Everything staff, ambiance, locally made cheese and it was not raining. Highly recommend a stop.

We were here last year August 2017. I love cheese and it was a wonderful stop before our drive up to Madras for the Total Solar Eclipse. Nancy was working the tasting room today - she's always so patient and kind with questions and any odd queries we have for their varieties. My favorite is always the Gouda and Dill Havarti. We were able to share our favorite cheese spot with our friend who lives in nearby Dallas. Glad they are doing well and winning awards! Try the borenkaas too! So good! read more

Willamette Valley Cheese - Cheese Shops Near Me - Salem, Oregon

Cheese, fresh, delicious Oregon Cheese, in about two dozen different varieties. What's not to love? California and Wisconsin cheesemakers, eat your hearts out! What ever issues there were in the past, clearly the owners have worked hard to resolve them. I found the store and restroom clean, there is plenty of parking, the Staff friendly, attentive, and enthusiastic, all in an authentic rural Willamette Valley farmstead setting. And they give you cheese samples. Glorious cheese. My favorite were the fresh Gouda. No, the smoked Gouda. The Havarti, any one of eight varieties. No, really, it was the Aged Cheddar. The Willamette Valley Cheese Company is deservedly a cornerstone of the Oregon Artisan Cheese and Food Trail. Do not miss it! Five Stars. read more

Willamette Valley Cheese - Willamette Valley Cheese Company is on the Oregon Artisan Cheese and Food Trail. - Cheese Shops Near Me - Salem, Oregon

Closed. No longer open since 2020. Not very cheezy. Cows have been replaced by trucks.

Husbandry, tasting facility and product observations in that order and based on a visit to the tasting room a few weeks ago. HUSBANDRY: They call them "Jersey working girls". The brown and white colored Jersey cows you see grazing in the fields on the drive up to the tasting room. But as we pulled up we also saw black and white cows (Holsteins?) that were being held in a pen, some lying in their own waste causing a passenger in our back seat to say, "I feel sorry for the cows. I couldn't work at a dairy". Yet, he (and I) eat cheese. And this is one of the good guy dairies whose cheese we buy at our local market. . A small artisan dairy with a thoughtful compass about animal husbandry and quality product production. Still, true enough that most of us, like our passenger that day, don't think of the process all the way through for how cheese is produced. Keeping cows pregnant and taking away the calves after delivery so the milk can be harvested for human use. Sending out the calves to be raised, in the case of the females, to be dairy animals themselves or, in the case of the males, to end up as veal production. It's good to think about where our food comes from. Some of us will choose not to eat dairy products as a result. Some of us will choose to still do that. But if we do that mindfully then we'll also choose to do business with places like Willamette Valley Cheese Company (WVCC) where husbandry standards are high. Employees take pride that the cows are well tended and pointed out, and we agreed, the lack of odor, even at the holding pen, that is present in mass market dairy farms and the lack of mournful "mooing" here (which can be a distress response in cows) as the cows graze in open field. They also share that the calves are not sent to feed lots for veal production, but to free range locations where they can grow into full sized cows. Which I can hear my vegetarian friends saying ultimately meet the same end of ending up on a dinner plate. True enough. I don't eat beef anymore myself. But if I did I would choose free range raised cattle over the suffering of those raised in food lots. TASTING ROOM: End of food source ruminations. Now for the tasting room. A smallish but bright space inside an old house on the dairy property. Tasting is free and samples are offered of all of the many cheeses made by WVCC. Six stars to the woman managing the tasting room the day we visited. Folks who want to know how to get this right at any tasting room might just come watch her as she could teach a master class. Every cheese made was freshly cut and offered as samples to the ten or so of us in the tasting room, all the while answering our questions and gathering our feedback and ringing up the sales. She was a great, friendly emissary for the business! Sadly, tasting here would be inaccessible to most people with mobility limits given the deep gravel parking lot and also that the tasting room has an awkward step up or two into it. (see photos) For advance planning if you need to consider barrier free access for yourself or family member or friend, you will find barriers here. Unfortunate since it would be readily achievable to fix this. But for now it is what it is. And it also is the reason this review is three stars and not four, the entry barriers to the 13% minority population of Americans that are people with mobility disabilities. I have MS myself so I put a high premium on equal access. And, no, a building is not grandfathered in to allow barriers because it was built before 1990 when the ADA was passed. That is where the "readily achievable" thing comes in for barrier removal. Just sayin'. PRODUCT: While Willamette Valley Cheese Company is likely best known for their flavored Havarti cheeses, we most enjoyed the aged Fontina they call Brindisi (a first for us at the tasting room since our market doesn't stock it), the aged Cheddar (white of course as all cheddar is absent food coloring agents which, thankfully, they do not add here) and Brie. We think their Brie is excellent and when purchased in the tasting room it is as fresh as it gets. . THIS N THAT: Since I'd seen WVCC ads that said their cheese is from all Jersey cow milk (which tends to be higher in fat and more flavorful for cheese they say), after our visit I emailed the company to ask about the black and white cows in the pen that had the passenger in our back seat feeling sorry for them. They told me that WVCC does raise other breeds of cows to sell milk to other cheese makers. Also they said all their cows are pasture raised but on that day there was work being done in a pasture hence these cows time in the holding pen. Very nice of them to answer my inquiry. read more

