our story
James and Kate Clairmont, with their two children Theo and Lily, follow pasture-fed, ethical farming practices in order to bring you fresh, healthy sheep milk products.
Currently we are milking 250 dairy-breed ewes daily, we allow the lambs to stay with their mum until they’re about six weeks old and ready to be weaned as this is much kinder and healthier for both ewe and lamb.
We then milk, once a day only & produce beautiful wward winning cheese right here on Farm in our factory where, in the off-season when our Ewes are resting, we also bring in fresh, local, single farm cow milk from our friend's farm so we can have cheese being made all year round & available to all our restaurants & customers
better for you – & ewe
naturally A2, naturally homogenised
Sheep milk is naturally homogenised, therefore it is lovely and creamy with a velvet-like texture & as such makes incredibly delicious cheese. Almost twice the calcium, and much higher in protein and amino acids than cow milk, sheep milk is an A2 milk, gentle on the stomach and generally suitable for people who have lactose sensitivity.
We milk our ewes once a day only & make all our cheese right here on farm in our factory tucked in right beside the milking shed. The girls will be milked in the morning & we are making cheese immediately after - it doesn't get any fresher or genuine than that!
We focus on showcasing our milk by making traditional Sheep Cheese such as our Craggy Range Pecorino, Maraetotara Manchego, rochefort-style Te Mata Blue & Ocean Beach Feta.
In addition our factory produces gorgeous Camembert cheeses, Halloumi & flavour added cheese allowing us to offer lots of variety to our customers
"Delicious cheese, all made with love and just around the corner from us, when you're driving through the gates across the grassy paddocks you know the milk will be world class, followed by the cheese. It’s a great reflection of Hawke’s Bay and we love using it!"
– Casey McDonald, Head Chef, Craggy Range Vineyards Ltd
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