Nutmegger Cheese & Wine Festival September 23

Calling all cheese lovers! The Working Lands Alliance will proudly host the inaugural Nutmegger Cheese and Wine Festival, a fundraiser to protect Connecticut’s farmland and to support quality childhood nutrition.  The Festival will be held on Sunday, September 23 from noon-4 p.m. at the Jones Family Farms, located at 120 Beardsley Road in Shelton, CT. It will feature samples of Connecticut’s best cheeses and wines, vineyard tours, hayrides, cheesemaker talks and book signings, and include special guests who will talk about cheese. Participating Vendors Include:

Cheesemakers: Arethusa Farm & Dairy, Beltane Farms, Butterfield Farm Company, Cato Corner Farm, Ladies of Levita Road, Meadow Stone Farm, Sankow Beaver Brook Farm.

Ice Cream and Yogurt: The Farmers' Cow and Tulmeadow Farms.

Artisanal Breads and Crackers: Wave Hill and Sugar and Olives

Honey: Swords Into Plowshares Honey and Candle Co.

Select Vintners: Bishops Winery, Hopkins Vineyard, Jones Family Farms, Sunset Meadow Vineyard

Participating Cheese Shops: Caseus Fromagerie Bistro, Fairfield Cheese Company, Saxelby Cheesmongers

Others Guests:

Culture Magazine: The Word on Cheese
Saxelby Cheesemongers
Ken Coulson & Gatsby’s Green Light,

“Connecticut offers an incredible and diverse food culture that represents the bounty of our farms, farmland, and artisanal traditions,” said Leah Mayor, Working Lands Alliance project director and New England project manager for American Farmland Trust.  “Over the last 25 years, we’ve seen an increased interest in local foods, and the Northeast is quickly becoming a leader in producing delicious artisanal and farmstead cheeses.”   

Tickets purchased in advance are $50 for adults and $10 for children ages 6-12.  Tickets sold at the Festival are $55 for adults and $10 for children.  Note that there will be limited tickets available at the door until all event tickets are sold out.  

To purchase advance tickets and for more information, visit www.workinglandsalliance.org.

Proceeds will support the Working Lands Alliance as well as the Valley Initiative to Advance Health & Learning in Schools (VITAHLS) Program, collaboration between Griffin Hospital and the Valley School Districts of Shelton, Ansonia, Derby, Oxford, and Seymour to develop, implement, evaluate, and sustain a valley wide program to reduce prevalence of obesity in students in grades pre-K–12.