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Put this on your list as a "must try". Great for the whole family, this is a working dairy and cheese factory, that features some sublime cheeses. You can taste them all if you so choose. Better than the wineries, because it costs you nothing. Unless, of course, you buy some to bring home. Which we did. Luckily, they are shrink wrapped to keep them fresh and will travel nicely in our little ice chest. Great experience, fun drive, even got to meet the ladies (i.e. cows) up close and personal, who are the real reason we are all there. read more

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So glad I left this place as last on my trek to Salem as it is out in the boonies. This is a tiny store where you pass tons of cows before getting in. The smell is...cow. Holy cow. As I entered, there is a chalkboard of all the available cheeses on site. The kind and informative lady explained the history of the place and proceeded to start the tastings. She shared samples of everything. I almost wished I didn't go after lunch as I was full but not too full for cheese. I got to try ALL the cheeses. They were all wonderful. All made on site by those aromatic cows. I was expecting a big store or something equivalent to a winery size, but it is small. It also does the job. I'm so glad I got to go and try them all as I love love love cheese. read more

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FREE cheese tasting! w00t! The lady was so nice and very generous with the cheese tasting! I'm so glad I stopped by to eat some cheese. ^__^ I say the harvati herb de provence was my favorite! It's not expensive either! read more

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Wow, we arrived at the end of the day, and ended up tasting almost every cheese in the place! These are wonderful cheeses especially the havartis and the goudas. They are enriched with spices or fruits. I loved the herbs de Provence and the smoky gouda! The cheese is pre-packaged for purchase, so it is easy to grab your favorites on the way out. If you have been wine tasting during the day, many of the wineries also have this cheese. I would order this cheese again if they will ship it, and whole wheel cheese is available. Our host was delightful and very knowledgeable! read more

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CUMIN GOUDA!!! Need I say more. It's the best cheese ever. They have many other kinds of cheese but if you like cumin this will be your favorite too. read more

We stumbled upon this cheese paradise by sheer dumb luck. It's been several years since we've been. We were not only able to try every single type of cheese they had but we were encouraged to try them all. I believe it was 40+ types. You get to see the adorable and happy dairy cows when you pull up. The tasting room is on the smaller side. Might want to call and find out their Covid practices. We recommend this place to anyone we know that will be in the area. There wasn't even one cheese that wasn't delicious. read more

My husband and I received some of their cheese for Christmas along with a voucher that notes "this voucher is good for a free cheese tasting in our tasting room...", "Voucher good for 2 persons". As I was checking their website today, looking forward to one day using the voucher, I was puzzled as it looked like the cheese tasting was free so wondered the value of the voucher. I then checked out the Yelp reviews and seen a negative review addressing these vouchers indicating they called the company about them and were told that yes, the cheese tasting is free, and the voucher really had no value but they handed them out with this information as "good business". No, that's just being deceitful. Giving the impression that you were in possession of a voucher of value when in fact it is worth nothing, is just BAD business. A company that attempts to increase business with false advertising or deceiving information is not a company that deserves the public's trust and patronage. Needless to say, we will no longer be planning a trip to Willamette Valley Cheese Co and will be passing on their ploy to everyone we know. I rarely post reviews but my biggest pet peeve is dishonesty. read more

Willamette Valley Cheese - Voucher indicating it's worth entry for two for cheese tasting when in fact it's free is purely bad business. - Cheese Shops Near Me - Salem, Oregon

GREAT place to try local cheeses. Wide variety of cheddars, Goudas, Havarti, and Fontina. Relaxed tasting room with no pressure to purchase. I got a couple of different cheeses I just don't see in Los Angeles. Excited to get home & eat. Wish the cows would have been outside when I was there to add to the ambiance but understand they are on a schedule. Go. Taste. Enjoy. read more

