Avalanche Cheese Co. will make its last batches of cheese at the end of this milking season in December, and its last salumi at the end of this month.
This decision has been painful for me on so many levels. It was 2008 when we purchased our farm in Paonia, welcomed 50 dairy goats from our friends at Haystack Creamery onto our land, built out dairy operations in Paonia and a creamery in Basalt. I have been fortunate to work with the most wonderful people on the farm, in the creamery, in the meat room and in the farmers' markets.
We grew the goat herd to 200 milking goats and made cheeses that were sold in local farmers' markets, served in restaurants, and delivered regionally through gourmet distributors. Our pastured goats produced beautiful milk, and our cheese-making team turned out world-class goat cheddars, blues, robiolas and chevres that won awards at national competitions and put the North Fork and Roaring Fork valleys on the artisanal cheese map.
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