January and February are quiet months at Pennyroyal Farm, Navarro's sister farm in Boonville. Not only did our goats and sheep get time off for late pregnancy but, this year, Sarah Bennett was busy at home taking care of her new twins, and cheesemaker Erika McKenzie-Chapter took a deferred honeymoon to Poitou-Charentes, France, to visit the Fumaillou Farm, where she first learned cheesemaking. Goats and sheep, as well as people, need time off to maintain vigor and health and it is the main reason we do not milk at the start of each year. In mid- March that will all rapidly change with the start of kidding and lambing season and our barns will be astir with bouncing kids and frolicking lambs. Our cheese boards were remarkably empty at the beginning of March, with only the aged Vintage and Reserve Boont Corners still available, but we are gearing up to start production of Pennyroyal Laychee, Bollie's Mollies, Velvet Sisters, Boonters Blue and Boont Corners. Pennyroyal cheeses have been in high demand, especially after kind reviews in Sunset, Decanter, SF Chronicle and the LA Times. The best way to guarantee that you get to taste these handcrafted, local, seasonal cheeses at their peak of flavor (and about a 20% discount) is to join Pennyroyal's Farm to Table Program. To join, sign up at www.PennyroyalFarm.com or give Navarro's staff a phone call.
Erika with juvenile kids; the goats will be bred when they are two years old and become part of Pennyroyal's flock. Goats are friendly especially when they have been treated as pets.
Skyler Bennett White loves kids and lambs and they love her.
We pack cheeses with cold packs in insulated containers, and ship using one-day service. Five time a year it will arrive at your home or office fresh from the farm. Guaranteed.
or give Navarro's tasting room a call to receive a sign up form.