The
Farm		 The
Shepherds		 The
Sheep		 The
Quality		 The
Cave		 Serving
Suggestions		 Our
Awards

    FAQ

  • When are the cheeses available?

    • The supply of Vermont Shepherd Cheese is limited. The cheese is hand made during the spring and summer months and then ages for 4 to 8 months. Vermont Shepherd is available from late August until the year's supply runs out in the spring.

  • Are Visitors Welcome?

    • Visitors can taste and purchase our cheeses and other products at our Farm Store located on the road into our farm, 9am-5pm,  7 days a week, year round.

  • Can cheese be bought at Vermont Shepherd after hours?

    • Yes! Vermont Shepherd now has a Farm Store near the entrance, which has self-service access to cheese.

  • How can the cheese be ordered?

    • Vermont Shepherd Cheese can be ordered online at our secure order site, by fax to 802 387 2041, or by calling 802 387 4473. Vermont Shepherd Cheese can also be found in fine food stores nationwide.

Vermont Shepherd is the oldest and most well known of the country's sheep milk cheeses. It is made by the Major and Ielpi families and friends on their farm in Westminster West, Vermont....

Our award winning reserve! Vermont Shepherd is an aged, raw milk sheep cheese. This cheese has a golden brown rind and rustic shape, every wheel is distinctive. The texture is smooth and creamy, the flavor is sweet, rich and earthy with hints of clover, mint and thyme. This cheese is seasonal and is only available August through April.

"One of the country's best cheeses"
- The New York Times
"One of the world's best"
- Gourmet
"My favorite Vermont cheese"
- Food and Wine
"Show Stoppingly Fragrant and full-bodied"
- Town and Country

 

The Farm

Our farm is home to 250 dairy sheep, 2 Border Collies (who herd the sheep) and 5 Maremma, a beautiful white dog who protects the sheep from predators. Work on the farm includes: milking the sheep twice a day (5 a.m. and 5 p.m.), moving the sheep from pasture to pasture, haying, shearing sheep, cleaning to keep everything beautiful, and boxing up our cheeses and sending them out all over the country!

Vermont Shepherd has won two conservation awards in 2002 and 2006 for the quality of its farming work and improving the soils, pastures, and water resources.


The Shepherds

Vermont Shepherd is owned and operated by David and Yesenia Ielpi Major and their five children.

David grew up on the Farm and has always worked here. David's dedication is credited to his passion for working with the pastures, the animals and the seasons. He works to create a healthy relationship with nature in our world's current tumultuous time.

Yesenia grew up spending summers at her dad's family farm in the "campo" of the Dominican Republic. Aside from her admiration of the rustic natural setting and love of riding horses, she partook in her own family's tradition and daily chores of milking, riding the donkeys with the milk cans, and making cheese. With her sons, Yesenia discovered the VT Farm after the death of her first husband; a firefighter and rescue hero at the World Trade Center on Sept 11, 2001. For Yesenia and her children the Farm is a place to embrace life after a great loss. Yesenia and David hope the products of the Farm carry with them for you the spirit of healing, health and harmony with which they are made.


The Sheep

Our 250 acre farm surrounds a lovely high grassy hill and an active century-old barn. The 200 ewes (female sheep) on the farm lamb (give birth) in the barn in March, just after shearing time. Milking and cheese-making begin in April as the pastures turn green and lush. From April through November the sheep march in and out of the barn twice each day to give their milk and then to return to their pastures. The pastures grow wild with grasses, clovers, and herbs of all kinds. Once the pastures disappear under snow, we stop milking and cheese-making for the season.


The Quality

Vermont Shepherd has won numerous awards since we started it in 1993. Awards include BEST OF SHOW at the prestigious American Cheese Society competition in Sonoma, CA, in 2000 and Best of Class in the United States Championship Cheese Contest in 2001. (For more award info, click on Awards.) Our cheeses have had the honor of being featured in the national and international culinary press, including The New York Times, Food and Wine, Caseus, Gourmet, The Wine Spectator and many others.


The Cave

The cool and humid cave offers ideal conditions for cheese ripening. Soon after the cheeses are made, we bring them to the cheese cave to be salted and ripened. During the 2-6 months ripening process, the cheeses rest on wooden boards and are carefully tended to by The Cave's affineur (French for cheese ripener.) The affineur turns and brushes each wheel every other day until flavor develops to the fullest.

The Vermont Shepherd Cheese Cave is home to over 20,000 lbs a year of our artisanal, farmhouse cheeses. This man-made cave is over 4' underground and is naturally damp and cool, the perfect conditions for cheese ripening!

All of our cheeses are aged on wooden boards, an age-old method that helps in the development of natural cheese rinds. Each day we turn, brush or wash the cheeses to cultivate beautiful, natural cheese rinds. These rinds, free of plastic and wax, help to enhance the cheeses' flavor and give our cheeses their unique characteristics.


Serving Suggestions

How to Serve

Beverage Choices
Almost any wine goes well with this cheese. Some in particular are: Pinoit Noir, Sauvignon Blanc, Riesling, Chardonnay, Burgundy.

Storing Vermont Shepherd Cheese:


The Awards

Vermont Shepherd Cheese has won the following awards: