artisan cheese
Artisanal cheese refers to cheeses produced by hand using the traditional craftsmanship of skilled cheesemakers. As a result, the cheeses are often more complex in taste and variety. Many are aged and ripened to achieve certain aesthetics. This c ...
producer in the town of
Winchester, California
Winchester is a census-designated place (CDP) in Riverside County, California, USA. As of the 2010 census, the CDP had a total population of 2,534, up from 2,155 at the 2000 census.
Winchester was founded in 1886 in Peasant Valley in what was th ...
, in
Riverside County
Riverside County is a county located in the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 2,418,185, making it the fourth-most populous county in California and the 10th-most populous in the Unit ...
,
Southern California
Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and Cultural area, cultural region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. It includes the Los Angeles metropolitan area, the second most po ...
.
The company was started by Jules Wesselink, who was born in the
Netherlands
)
, anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands
, established_title = Before independence
, established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
and came to the United States when he was in his 20s. He worked at his future
in-laws
''In-Laws'' is an American sitcom television series created by Mark Reisman, that aired on NBC from September 24, 2002 to January 14, 2003. The series starred Bonnie Somerville, Jean Smart, Elon Gold, and Dennis Farina.
Plot
The protagonist has ...
'
dairy
A dairy is a business enterprise established for the harvesting or processing (or both) of animal milk – mostly from cows or buffaloes, but also from goats, sheep, horses, or camels – for human consumption. A dairy is typically located on ...
before moving to Artesia in the 1950s to start his own dairy. He later moved to "a mountain rimmed valley situated in
Winchester
Winchester is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city in Hampshire, England. The city lies at the heart of the wider City of Winchester, a local government Districts of England, district, at the western end of the South Downs Nation ...
, near
Temecula
Temecula (; es, Temécula, ; Luiseño: ''Temeekunga'') is a city in southwestern Riverside County, California, United States. The city had a population of 110,003 as of the 2020 census and was incorporated on December 1, 1989. The city is a t ...
, about two hours southeast of
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
and not far from
San Diego
San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the List of United States cities by population, eigh ...
." After a plunge in dairy prices he visited his home town of
Haarlem
Haarlem (; predecessor of ''Harlem'' in English) is a city and municipality in the Netherlands. It is the capital of the province of North Holland. Haarlem is situated at the northern edge of the Randstad, one of the most populated metropoli ...
in the Netherlands in 1995, to learn the craft of Gouda
cheesemaking
Cheesemaking (or caseiculture) is the craft of making cheese. The production of cheese, like many other food preservation processes, allows the nutritional and economic value of a food material, in this case milk, to be preserved in concentrat ...
. Upon his return he started producing Gouda boerenkaas ("farmer's cheese"), first from milk supplied by his own
Holstein cow
Holstein Friesians (often shortened to Holsteins in North America, while the term Friesians is often used in the UK and Ireland) are a breed of dairy cattle that originated in the Dutch provinces of North Holland and Friesland, and Schleswig-Ho ...
s, a
Dutch
Dutch commonly refers to:
* Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands
* Dutch people ()
* Dutch language ()
Dutch may also refer to:
Places
* Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States
* Pennsylvania Dutch Country
People E ...
breed, and after 2001 from other suppliers. Commercial production started in 1996 and by 2008 was up to about 100,000 pounds annually.
Winchester Cheese Company expanded over the years and eventually included a gift shop, tasting area, and tour center. "Winchester cheeses have won numerous awards in competitions around the world, and they're now available at cheese specialty shops, upscale restaurants and wineries throughout the Southland", according to a write-up in ''Westways'' magazine as well as area
farmer's markets
A farmers' market (or farmers market according to the AP stylebook, also farmer's market in the Cambridge Dictionary) is a physical retail marketplace intended to sell foods directly by farmers to consumers. Farmers' markets may be indoors or o ...
. Flavors included a
jalapeño
The jalapeño ( , , ) is a medium-sized chili pepper pod type cultivar of the species ''Capsicum annuum''. A mature jalapeño chili is long and hangs down with a round, firm, smooth flesh of wide. It can have a range of pungency, with Scovi ...
Jules Wesselink died in 2011; continuation of production remained uncertain.
As of August 2013, the phone number is not in service and the company website no longer exists. According to Yelp, the company has closed.
See also
*
Artisan cheese
Artisanal cheese refers to cheeses produced by hand using the traditional craftsmanship of skilled cheesemakers. As a result, the cheeses are often more complex in taste and variety. Many are aged and ripened to achieve certain aesthetics. This c ...
*
List of cheesemakers
This is a list of notable cheesemakers. Cheesemakers are people or companies that make cheese, who have developed the knowledge and skills required to convert milk into cheese. Cheesemaking involves controlling precisely the types and amounts of ...