’s American Cheese Society Competition. Made from the milk of Jersey cows, which we’re told makes for a really vibrant yellow color, this semi-hard cheese has a black pepper and cocoa powder rind, which is subtly perceptible and a really milky, wonderfully acidic finish, called lactic in the cheese world. (As with wine, there’s a lot of lingo to be learned).

Manchego style cheese from Ring of Trees. Photo by Morgen Schuler

Ring of Trees farm in Bellingham, owned and operated by a husband/wife team, makes only sheep’s milk cheeses, of which the Saffron accented one is delicious. Unlike in Spain where you can’t call a cheese Manchego if any type of flavoring is added to it, here in the U.S. cheesemakers are freed up to experiment with different ingredients – in this case to great effect.

For those who balk at bold, in-your-face Blues, or are just beginning to explore them, Cascadia Creamery’s raw “Glacier Blue” is far less musty and biting than most, though it still brings a serious savory note and luxurious texture.

While all of these cheeses are available at various retailers, we did sample one that won’t be out until February: Willapa Hills’ “Lily Pad” semi-hard Gruyere cheese. While it’s been aged for eight months, these kind of Alpine Mountain-style cheeses are often aged for years, so they’re giving it more time to develop the signature robust, nutty sweetness for which they’re known. At any rate, it tasted lovely to me.

Also, of note: Fall City’s River Valley Cheese’s “Apricot & Almond Goat Cheese,” a fresh Chevre with local honey and almonds rolled in apricot confit. It’s soft and oozy and perfect for dessert.

For more information on the Festival and the 20+ participating cheesemakers, visit the festival’s website.