Willamette Valley Cheese - the entrance to the building - Cheese Shops Near Me - Salem, Oregon

The cheese tasting was free, which was a plus. The cheeses I sampled weren't that good. I bought a bag of cheese curds and they were especially not good. read more

Willamette Valley Cheese - Exterior - Cheese Shops Near Me - Salem, Oregon

We are a little confused as the most recent review was only 14 days ago. Per Yelp they are open. We drove down to find out they've been closed since May 2020!! So I'm putting this here so people will know. Hope to visit if you ever reopen again! read more

The cheese I tasted at the Portland Farmer's Market was GREAT. So enjoy that if you'd like. But when I bought some, the very nice man gave me a flier that he said allowed entry for two to their cheese tasting room. Written on the flier were the words "Voucher is good for 2 persons." So I looked into this to see what kind of gratitude they were extending to me, and it turns out the tasting room is FREE. I called them, to make sure I wasn't missing anything, and they said that, no, the voucher isn't worth anything, and is "just good business." So I responded that, while their cheese was lovely and I wished them luck, being lied to is not "good business" in my book, and so I won't be frequenting their tasting room or their stalls at local markets ever again. That's one of the problems with Capitalism, though, isn't it? It encourages good folks to do bad things in the name of profit. I love that they used the words "just" and "good" in their response to me, and am considering sending them a dictionary. read more

A short, beautiful drive from the McMinnville area. It's a working dairy farm with a small retail store. The staff is very friendly and takes the time to let you enjoy the samples and explain the types of cheeses. If you are a fan of Havarti, this is your place! About ten different kinds. The tastings are free and the prices are reasonable. They also sell the blue ice packets, insulated bags and crackers if you want to have an impromptu picnic at your next winery! read more

What a super cute place to take a break from wine tasting! One of the area tasting rooms was sampling a lovely cheese from this place, and told us we should check it out. We are so glad we did! They had a great variety of havarti, gouda, cheddar and jack cheeses, and were delighted to offer us samples of every variety. The server was very nice and helpful. We wound up getting four different cheeses to enjoy at home with the wines we had purchased that day. When we went outside, we spent a few minutes looking at the cows. read more

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Great cheese!!!!! The cranberry is amazing!!! Super nice and very informative!!! They even have papers on pairing your cheeses with food and drinks! Totally recommend this place to try some local cheese! And you can say hi to the Jersey girls (that's the cows!)! read more

Willamette Valley Cheese - Jersey girls! - Cheese Shops Near Me - Salem, Oregon

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http://www.statesmanjournal.com/story/tech/science/environment/2017/12/05/willamette-valley-cheese/836556001/ The article above goes into great detail about the environmental violations that led the state to revoke their permit. For a period of time, they were getting their milk from Darigold but continuing to market it as "farmstead", in violation of the rules of the American Cheese society. Read the article for yourself and make you own decision. There are lots of other cheesemakers in Oregon who uphold the law and don't lie to their customers. read more

In the middle of our wine tasting adventure, we glimpsed a sign for this dairy and tasting room and turned around to check it out. The tasting room isn't anything fancy, just a tiny building next to a big pen of cows, but the free samples and cheese facts and the friendly service made for a lovely stop. Be sure to take some cheese home with you. The prices were reasonable and since you can try everything they have on site, you can make sure you love the cheese before you buy it. It is a bit off the path, so perhaps give a call before stopping in. There was only one employee on site the day we were in, and I can imagine they may close on some popular travel days. read more

We had a great time and really enjoyed tasting their cheeses. The young man that was working in the tasting room was very knowledgeable and had a great personality, he didn't mind us asking a million questions and was able to answer all of them :-) I think we tried just about every cheese they had to offer. We purchased a great variety of cheese to take with us on our road trip! read more

If you're not going to be open you should post the changed hours to the Maps app. Thanks for wasting my time. Carl Schroeder. Yeah

Such a fantastic find! I'm a lover of all things cheese so the tasting was a fun aspect. The woman conducting the tasting was very knowledgeable and friendly. I left there with a few different types of cheese and even some cheese curds. Everything was so delicious. read more

Yummm. Chive and pepper gouda was incredible. They are beyond generous with samples. Really too much for our party.

