Big news for fans of Maple Smoked Cheddar: Grafton Village Cheese has been acquired by Vermont Farmstead, a neighboring producer of farmstead cheese. That's a major shift for a creamery founded back in 1892. Here's why we're excited about a more sustainable future for artisan dairy!
Grafton Village began as a farmers coop. In the days before refrigeration, making cheese was a keystone method for dairy farmers to preserve the milk they couldn't sell right away. The creamery operated until 1912 when it was destroyed by a fire. Fast forward a few decades to the 1960s and a non-profit organization called the Windham Foundation restored the company to operation while retaining its small dairy farming roots. Since then, Grafton Village cheeses have been a Vermont tradition with a slate of awards for productions like Shepsog, a 50/50 blend of cow's and sheep's milk that's aged with a natural rind until it develops deep nutty caramel notes.
There's never been a better time to eat local artisan cheese in the United States, but it's also never been harder to run a small dairy or creamery. Corporate land grabs, rising production costs, and competition from industrial operations threaten independent farmers and cheesemakers everywhere. Both a 20-person artisan creamery and a 500-person cheese factory are subject to the same regulations and shipping networks, but the factories have whole departments to handle what the little guys are forced to juggle in between shifts in the cheesemaking room. Even with excellent products, many just can't make the business math work. The people at Grafton Village didn't want this beloved Vermont creamery to become another casualty. Instead, they decided to combine forces with another iconic Vermont creamery that understands the importance of small farms and local cheese. On Monday, April 14th, Vermont Farmstead officially acquired Grafton Village Cheese.
The two brands will continue to operate independently with their own lines of products. In the back office, though, the companies will benefit from shared resources, complementary markets, and distribution at greater scale. "Our teams are very familiar with each other," says Vermont Farmstead Present and COO Kent Underwood. "We've had a collaborative relationship for the past 15 years. It goes back to the Vermont nature of things where you know your neighbors and people in the same fields."
Mariano Gonzalez has been the head cheesemaker at Grafton Village since 2019. He started making cheese as a little kid in Paraguay, helping out his uncle with batches of a local fresh cheese. In 1987, he immigrated to the United States, where he's been making artisan cheese in Vermont and California for nearly 40 years. Gonzalez is responsible for elevating and streamlining Grafton Village's raw milk cheeses and has created some popular recipes of his own. He sees the company acquisition as "a huge opportunity to be more efficient and combine resources" with a new kind of nimbleness. This purchase shifts Grafton Village's ownership from a non-profit organization to a private company. Gonzalez thinks he'll be able to work with more of an entrepreneurial spirit while "we continue supporting the local farmers who are fundamental to our work."
Don't expect any dramatic changes to either creamery in the near future. Underwood says both companies are in a "listening phase" with their customers to best meet their needs. Gonzalez intends to continue refining operations while keeping quality at Grafton Village's core. The big improvements will be to shipping, sales, and logistics. Not as sexy as a new kind of cheddar, but just as crucial to running a creamery that stands the test of time. Here's to another hundred years of Vermont cheese!
Taste Grafton Village's amazing raw milk cheeses!
Photo of Mariano Gonzalez and Kent Underwood courtesy of Vermont Farmstead and Grafton Village Cheese.
