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THE MAINE CHEESE GUILD PRESENTS THE THIRD ANNUAL CHEESE AND WINE FESTIVAL AT THE SAMOSET RESORT OCTOBER 15

Maine cheesemakers now craft exciting new and traditional cheeses from on-farm or local goat, sheep, and cow milk that truly reflects the season and region of their creation: tangy goats cheese pyramids that crumble on the tongue; sharp full-bodied aged cheeses made from sheep, cows, and goats milk; delicate scoops of fresh cheese mixed with herbs; rustic blue cheeses; creamy cheese discs marinated in olive oil.

Farmers' Markets, shops and restaurants around Maine now feature these and other handmade cheeses that that "...rival the best of any cheeses produced in Europe" according to DownEast Magazine, while The New York Times recently declared that "New England has become the most important center of American cheese craft east of California. While California has more sunshine, New England has better grass -- the finest pasture land in the country, some say."

But don't take their word for it, find out for yourself at the third annual Maine Cheese and Wine Festival at the Samoset Resort in Rockport on Saturday, October 15th, beginning at 9:00am for chefs and cheese retailers, and 10:00am for the general public. This celebration will feature tastes of all Maine's premium cheeses and wines, seminars about Maine cheesemaking and cheesemakers, plus demonstrations of how to make fresh and delicious products with Maine's abundant and high quality milk. This year Maine's wine makers will join the festivities, highlighting their growing industry and products, as well as offering advice on the proper pairing of wine and cheese.

Jeffrey Roberts, co-founder of the Vermont Institute for Artisan Cheese, will headline the speakers at the Festival giving a Keynote address titled: Terroir, the Taste of Place. Roberts is president of Cow Creek Creative Ventures, dedicated to helping businesses, higher education, government and nonprofit organizations, develop innovative solutions in the areas of agriculture and food policy, conservation, the environment, public health and community development.

Many of Maine's premier and award winning artisan cheesemakers will be on hand to sample and sell their cheese, as well as to answer questions about their artisanal cheeses such as how and where in the state they make them. The Maine cheese and wine makers will include:

• Appleton Creamery, Appleton
• Sunset Acres, Brooksville
• Silvery Moon Creamery at Smiling Hill, Westbrook
• State of Maine Cheese Co., Rockport
• Liberty Fields Farm, Saco
• Hahn's End, Phippsburg
• Oak Leaf Creamery, Kennebunk
• Seal Cove, Lamoine
• York Hill, New Sharon
• --
• Winterport Winery, Winterport
• Bartlett Wine, Gouldsboro
• Blacksmith Winery, Saco
• Cellar Door Winery, Lincolnville

And the Fertile Mind Bookstore of Belfast will be onhand with a selection of cheese and wine books available to browse and purchase. The scheduled demonstrations include:

• Understanding Fermented Dairy Foods
• Make a simple Queso Blanco cheese
• Make an aged French Tomme cheese
• Cooking with artisan cheeses
• American Goat: a multimedia presentation by Karl Schatz, including photos from Slow Food Cheese 2005
• Chat with the Cheesemakers

Cheese and other milk products start with the care and feeding of dairy livestock; the festival will feature examples of these dairy breeds along with the farmers who tend them who will be available to demonstrate husbandry techniques as well as to answer questions.

Cheese can be made from the milk of any animal -- sample milk and cheese from sheep, goats, and cows to compare. There will be antique cheese making tools and fixtures on display to help describe Maine's long history of making cheese, and how the process has changed very little going back hundreds -- and thousands -- of years. Other information, such as books about cheeses and cheesemaking, from beginning to technically advanced, will also be available for browsing and for sale.

On Sunday, October 16, many of the participating cheesemakers and winemakers will host Open Farms, Wineries and Creameries. Festival attendees are invited back to the farm to see how artisan cheeses and wines are made.

The Samoset has made available rooms for a reduced rate for anybody who attends. The Maine Cheese Guild will hold a raffle for several gift baskets of artisanal cheeses to raise funds for the organization, and will have a booth where interested attendees can get information about becoming a member. Historical cheesemaking artifacts will also be on display.

The Maine Cheese Guild was formed in 2003 to promote Maine cheese and cheesemaking, educate cheesemakers and consumers, share resources, and share the joy and art of regional cheese. The Cheese and Wine Festival will introduce consumers to the wide array of cheeses being crafted in Maine.

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Read about previous cheese festivals here.