Cheesemaker Spotlight: Ig Vella of Vella Cheese

Each morning, as the sun rises over the Sonoma Valley in California, 2,500 gallons of fresh milk arrive at Vella Cheese. Over the course of the day, this top-grade milk will be delicately transformed by hand into some of the finest and best-tasting artisan cheese in the world. Each cheese will be individually rubbed with a mixture of soybean oil, pepper and cocoa to prevent cracking. The cheese will then be carefully aged before heading to market.

The unique artisan magic that comes to life behind Vella Cheese’s creamery doors each day can be found in the skilled hands of its cheesemakers. Each of these individuals learned their craft from one of the premier artisan cheesemakers in the world, Ig Vella.

At 78, Ig Vella, along with his wife, Sally, and sisters Carmela, Maria and Zolita, still run the family business his father, Tom, established back in 1931. Tom turned the business over to Ig in 1981. These days, Ig can be found donning his trademark paper cheesemaker hat and turning on the lights each morning in the creamery store. From there, it is off to the creamery itself to make sure he is helping when the first vat of cheese is rolled out. Vella says he is a realist, who along with his father, learned long ago not to make cheese for the ribbons and awards, but for the consumer. The Vellas believed the rest would follow - and they were right.

The Vellas’ dry jack cheese has not only earned them numerous awards for quality and taste, but has established an international reputation as one of the finest artisan cheeses on the market. The family’s other aged cheeses also receive excellent reviews from consumers and cheese experts alike year after year.

Vella says the key to making quality artisan cheese is consistency and keeping the entire process hands-on.

“There are a lot of places people can go if they want their cheeses mass produced with computers and people pressing buttons,” says Vella. “Our cheese is made fresh and by hand daily. Our cheesemakers care about everything that goes into what they are making. We don’t produce car loads, we make small amounts in open vats and quality is consistent and runs through everything we do.”

Vella defines his success in artisan cheesemaking by revising a phrase he saw years ago.

“We make good cheese,” he says. “At a profit if we can, a loss if we must, but we always make good cheese.”

For more information about Vella Cheese, please visit www.vellacheese.com.