Cheese, Louise

It felt like we were back in New Zealand during a visit to Whiskey Hill Diary just outside of Port Townsend. Diana Dyer officially opened her one-woman operation in 2008 after several years of making cheese for family and friends. With a herd of purebred registered does, Dyer claims her goats are truly "career girls" that work hard on her farm. If the critters aren't producing milk, they're producing kids for sale to other dairies or for show stock.


We drove into Whiskey Hill Farm amidst the sights and sounds of talkative goats and wandering chickens. Our objective was simply to buy goat cheese, but it wasn't clear how to go about making a purchase. We wandered around the outbuildings a bit until we stumbled upon Dyer in the midst of milking to of her does. Claiming she was on vacation, she said, "If you want cheese, help yourself - the refrigerator is outside."



Sure enough, we found a small fridge just outside the milking area. Buyers are simply instructed to choose their cheese (or eggs) and leave cash in the tupperware on the door. $15 later, we acquired some "Houston Blue" and "Greek Feta."


Before leaving the farm, I had to make acquaintance with the career girls along with the equally friendly pygmy goats. We subsequently learned that we could have purchased Whiskey Hill Farm cheese at a number of area Co-ops, grocery stores, or creameries, but this was far more entertaining.