Crescent Dairy Goats started in 1979 when John & Jan Walter bought their first goat, named Anzac, as a source of milk for their family.  To get milk Anzac needed to have kids, and so one goat swelled to a small herd.  The herd produced more milk than the Walter family could consume, and they soon began selling excess milk to friends and family and developed a growing customer base, many of whom frequently asked if the Walters made cheese.

So in 2000 they decided to have a go at cheese making.  Many trials and errors followed, but John & Jan persevered and their patience paid off when that same year they entered the New Zealand Cheese Awards and won a Gold Medal and the Best Original New Zealand Cheese Award for the Farmhouse Mature.

Today Crescent Dairy Goats is still a small operation, milking between 16 and 20 goats, with all the work done by John and Jan.  The goats are farmed organically, and only one Farmhouse cheese is made each day.  “The size enables us to have total control”, says Jan. “The health and happiness of our goats is the key to the quality of our cheeses. They are given the best possible care and attention, so that they produce the finest and sweetest goats’ milk.  Each goat is named, has her own unique personality and is treasured. The cheeses are made with the same care, using plain old-fashioned artisan techniques. For me, the cheese maker, the satisfaction and joy that I get from producing cheeses that people enjoy is immense.  I still find it magical that at the end of the day, just a few hours after collecting the fresh milk from the goats, I have a brand new cheese that I can hold in my hands”.

The Farmhouse cheeses are cellar ripened very slowly. At 3 months, some of the smaller ones are ready and are sold as Parvenu – French for “upstart”.  A young, mild and creamy cheese, Crescent Dairy Goats’ Pareven was named Supreme Artisan Cheese 2008 at the NZ Cheese Awards.  The richly mature Old Gold – winner of the Supreme Cheese 2008 NZ Cheese Awards, is aged for well over a year.

Crescent Dairy Goats cheeses are available on White’s cheese boards, and as ingredients in several lunch and dinner menu items.  Consumers can also purchase them from Jones the Grocer in Parnell, Didas Foodstore in Jervois Rd, and Spooners of Devonport.

Leigh Fisheries NZ
Crescent Dairy Goats
Heart of the Desert Saffron
Brancott ‘B’ Letter Series Sauvignon Blanc
Te Arai Olive Estate