We believe the best cheeses are made with attention to detail and high quality milk sources.
At Reverie, we care passionately about the cheese making process and work hard to ensure our cheeses are the best they can be. This starts at the source: we are dedicated to using milk from small scale, local, and responsible dairies. Our choice in dairies is not only because milk quality is a crucial part of the flavor of our cheese, but also because we want to support local businesses, sustainable practices, and the humane treatment of animals.
Milk source is critical to making artisan cheese, which is made by hand in limited quantities and using traditional methods with great attention to detail. To achieve unique tastes and quality characteristics in our cheese, our milk is sourced from farmers who can assure healthy herds. We insist on the practice of local forage and quality feeding of the herds, since this affects the taste of the milk.
Unfortunately, due to sanitation, hygiene and food safety considerations we cannot offer tours of our production area. Inside of the store, we can try to answer all your cheesemaking questions & share as much of our process as possible. And of course, we have samples of all the cheese we make!
Mike Rater Farm
Reverie Creamery is currently receiving high quality milk from Mike Rater Farm, Sherman in Chautauqua County, NY. Mike Rater Farm is a certified organic dairy farm. Their small herd consists of half Jersey and half Holstein, ensuring a balanced protein and butterfat content, resulting in tastier cheese. Mike Rater Farm practices pasture based feeding – 100% grass-fed with rotational grazing in summer and dry hay in winter.
Wanderer
Wanderer. Alpine style cheese washed with Porter made by Big Inlet Brewing Company in Mayville, NY. Lightly pasteurized & aged 6-8 months. Slight maltiness, earthy and cave-like aroma. Salted caramel, hazelnut, and meaty tastes with a buttery finish. Won Silver at NYS Fair for Farmstead/Artisan Hard Cheese in 2017.
Tom
Tomme Style. Gold Medal Winner of NYS Fair Best Farmstead Artisan Hard Cheese in 2016. Lightly pasteurized & aged for 3-4 months. This young cheese is fruity, reminiscent of stone fruits, yogurt tang, with a slight finish of candied nuts and sea salt.
Chamomilla
Hybrid of Tomme & Alpine style, lightly pasteurized, aged 4-6 months. Milk is infused with organic Chamomile tea before pasteurization. Sweet bright buttery notes & floral tones. Reminiscent of toasted brioche. Winner of an Award of Excellence at NYS Fair for Farmstead/Artisan Hard Cheese in 2018.
Gitane on Weck
An homage to the Western New York sandwich Beef on Weck, this cheese is infused with a caraway tea and plenty of seeds. A hearty cheese that feels more like a meal. Aged 4-6 months, this cheese is fantastic by itself or paired with cured meats or sliced roast beef and horseradish cream.
Luna
Soft Ripened, aged 3-4 weeks, grass fed milk. Notes of creme fraiche, white mushroom note with thin edible rind, soft and creamy. A petit brie with personality that pairs perfectly with fresh fruits, jams, honey, or caramel.
Spreadable Cheese
Reverie Creamery currently offers several varieties of spreadable cheese. In addition we have brought back the customer favorite “Beer & Horseradish” spread. A blend of cheddar, beer, and the perfect amount of horseradish make this spread perfect for crackers.
Our Cheesemaking Process
We start every batch of cheese by ensuring the milk is of the highest quality. Once that’s settled, we can begin. We make several varieties of hard cheeses currently and they are all pasteurized cheeses. We very lightly pasteurize them to ensure their quality while retaining the natural flavors of our amazing milk. We also use vegetable rennet making all our cheeses vegetarian. With hard cheeses, we form it into wheels then we press the curds to remove more whey. After pressing, the cheeses are soaked in a salt water brine and then they are are aged for 3-8 months (depending on the type) in our custom aging rooms on spruce boards. Reverie Creamery also makes fantastic cheese curds, both plain and a spicy variety. We also make soft ripened cheese called Luna. Luna is formed in multi-mold blocks. After salting, the drying process takes 1-2 days before they are moved to an aging room specifically designated for soft ripened cheese and the aging time ranges from 2-4 weeks. The soft ripened cheese is also called bloomy rind cheese, characterized by white mold like the brie.
Be sure to try them when you stop by!