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It's not every community that has a world-class resort selling cheese at the local farmers' market.

"It takes a community of people to have a farm enterprise," said Blackberry Farmstead Manager Neal Wavra. "If we existed as an island, we'd be in trouble."

Not only does Blackberry Farm sell some of its cheese, bread and produce, but the Blackberry executive chef also buys fresh produce from other farmers for use in Blackberry kitchens.

Cheese sales at the market, a break-even proposition for the West Millers Cove resort in Walland, seem to go faster and faster this first year Blackberry has participated in the market. Blackberry employees usually sell out of their products in 20 minutes to an hour. The market opens at 9 a.m. every Saturday, rain or shine, in the Maryville municipal parking lot beside CBBC between Broadway and Church avenues.

Blackberry also sells other cheeses to renowned restaurants around the country.

The cheese making is new at Blackberry, part of the self-sustaining farmstead that proprietor Sam Beall has developed.

"There is no better foodstuff than cheese. It reflects the place. Cheese comes from the sheep which eat our grass," Wavra said.

He uses the cheese operation as a way to explain to guests where their food comes from. Guests can watch the cheese making processes and other activities at the farmstead.

"My role is more to translate the farmstead to the guests. I work more in hospitality," he said. Wavra also helps coordinate efforts at the farmstead. He focuses more on the guest experience rather than production.

The farmstead, also called the larder, produces milk, fruits, vegetables, meats, jams, jellies, preserves, salamis, sausages, hams and fish.

Sheep milk cheese

Blackberry's cheese program began five years ago when the first sheep came on the property.

They have East Friesian sheep, which are renowned for milk production. Blackberry also has Karakul sheep, a breed of sheep that is more efficient in that it eats less, but produces milk and is disease resistant.

Wavra said the hope at Blackberry is "to cross the two breeds to produce a maximum milker that eats less and is more disease resistant,"

The sheep, along with their guardian animals — miniature donkeys named Red and Blue, Akeash sheep dogs from Turkey that live with the flocks and a llama named George — add a pastoral look to a portion of the 4,200-acre property.

Blackberry guests can choose from leisure activities, a spa, recreation, culinary experiences and the farm experience, Wavra said.

"This is the first full year of actual production of milk from the sheep," he added.

Sheep are milked from March through August. In January and February they lamb and the lactation cycle begins again.

"We milk 24 sheep daily (12 at a time) and we hope to double that amount next year. There are 150 sheep on property," Wavra said. "The reason sheep were chosen instead of cows is a matter of scale. Cows require land and space, where sheep are smaller."

From March through May there is more volume and the sheep are milked twice a day — at 7 a.m. and again at 7 p.m. At the peak, a sheep produces one gallon of milk a day.

From June on, production is half or less and the sheep are milked once a day in the morning.

Three types of cheese

Throughout the year the dairy team hosts cheese discussions and tastings, and guests can participate in the annual "Glorious Cheese" event Aug. 10-12.

Seasonally, Blackberry produces three types of cheese under the guidance of cheese maker and Blount County resident Kristian Holbrook.

Violet, a pasteurized fresh cheese with a bloomy rind, is produced from spring's first milk to early summer.

"The aim of the cheese is to preserve the character of the first warm days of spring in the form that fits on a plate," according to a Blackberry release. Violet is produced in March and April.

The second cheese is Trefoil, a pasteurized semi-soft sheep milk cheese with a washed rind that is a spring and summer cheese. Sometimes Trefoil is sold at the Maryville Farmers' Market. This cheese is made from March through the end of May.

The third is their prize-winning Singing Brook, an unpasteurized aged cheese with a natural rind.

When the summer sun has baked the pasture, the sheep provide richer milk with less water content. This milk lends itself to aging. The curd is finely cut to release additional moisture and is molded and pressed. Each wheel, approximately nine pounds, is then aged for four to six months.

Singing Brook is made May through August, but can be produced year-round.

A third-place prize was awarded to Blackberry's Singing Brook Cheese at the American Cheese Society's 25th world renowned competition in July in Chicago.

This was the first year of cheese production from the milk produced by the flock at Blackberry.

A cheese they call Merrimac is only sold at the Maryville Farmers' Market. It has no rind and is fresh and simply delicious, Wavra said.

Also sold at the market is Labnek, a yogurt cheese.

6,000 pounds stored

Wavra said the chefs love the farmstead, being able to come down and get any cheese and fresh garden produce when needed. "They get better and fresher ingredients," he said. "They get tomatoes off the vine. Nothing beats it. Knowing they have access to something fresh excites them. They embrace it fully and help decide what is planted and when."

While the cheeses sold at the market are soft cheeses, Blackberry also ages cheeses like Singing Brook. "As cheese ages it starts losing weight." which increases the cost of making the cheese," Holbrook said.

Holbrook showed off two climate-controlled containers that contain approximately 6,000 pounds of blocks of cheeses.

Blackberry operators purchased an old Amish Bank Barn, a barn that sets into a bank so you have one story on one side and two on another, in Lancaster, Pa., Wavra said.

This is where the world-renowned wine cellar, which contains 40,000 bottles of wine, is located.

It is where guest chefs come to show off their specialties, along with vinters.

The high-tech cheese making facility also fits in with the feeling of the other structures in the area.

Blackberry Farm, which has operated since the 1940s, has 350 employees. The most popular season for guests is October because of the leaf-peepers. Holidays are also popular.