Range of Capriole cheeses photo courtesy of Capriole Goat Cheese
Today, locally produced artisan cheeses are a staple widely available at farmers markets, cheese shops, and farm-to-table restaurants as well as many grocery stores. But in 1988, starting an artisan creamery in the United States was an unusual undertaking. “It was not a great time for local,” says Capriole Goat Cheese founder Judy Schad. “If anything, [cheese] wasn’t cool unless it was French…That was the battle of that period of time—getting people to even taste a fresh goat cheese.”
Origins of Capriole Goat Cheese
The roots of Greenville, Indiana-based Capriole Goat Cheese date back to 1976, when Judy, her husband Larry, and their three children ventured out to a southern Indiana farm that had been homesteaded by Larry’s ancestors. Over the next few years, they rebuilt the farm and Judy began raising goats and making goat cheese for family members and friends. The couple started a commercial goat dairy in 1988 and began commercial cheesemaking at an off-site facility; they built an on-site creamery in 1990.
Judy belongs to what she describes as the “family of early girl goat cheese makers” along with Allison Hooper, co-founder of Vermont Creamery; Mary Keehn, founder of Cypress Grove; and Jennifer Bice, founder of Redwood Hill Farm & Creamery. “We all shared a lot of knowledge, made a lot of mistakes, and threw a lot of cheese away,” she says.
From Farm to Creamery
Capriole cheeses photo courtesy of Capriole Goat Cheese
Sam Schad, Judy’s grandson and the president of Capriole Goat Cheese, has been involved in the family business his entire life. “The first memories I have as a child are hanging out in the creamery—my mom worked there—and just eating handfuls of cheese,” he says. He has fond memories of competing with his grandfather Larry to sell the most cheese at local farmers’ markets (“It was a competition between an 8-year-old and a silver-tongued lawyer, and Larry usually won!”) As a high school student, Sam spent two summers milking the herd of dairy goats. “[Milking took from] 5:00 a.m. to noon and 5:00 p.m. to midnight every single day, 365 days of the year,” he says. “It gave me an appreciation for the process and doing things the right way.”
In 2012, with a goat herd of about 500, Judy and Larry decided it was no longer feasible to manage both the dairy and the creamery. They sold their herd to local farmers, who continue to supply the creamery with milk. “We were able to concentrate on cheese, and I think that’s when the cheese really got good,” says Judy.
The Next Generation
Sam and Judy Schad photo courtesy of Capriole Goat Cheese
Sam took on a bookkeeping role in the company after receiving his bachelor’s degree in accounting in 2019. He earned his MBA in 2021 and currently oversees day-to-day operations at Capriole.
“I tell everyone, knowing who my grandma is, it’s like trying to play basketball and your dad is Michael Jordan—you picked a weird career, you have some big shoes to fill!” he says. “I’m just trying to learn as much as I can from her experiences and the mistakes she made and trying not to make the same ones.”
Sam is especially inspired by his grandmother’s detail-oriented approach. “Something Judy did well is to embrace the challenge to better understand our products,” he says. “Sometimes the difference between being good and being great can be razor thin.”
The Cheeses
Capriole Goat Cheese specializes in bloomy-rinded, fresh-ripened goat’s milk cheeses. “We were one of the first creameries in the United States to make these styles and show customers that American cheesemakers could produce these types of products, and they could be produced, quite frankly, really well,” says Sam. “We pride ourselves on the fact that outside of pasteurization and vacuum-sealing, every part of the process is done by hand.”
“[Our cheeses] are all hand-ladled—none of the curd is pumped, so we don’t lose the airiness,” explains Judy. “I do think our cheeses are somewhat texturally different from a lot of goat cheeses you’re going to eat…We don’t go for fudgy, we go for light, airy, marshmallow-y.”
Capriole’s cheeses are named for people and places that are significant to the company. For example, the herbes de Provence and flower petal-coated Julianna originated as an experiment by intern Julianna Sedli. Piper’s Pyramide is named for Judy’s granddaughter and Capriole’s brand strategist, Piper Schad. Flora, a six-ounce cheese with a lightly wrinkled geotrichum candidum rind, is named after Judy’s grandmother.
“[My grandmother Flora] was a great cook,” Judy says. “This cheese is an homage to her traditions of cooking. Because for me, cheese is cooking—I’m not a scientist, I’m not a microbiologist. It’s all based on, ‘Is it the best thing it can be, how good does it really taste?’ Sam will tell you, I’m ridiculously persnickety.”
“I wouldn’t say persnickety,” Sam says. “She has a high standard, rightfully so.”
In 1988, Capriole Goat Cheese was a pioneer in the United States’ modern artisan cheese movement, and 36 years later, the company continues to play an important role. “I’ve had people come up to me and say, ‘I’ve eaten your cheeses, and I do what I do in my life because of that,’” Sam says. “We make a product that inspires people. It’s crazy to think that cheese can be an inspiring product, but having an impact on even just one person’s life is something that needs to be respected.”