At City Vineyard we love this time of year, not only for all the fantastic excuses to splurge on wine and beer, but for the foodie-friendly festivities cooking up through Christmas and New Year’s! While there are some amazing goodies produced for our gourmet market from all over the world, this month we are highlighting some of our favorite American cheeses from top-flight local communities and passionate producers. Check out these delectable domestic delights in our gourmet market for snacks that are sure to please.

5 Favorite American Cheeses That Will Have You Drooling

Pugs Leap Samson

All Pugs Leap farmstead artisan cheese is made by hand at White Whale Farm, a small family owned goat dairy in Petaluma, CA. The milk is provided by 120 happy and healthy goats who are free to roam on pasture. By using only their own goats’ milk they are able to control the process and quality from start to finish. Both the dairy and the creamery are housed in a beautiful old barn that was built in 1867. The Samson is an aged cheese maintaining freshness in flavor, Samson brings a bright taste of raw goat’s milk, slightly sweet and floral, together with grassy and saline notes.

Hook’s 5/10 Year Cheddar

Hook’s Cheese company, a family owned cheese company from Madison, Wi., has been producing cheese since 1972. Their 10 year cheddar won 1st place at the 2006 American Cheese Society Show, the only 10 year cheddar to get a 1st place in this, or any competition. It’s packed with calcium crystals and has a full, rich cheddar flavor and a smooth finish.

Cowgirl Creamery Mt Tam/ RedHawk /Wagon Wheel

Cowgirl Creamery opened their first location, a renovated hay barn in downtown Point Reyes two decades ago. Today, with dozens of awards, two creameries, four retail stores and two thousand tons of cheese later, Cowgirl Creamery continues to support and promote artisan cheesemaking, offering over 200 cheeses from all over California.

Cabot Clothbound Cheddar

Cabot Creamery is a cooperative of 1,200 dairy farm families located throughout New York and New England. They manage four plants in three states, employing over 1,000 people, who make “The World’s Best” cheese and dairy products. Clothbound is an approachable but complex natural-rind, bandaged cheddar with a crumbly texture and nutty aroma.

Bee Hive Cheese Co. Promontory Cheddar

Promontory, as well as all Beehive cheeses, is made from the milk of Jersey cows from Ogden’s Wadeland South Dairy. Wadeland’s Jersey cows enjoy 350 acres near the salty marshes, ponds and mudflats of the mineral-loaded soil of the Great Salt Lake. The same nutrient-rich soil that feeds thousands of migrating birds, feeds the lush alfalfa that the cows love to eat.

Think you have all of the gourmet snacks you need for the upcoming holiday season? Give our favorite American cheeses a try. Better yet, come into the store and grab some wine to go with those tasty treats! We want you have the best holiday time possible, so let us know if you have any questions on what you should bring to the table!