This place was SOOO much fun. We stopped between wine tastings and it was a perfect choice. The host was friendly and helpful. More guests showed up and it made it more fun. Thank Willamette Valley Cheese! read more

The cheese was very tasty - lots of varieties to choose from. However the lady behind the counter had zero personality. What should have been a fun cheese tasting experience was made uncomfortable by her lack of social skills and personality. We would love to come back if another person was serving the cheese for tasting. If the same woman is there again we will stick to tasting cheese at Whole Foods. A small shop like this should be over the top super friendly and accommodating/informative to customers if they want return business. Oh and the cows were so cute!!! read more

We drove about 12 hours today from California, a Saturday to patronize their cheese shop. My uncle and I do every year. To our dismay they wer closed and we believe we saw the person staffing the shop pull away as we pulled up. 4:12pm, websit states open till 5pm. We spent close to $300 in previous years and passed out to all our friends. Me thinks not any more, we will pass out beechers, cougar gold and some rogue creamery goodies......we won't see you next year either. Thanks but no thanks read more

We first tried their cheese at the Portland State Farmer's Market and loved so many of the cheeses that we wanted to go to the source. The gal at the counter could not have been less friendly..but the cheese is awesome! read more

This "rustic" place makes some wonderful cheeses. The tasting is free, and you could actually make lunch out of the tastings as they have 25 or more cheeses, you are welcome to taste any and all of them, and the tasting portions are significant compared to commercial cheese shops in cities. Rachel, who was running the shop when we were there, was amazing. She is so incredibly personable and very willing to engage in conversation about where you're from, where she's from, what you like, wine tasting in the area, etc. Just a marvelous experience. I debated whether this was five star or four star only because they do not make soft cheeses such as brie, not truly hard cheeses such as parmesan. But, from Havarti, to Asiago, to Cheddar, to Gouda, to cheese curds, to Jack, to Fontina - and for all but the curds, multiple flavors, ages, and varieties of each - you can create such an amazing visit. Of course, we bought cheese - a wedge of four different cheeses for only $25. When we ordered, I didn't even know how much they were, and I didn't care. They were that good. I was flabbergasted that I left with over 1 1/2 pounds of delicious cheese for that little money. read more

Vacationing in Oregon and drove an hour to this farm. Unbelievably, the employee there said she was too busy to have us taste cheese! That is the only reason you'd go there--you sure wouldn't go for the smelly cows that look miserable and crammed into their their little sheds. Do not recommend. read more

It's out quite a ways to get to. But they have excellent cheese! And they have free samples. I was in hog heaven tasting all the different kinds of smoked cheeses! Yum! read more

We took a drive out here during a fun-filled weekend getaway, and couldn't have been happier with the experience. DLW loved seeing the cows, sheep and goats on the property (they only use cow's milk for the cheese), and even more loved that she could get up close and even pet them. The cheese was also great. The woman running the tasting room let us try everything in the case, and answered every question DLW had in her foodie quest to know all things cheese. We left with a couple of pieces, which we devoured back home. If you're in Salem, check this out. read more

The cheese is incredibly tasty. I recommend stopping in to taste or if you see them carried in a store to purchase some! Their tasting room is a little left to be desired... extremely tiny, not small, tiny - and if there are more than one party tasting it can become quite unorganized. I recommend going as soon as they open to get some one on one service. read more

Easy to find, quaint little tasting room, clean. Bathroom available. Dogs met us at the car, which we loved. We petted some cows, very sweet. Washed our hands, met the people serving us - lovely and so knowledgable! - then set about tasting every single cheese they have! They have water and crackers, and notecards and pens so you can make notes as you taste. They have wedges for sale right there and the prices are good. The Farmstead Gouda and Havarti are amazing, but many of their cheeses are just knock-outs! The service is outstanding. They made us feel so welcome, and not at all rushed. A very fun & tasty experience! read more

Good variety of cheeses made on site with cow and sheep milk. Friendly, informative staff serve during the tastings. Take friends from out of town here all the time, and they love it, too. read more

Eat. Local. Cheese. And this is a good place to start. We love their selection and have tremendous admiration for their commitment to quality and sustainability. read more

This place is awesome. The people behind the counter are super friendly, and know a lot about their product. My absolute favorites are the Aged Gouda, Pinot Crushed Gouda, and the different Havarti cheeses. The garlic cheese curds (super fresh) are also very good. read more

what a fun place to sample lots (and I mean LOTS) of great cheeses!! I walked out with $30 worth. It was really fun and everything was amazing! read more

Visited last year. Loved the cheese and took home 3 kinds. Lots of variety and you can taste them all if you can last. Will return again.