See & Go

Open: Store and restaurant, daily 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Cheese making can be viewed Tues. thru Fri. from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Location: Café 99, on the east side of Hwy 99 at Traver, 10 miles north of Visalia

Phone: 559- 897-4634

Bill Boersma honed his artisan cheese making skills at his Bravo Farms dairy near Visalia, starting in 1995. As popularity of Bravo Farms cheeses grew, a larger plant was needed to meet the orders. In May, 2006 Bill joined Jonathan VanRyn at Valley Farms near Traver.

Here, you can watch cheese being made, sample the various styles and buy their natural, rindless cheeses. Young Bravo Cheddar is aged for 90 days, giving it a creamy and mild flavor. The Premium Cheddar, aged up to and beyond two years, is sharp and tangy. Other cheese styles can be found with names such as Tulare Cannonball, Western Sage Cheddar, Silver Mountain, Original Chipotle and Dutch Jake.