Cheese Lover’s Guide to Carmel Valley

Cheese is having a moment in the Carmel region of Monterey County. 

Monterey County has long been a great destination for food, wine, and scenery. The Santa Lucia Highlands AVA put California pinot noir on the map for good reason, and the central coast is also known for having the ideal climate for agriculture—70% of the nation’s artichokes and 30% of the state’s strawberries are grown in Monterey. And while not the epicenter of artisan cheesemaking, it is the birthplace of Monterey Jack. Read more about the history of Monterey Jack. Here are the best places to visit for cheese in Carmel and Carmel Valley.

 

Carmel Valley Creamery

1 Esquiline Rd., Carmel Valley

Sophie Hauville was ahead of the pandemic curve, having left her corporate job in San Francisco due to burn out for what was supposed to be a three-month retreat in Big Sur. When the shutdown hit, she had no desire to go back, so she quit her job and extended her temporary lease on the cabin she was occupying on a farm in Big Sur. Throwing herself into learning all she could about beekeeping and farming in her new home, this life pivot ended up paving the way for a new career when she became a mentee in cheesemaking from Big Sur neighbor Charlie Cascio, a longtime cheese legend in this region for his cave-aged raw goat milk cheeses at Sweetwater Farm. Long story short, Cascio was retiring from his cheesemaker position at Carmel Valley Ranch (see below), and handed the reins over to Hauville, who honed her craft there. 

In July of 2024, on Bastille Day, Hauville opened her own creamery, Carmel Valley Creamery, in the historic Rosie’s Cracker Barrel building. “In the world of dairy, we are tiny,” says Hauville of their 52 gallon vat operation. Large windows reveal their pasteurizing and aging rooms to customers who come in for their creamery products, coffee bar and picnic goods. “It is really important to me for people to see how the cheese is made,” explains Hauville of the space. Fromage blanc is always on offer in a variety of flavors, as well as a handful of aged cheeses. But since they only have 30 cheese molds, it limits production quite a bit. “Via Contenta” is a gruyere-style cheese, made with a black peppercorn tea and an olive oil and salt scrub on the outside. “River Day” is a raclette style with coriander seeds and washed in a local west coast IPA from Other Brother Beer Co. And the four week aged “Cowboy” is Hauville’s take on the camembert she grew up eating in her native Normandy, which was important for her to try to replicate for the Creamery. “I think we did a good job,” she admits.

 

Lady & Larder

9 Del Fino Pl Suite 101, Carmel Valley

The twin sisters behind Lady & Larder, who launched the beautiful cheese and charcuterie shop in Santa Monica in 2021 (and a previous incarnation of L&L in Mar Vista before that), actually grew up in Carmel Valley. But when Sarah and Boo Simms decided to move back home to help care for their dad, they not only kept the first shop going strong, they opened up a sister shop in the Carmel Valley Village in their hometown. 

In line with their original vision, the focus in this new space is their signature boards, piled with seasonal fruit, crudités, cheese and charcuterie, as well as mini picnic boxes (popular for all the wine tasters coming through the area) and Instagram famous stacked cheese “cakes.” These are not the sweet baked cake we might think of, but tiered towers of bloomy rind cheeses, like Von Trapp Farmstead Mt Alice, St Stephen Triple Cream, Mt Tam Triple Cream or Capriole Wabash Cannonball. They come garnished with fruit and flowers on a neutral wood board.

Like the Santa Monica location, the Carmel Valley location offers 100% American cheese. They have a micro retail section – natural wines, vermouth, tinned fish, jam, honey, olive oil, their own lady crackers, etc. and are open Wednesday to Sunday for cheese and charcuterie board pick ups. All of their picnic boxes, boards and cheese cakes can be ordered online with 24 hours notice and they also offer expanded drop-off catering and full on-site installation options as well at this location.

The shop recently introduced Marmee’s Bar, a weekend-only natural wine bar. Sarah also happens to be president of the California Artisan Cheese Guild, completing a second two-year term, so she knows California cheesemakers better than just about anyone.

 

Jerome’s Carmel Valley Market

2 Chambers Ln, Carmel Valley

Directly across the street from Carmel Valley Plaza is another place to find a bunch of cheese. Jerome’s Market, a historic grocery store in Carmel Valley that has been owned since 2016 by Chef Jérôme Viel, is not a cheese shop. It’s an actual market, loaded with all the typical things you would expect. But so much more. “Jerome is a fellow Frenchman and he has excellent taste,” comments Sophie Hauville of Carmel Valley Creamery. He stocks the shelves with hard to find imports and curated finds that will surprise you if you happen to be just dropping by for a deli sandwich (like all the locals do).

