It was in the 1930s when Sonoma cheese maker, Tom Vella, landed in the area with a taste for sweet cheese success. The Rouge River Valley was dotted with small family farms and had a healthy supply of seasonal logging jobs, yet not much was there to sustain year round employment. Despite the depressing economic times, Tom started Rogue Creamery in 1935 with ample support from workers and dairy farmers.

The creamery life became even more interesting when the United States entered World War II in 1941. The draft had taken many of Rogue Creamery’s workforce, and many women and families were left to continue the operation of the dairy farms. Rogue Creamery responded with assistance in a variety of ways. Tom paid bonus prices for milk, he hired women, and for four years straight, Rogue Creamery produced five million pounds of cheddar for troops stationed around the world. 

After the war ended the area’s population increased, and so did production at the cheese factory. In 1955, Tom went abroad to Roquefort, France and studied the then secretive art of blue cheese making. He crept into the dark aging caves, and brought back big ideas for an Oregon-made blue. In 1956, the cave construction began, and a year later, the West Coast’s first blue cheese was born. Rogue Creamery’s success has since continued, even beyond the life of Tom. He passed away at the age of 100 in 1988. 

His son Ig Vella began to run the company, and continues to run his father’s first creamery down in Sonoma. In 2002, Ig hand selected Rogue Creamery’s current owners, David Gremmels and Cary Bryant. 

Since 2002, David and Cary have helped Rogue Creamery receive numerous prestigious cheese awards. They can now say you can buy their Smokey Blue and Oregonzola in more than two countries, and yes, you can surely enjoy it at our New Seasons Market cheese counter as well. Do so knowing you taste a fine piece of Oregon’s history and cheese making future.

You can learn more about Rogue Creamery at http://www.roguecreamery.com.