The news that Vella Cheese Company was closing, its business no longer viable, hit hard. We Californians consider this 94-year-old creamery as a bedrock part of our food culture, a producer that has always been there and always would be, representing our state’s cheesemaking prowess with its acclaimed Dry Jack. That cocoa-dusted wheel’s unique appearance and nutty flavor—not to mention its modest price—earned it critical accolades, numerous blue ribbons and a space at almost every serious cheese counter.
Its stature and its place in Golden State history also explain why so many of us feel bereft. “The idea that our children and their children will never taste it is a genuine loss,” wrote Sarah Stierch, a Sonoma County journalist, on Facebook. Did it have to end this way? Could any other company have stepped in to buy the creamery, or at least save the recipe?
I’ve often recounted Dry Jack’s origin story without ever knowing whether it’s actually true, but it’s certainly plausible. Fresh jack cheese—aka Monterey Jack—likewise has murky beginnings. Some say the earliest wheels—simple cow’s milk cheeses made by Spanish immigrants in the Monterey area—were pressed with a vise, also known as a jack. Others attribute the name to David Jacks, a wealthy Monterey County rancher in the latter half of the 19th century who shipped the local cheese to brokers with his name stamped on the boxes.
After Italy entered World War I in 1915, the Italian government clamped down on cheese exports in order to feed their own citizens. Imagine the panic in San Francisco’s large Italian community. No Parmigiano Reggiano for the pasta? No pecorino romano? Legend has it that an enterprising California distributor salted some wheels of fresh jack and stashed them in the basement. Months later, he sent his salesmen forth with “dry jack” to satisfy the hunger for an Italian-style grating cheese.
Demand for the aged jack grew and creameries stepped up to make it, with as many as 60 California producers at one point. But a century later, only Vella and Rumiano Cheese Company continued to produce the labor-intensive wheels. Rumiano ceased production in late 2025, following its acquisition by Sartori. And with Vella closing, this beloved cheese appears headed for history’s dustbin.
Tom Vella, the company founder, devised his Dry Jack’s distinctive coating, a mixture of oil, unsweetened cocoa and black pepper that sealed the rind and kept the wheel from drying out too fast. I remember visiting the Sonoma creamery years ago and watching a cheesemaker bend over the vat to gather curds in cheesecloth and then form a wheel by pressing the package against the sides of the vat—backbreaking work. The bundle would be tied with string and the wheel pressed overnight, producing Vella Dry Jack’s signature “navel” where the string had been.
Aged for at least 8 months, Vella Dry Jack was firm, dense and nutty, with sweetness, saltiness and acidity in perfect balance. Extra-aged wheels, deemed Special Select, concentrated all of that goodness.
King of jack: Ig Vella
The celebrated Dry Jack was only one of this company’s legacies, however. Ig Vella, Tom’s son and the creamery proprietor for decades, mentored countless others, including Laura Chenel and the founders of Cowgirl Creamery and Rogue Creamery. When it came to helping fellow cheesemakers, Ig had no secrets.
“There is something especially painful about watching a beloved family business come to an end,” said David Gremmels, Rogue Creamery’s founder, in an email. “These businesses are more than buildings, products or brands; they carry the stories and personalities of the families who built them.”
Perhaps, suggested Gremmels, some entrepreneur will find a way to keep California Dry Jack alive.
Indeed, after the news broke, I received a pleading email from a Vella Dry Jack fan who suggested that Rogue Creamery (now owned by Savencia, a French dairy giant) should buy Vella, “a profound, poetic homecoming.” As my correspondent clearly knew, the Vella family once operated the Oregon enterprise that evolved into today’s Rogue Creamery. What a public relations coup it would be for Rogue to step in now and save Vella Dry Jack. A girl can dream.
