Vermont Shepherd

Vermont Shepherd makes Verano, an incredible sheep’s milk cheese. It is a personal favorite. They are located in Puntey, Vermont just a couple of hours from Concord, MA. You can’t really visit the farm, but you can see it if you go to visit their farm stand. When we arrived, the tractor was out working in the field with the heard of sheep in the background, a beautiful sight.

Depending on the time of year anywhere from 300 to 700 sheep pasture at the 250 acre farm. They produce their cheese on site and age it in their cheese cave (check it out it’s very cool.) Vermont Shepherd makes two main types of cheese, Verano a summer cheese, which is made entirely of sheep’s milk, and Invierno a winter cheese, which is made from their sheep’s milk as well as cow’s milk from neighboring farms. In their farm shed, they sell both, when in supply.

While I have found both summer and winter cheese in Cambridge, at the farm, the variety of cheese increases. There is a two-year aged Inveirno as well as applewood-smoked variety. There is also a fromage blanc, marinated or fresh, a maple lassi, and a sheep’s milk yogurt. There is even gelato in the freezer.

Beyond sheep milk is yarn, eggs, and even T-shirts. It’s important to realize there is no one manning the shed. You need either cash or Venmo to make a purchase. The hours on the website are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. seven days a week, but Google told us they were open until 7:30 p.m. and we showed up after 5:00 without an issue.

Vermont Shepherd probably isn’t worth a two hour drive, but it is worth a stop if you are heading up to Vermont anyway. Even if you aren’t going to visit, their cheese is excellent and if you have the opportunity to try it, don’t pass it up. If I couldn’t get their cheese in town, I would drive two hours to get Verano.