Finger Lakes Cheese Trail Spring Open House is Set for June 8th

Many of the farms will be offering farm tours, and several will have with extra activities created especially for the Open Houses. At Muranda Cheese Co. in Waterloo, visitors can take a rarely-offered farm tour and get their pictures taken with the cows. At Lively Run Goat Dairy in Interlaken for example, visitors can bottle feed the baby goats. And Engelbert Farms in Nichols will even be releasing several new varieties of organic cheese just in time for the Open House!

"We're changing up our cheeses this year," said Lisa Engelbert, who runs the farm with her husband Kevin and their family. "We will be releasing our Feta and our spreadable cows' milk cheese, La Vache, in plain, hot pepper, horseradish, dill, lemon thyme and garlic chive in time for the Open House. Then later this summer we'll also have beer-brined Manchego and plain, dill and smoked Gouda, hopefully in time for the Finger Lakes Cheese Festival!"

Engelbert Farms is less than five minutes off Exit 62 of the Southern Tier Expressway, which is the exit for Nichols and Tioga Downs. After a visit there, it's about a 45 minute drive to the newest member on the Trail, Dutch Hill Creamery in Chenango Forks, just north of Binghamton.

Brian Aukema, who owns Aukema-Dairy, the farm behind this new creamery, explains why his family decided to build a micro-creamery on their farm. "We're a small family owned and operated dairy farm, and wanted a way to make the farm sustainable to the next generation. The micro-creamery produces quality dairy products for the consumer: all natural, hormone-free, non-homogenized milk and fresh cheese curd. Plus we carry many local products because we believe in supporting the local food movement. Which is exactly why we joined the Trail, because we share their mission of educating and spreading the word the about the many benefits of farm-fresh products and produce!"

The Finger Lakes Cheese Trail is comprised of 12 working, family dairies throughout the Finger Lakes Region of New York State. They offer a variety of artisan cheeses, including cheddars, goudas, chevres, brie, Swiss,  and jacks, along with popular cheese curds. While a few of the farms do not have visitor hours, most do and encourage visits throughout the year. Trail members’ cheeses are available at their farms, local shops and farmers markets, and several wineries and restaurants throughout the Region. Each year, the Trail hosts Open Houses at their farms, and encourages the public to come visit and tour the farms. They also host the popular Finger Lakes Cheese Festival each July on a member farm, which is a family focused event that gives cheese lovers an opportunity to visit with all the members on one farm for one day, while enjoying a wide variety of events, classes and demos.  They also participate in many community and Regional events throughout the year. People can learn more about the trail atwww.flcheesetrail.com or on their Facebook page, Finger Lakes Cheese Trail.