The Best Fall Cheese Festivals in California and Wisconsin

California is the number 1 dairy producing state and Wisconsin is right behind as number 2 so it should come as no surprise that both celebrate cheese with fall festivals. 2024 is the 9th year for California’s SF Cheese Fest and 2023 marked the inaugural year for Art of Cheese Festival in Wisconsin (it returns in 2025).

SF Cheese Fest

The SF Cheese Fest will happen on Saturday, Sept. 21, 2024 at the San Francisco Ferry Building’s Grand Hall. It is an annual fundraiser for California Artisan Cheese Guild, a nonprofit organization celebrating and supporting the state’s produced artisan cheeses.

This is the second time it will be held at the city’s iconic building and will featured live music by Brooke & Mike.

At this special tasting, attendees can sample Californian artisan cheeses and specialty foods and local beers and California wines. A “Grazing Table” will be sponsored by Ollie's American Cheese + Provisions and Gourmet Imports with charcuterie, fruits and veggies.

Close to 20 local artisan cheesemakers will present their products at the festival; the complete list of vendor participants includes mostly Northern Californian artisan producers such as Nicasio Valley Cheese Co, Wm Cofield Cheese Co (read more about Wm. Cofield) and Tomales Farmstead Creamery (read more about Tomales Farmstead).

“California cheesemakers are a tight-knit community,” said Miller. “We look forward to showcasing our cheese, and sharing our work with each other and those who love cheese.”

Festival admission consists of the VIP Early Entry from 5 to 6 p.m., with general entry from 6 to 9 p.m. General admission tickets are $98 and VIP tickets are an additional $50, plus fees. Proceeds will help raise funds for the guild.

Art of Cheese Festival

The Dairy Farmers of Wisconsin presented the Art of Cheese Festival from September 29 through October 1, in 2023 in Madison and it is slated to return in September of 2025. The inaugural three-day event consisted of exclusive cheese-driven experiences promoting the state’s finest fromage.

“We wanted to show off the beauty of Wisconsin and the history of cheesemaking, and how important agriculture is to the Dairy State,” said Rachel Kerr, the Dairy Farmers of Wisconsin’s senior director, experiential and brand marketing. “The tradition of cheesemaking excellence began more than 180 years ago – before Wisconsin was recognized as a state.”

The festival had over 40 Wisconsin cheesemakers present or represented, and more than 100 different cheeses featured. Attendees learned from cheese experts, makers, farmers and more.

Presenters included many Cheese Professor luminaries including Liz Thorpe, author of The People’s Cheese and Gateway Cheese; Belinda Chang, a James Beard Award-winning sommelier; Erika Kubick, author of Cheese Sex Death (read our review of the book) and cheese preacher; Marissa Mullen, author and founder of That Cheese Plate (read our review of her book That Cheese Plate Wants to Party; Justin Warner, an American cookbook author and Food Network television personality; Laura Werlin, a James Beard award-winning author of six books on cheese (read our profile of Laura Werlin); and our contributor, Jeanette Hurt, an award-winning food/drink author and editor.

There were seminars on cheese-related topics such as pairings with cocktails, chocolates and coffees, assembling cheeseboards and a cheesemaking 101. There were different cheese experiences, too— a yoga session; a crawl in Madison’s Willy Street neighborhood; dinner at the Harvey House, a Wisconsin supper club within an old train depot; and a trip to two cheesemakers in Southern Wisconsin’s Green County.