 

The cheese case is equally expansive and should be on this cheese trail list as a great spot to stock the picnic basket. You’ll find crowd-pleasers like the three milk La Tur from Italy, decadent Époisses from Burgundy, and Jasper Hill’s cave aged Cheddar, Vault No. 5, to name just a few.

 

Carmel Valley Ranch

1 Old Ranch Road, Carmel

The reason this luxury hotel property is on the cheese trail is because of former Executive Chef Tim Wood and his friendship with farmer Charlie Cascio. In 2016 Chef Wood helped Cascio evacuate his herd of goats from the Soberanes wildfire in Big Sur. The herd made a new home in Carmel Valley, and Wood and Cascio began a creamery as part of the resort’s comprehensive artisan program for guests. 

 

Today, still a cornerstone of the educational elements of the onsite production of cheese, honey, produce, wine and even salt, the creamery is helmed by Audra Volpe, a former shepherd’s hand and lion keeper who took over from Sophie Hauville (see above), inside the tiny space that was designed for Cascio’s small frame and his standards for ultimate efficiency. She is experimenting all the time, but always producing a fresh chevre and brie using milk from The Ranch’s own Swiss Saanen goats. Seasonal shifts introduce new products, such as a cheese layered with blueberries or the new “Valley Fog”, an ash-veined brie using the charred vegetables that The Valley Kitchen restaurant burns as part of their zero waste efforts. 

 

The Cheese Shop

Carmel Plaza Lower Level #109, Carmel-By-The-Sea

Celebrating its 51st year in business, The Cheese Shop in Carmel-by-the-Sea is an institution. Owned by Kent Torrey, whose affability and serious cheese and wine knowledge has secured a place for this cheese shop with credibility beyond the small town it finds itself. Employing cheesemongers in training, paving career paths and having lots of fun while doing it, has been a longstanding element for the shop. Everyone here knows a lot, and you can taste your way through the globe in cheese. 

 

Hands down the best seller is the creamy alpine style washed-rind Kaltbach Le Cremeux from Switzerland. Torry says that if he could change the name of the shop to ‘The One Cheese Shop’, this would be the One Cheese. The most expensive cheese in stock at the time of this story is the award-winning Australian “Anthill” chevre coated with native lemon myrtle and green ants at $137.95 per pound. A wine shop in back is also a local no-brainer, for a thoughtful selection of bottles from hyperlocal to across the seas.

 

Where to Stay

There are many great spots to stay in this area, and depending on where you’re planning to linger, accommodations vary from boutique chic to expansive and rural. Carmel-by-the-Sea has been having a new hotel explosion post-pandemic, and the newest to open is Stilwell Hotel, set in a great location (less than a five minute walk to Michelin starred Chez Noir and right above the fine dining restaurant, Foray) with an intimate feel. And speaking of dairy, every Sunday they debut a weekly ice cream sundae service with housemade ice cream and all the toppings. Plus wood fired pizza on offer for guests in their central courtyard lounge.

Le Petit Pali is also a recent newcomer, with two locations just blocks away. The decor and whimsy at these hotels are memorable, with cozy sitting room gathering places that feature fun offerings for guests with contributions from local food producers. This comes to play at “Social Hour” with a recent sparkling rosé lemonade cocktail and homemade potato chips by Stationæry down the street (the owners Alissa and Anthony Carnazzo have been pivotal in creating a fresh culinary scene here) and the daily complimentary continental Champagne breakfast.

Out in Carmel Valley, it’s hard to beat a stay at Carmel Valley Ranch. The 500 acre property makes it easy to really have a retreat. Former Chef Tim Wood was instrumental in establishing the onsite garden, beekeeping and creamery that has made a lasting mark on the experience here. They even have a salt house, dragging seawater from the coast by the gallons to dry in their tiny salt house, producing a house labeled salt that is utilized amply in the hotel kitchen.

Another standout out in Carmel Valley, and a nice stop on the cheese trail, is Bernardus Lodge & Spa. They also have been longtime producers of honey, wine and the culinary arts, and they support Carmel Valley Creamery’s new efforts with becoming one of their first local wholesale customers, serving the fromage blanc on the beet salad at onsite Lucia restaurant. You’ll never want to leave this place, tucked into your little bungalow with all the crisp Bernardus chardonnay you can drink.