Storyteller

“When considering how best to use the beautiful sheep’s milk we get from a local Amish dairy, I thought about my Spanish ancestors and the Pyrenees cheeses they produced. It inspired me to create something in a similar style, something with the floral, herbaceous flavors in the milk that comes from sheep feeding on grasses in the spring and summer. Storyteller is our version of Pyrenees-style cheese.” –Mariano Gonzalez, Head Cheesemaker

Introduced in 2023—the first new cheese conceived and developed by our head cheesemaker, Mariano Gonzalez—Storyteller is a Pyrenees-style cave aged sheep’s milk cheese made with 100% unpasteurized/raw sheep’s milk sourced form the Central New York Dairy Sheep Milk Producers. Storyteller is aged in traditional basket-weave molds for at least six months in our caves. Its creamy paste, earthy aroma, balance of nutty and grassy flavors, and a lingering/long finish, make it an ideal representation of sheep’s milk cheese.

Storyteller has a firm texture and an herbaceous flavor with a telltale sheep tang. It pairs well with marcona almonds, Serrano ham, dried apricots and figs, and red wine. It is a stellar table cheese.

Why Storyteller? It is a name informed by rich local history. Our newest cheese pays homage to one of Grafton’s most well-known community members, Daisy Turner. Daisy was a prolific storyteller and daughter of escaped slave Alec Turner who settled in Grafton on the southside of Bear Hill in 1873. Daisy became famous late in life for her oral recording of her family’s history, which can be traced back to Africa and England.