The answer is simple.....sheep milk cheeses are my favorite. It would have been a lot easier to become a maker of cow or goat milk cheese, because there is way more milk available. There are very limited amounts of dairy sheep in the United States, yet quite common in other countries. Some of the most famous cheeses in the world are made with sheep milk: Roquefort, Feta, Manchego, Pecorino Romano just to name a few. They have many thousands of dairy sheep in countries such as France, Italy, Spain, Greece, etc. I live in California though, and when Bleating Heart began in 2009 there were only 4 licensed sheep dairies in the entire state. That's right, just FOUR. Initially, I was able to buy milk from one of those four dairies, and there were only 30 milking sheep in that flock. The other 3 dairies in CA couldn't spare a drop since they use all of their milk for their own cheese production. After my first season, my milk source became unavailable as she needed all of her milk to make her cheese going forward. So....what the heck, I started my own sheep dairy! Sheep give very little milk though, so if anyone out there wants to start a sheep dairy, please contact me because I always need more sheep milk.
Corsica
Our big trip in the Spring of 2011 was spending two weeks on the amazing and beautiful island of Corsica, where most of the cheese is made from sheep milk, along with some goat too (no cows there). We were just blown away by the dedication to local products in every shop and store we visited, even supermarkets, which all had completely dedicated sections for Corsican cheeses. In Corsica they have their own "brebis du Corse" or Corsican ewes, which are very similar to the Sarda sheep that inhabit Sardinia, their neighbor to the south. These sheep are much smaller than the cross-bred dairy sheep we have in the United States. This was a truly unforgettable experience!
 Tomme de Brebis, at the open air market in Ajaccio, birthplace of Napoleon |
 One of the many bottles of Corsican wine we enjoyed during our time there |
 Corsican dairy sheep on pasture |
 This is "brocciu" which is a Corsican specialty made from sheep whey, it's similar to ricotta but better. Brocciu is the only whey cheese to have AOC protection and is consumed all over the island. |
 Here is a flock of dairy sheep on their way to the milking parlor up the road |
 One of the many charming cheese labels, this one on a washed rind sheep cheese |
 Seana and Dave at one of the many stunning waterside villages |
 Corsican wine, sheep cheeses, charcuterie....Dinner :-) |
 In the streets of Bonifacio, the southernmost point of Corsica, just across the water from Sardinia |