Beloved Wine Country cheesemaker shuts down after nearly 100 years

A nearly century-old Wine Country cheesemaker is closing its award-winning factory citing ongoing challenges since the Covid pandemic.Vella Cheese in Sonoma County announced Monday that after 94 years it has made the “incredibly difficult decision” to cease production of its famous products.“Our business has never fully recovered from the challenges of COVID, and the financial demands of operating a small, artisanal company in today’s fast-paced food industry have become more than we can sustain,” the message read.The firm was founded in 1931 by Gaetano “Tom” Vella, who worked at the Sonoma Mission Creamery before a group of dairymen called on him to start a cheese factory of his own, according to its website.California's top news, sports and entertainment delivered to your inbox every day.

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Never miss a story Located at 315 Second St.East, the stone building where they make their famed Dry Jack, Monterey Jack and other high quality grating cheeses, was constructed in 1904 and originally was built to house a brewery.  A plaque on the building explains how the structure survived “a fire and numerous earthquakes.”“During ‘prohibition,’ in 1931,  Gaetano ‘Tom’ Vella and his wife Zolita, converted the building’s use to the making of cheese,” it read.“Still under the Vella family ownership, not much has changed since 1931, the cultures, the care, and the personal hands-on techniques are still a part of their making quality cheese.”The plaque noted “award-winning cheeses have been produced here since 1969,” after the company returned to making cheese in the building, after briefly moving operations following World War II to the former Sonoma Mission Creamery in 1951.Vella Cheese is a multi-generational company after Tom turned over the business to his son Ignazio “Ig” Vella ...