Our Story

“The taste of the Swiss Alps from our farm to your table!”

With our three children in tow, we immigrated to Canada in 1996 to begin a new life in St. Marys, Ontario, where we  started our own dairy farm. Having previously worked in the Swiss Alps, it was always our dream to produce delicious, high quality cheese reminiscent of the renowned Swiss Mountains and made from our own milk. With a profound commitment  to creating cheese of the highest quality, and the support of our family, as well as Ramon Eberle, a Master Cheese Maker from Switzerland, our humble dream became a reality.

The fresh milk our cows produce is processed into a handcrafted, farmstead cheese. In order to obtain a great taste, the milk is unpasteurized and has no additives. This ensures the cheese is pure and natural.

Life if great. Cheese makes it better!

Check out our Cheese Plant Tours Page to learn about or book a tour!

Swiss tradition locally produced!

Farmstead

Our commitment to produce high quality cheese is best reflected in the care we give to our Holstein cows. They live in a clean and comfortable free stall barn and enjoy feed of the best quality.

We milk 250 Holstein cows in a double 12 parallel parlour. Our cows sleep on beach sand all year round.

Our two sons, together with their families, look after our cows while we make cheese.

Holstein cows feeding in the free stall barnA cow with her calfHolstein cows at the feed rail

Visit Stonetown Artisan Cheese to experience the scenic beauty surrounding our farm, watch how the cheese is made, try our cheese and enjoy the peace and quiet out in the country.

The Stonetown cheese plantThe garden in front of the farm store

We are located at 5021 Perth County Line 8, St. Marys, Ontario.

Check out our Cheese Plant Tours Page to learn about or book a tour!

Our Team

The Weber family
Our family
Hans and Jolanda Weber

Hans and Jolanda Weber

Founders of Stonetown Artisan Cheese, and proud dairy farmers!

Stonetown Artisan Cheese was founded by Hans and Jolanda Weber, who were passionate about dairy farming and about turning the high-quality milk from their farm into exceptional cheese.

Even though Hans is a co-owner of Stonetown Cheese, he is still a dairy farmer at heart. He milks the cows in the morning and, after breakfast, either helps on the farm or at the cheese plant wherever he is needed. He is the handyman who fixes almost everything in the cheese plant and helps out with the store, cutting cheese or getting orders ready. He is also responsible for marketing and sales calls. Of course, he loves everything with cheese! In his spare time, Hans enjoys travelling and spending time with his grandchildren.

Jolanda grew up on a dairy farm and spent her life farming until she and Hans started Stonetown Artisan Cheese. She played an important role in building the business and, even after stepping back from the day-to-day activities, continued to provide her knowledge and insight, particularly when it came to the administration side of the business. You may also remember Jolanda from the cheese store, where she took great pride in looking after the beautiful flower garden and decorations in front of our store.

Jolanda passed away in June 2026, but she will always be an important part of the Stonetown Artisan Cheese story. Her love for farming, family and the business she helped build continues to be part of Stonetown Cheese today.

Ramon Eberle

Ramon Eberle

Co-owner and Cheese Maker

Ramon hails from a long family tradition of Swiss cheese makers. He went through an extensive apprenticeship and further education to become a Master cheese maker.

Ramon is responsible for the production, quality control and food safety at Stonetown Artisan Cheese as well as the development of many of the new exciting dairy products.

Cheese making is his passion and if he is not working in the cheese plant Ramon keeps himself busy by spending time with his wife, 4 children and working in and around their house. Long walks with his two littlest ones through the beautiful town of St. Marys, which is the family’s home, is how he recharges his batteries on a weekend.

Rachel Dundas

Rachel Dundas

Co-owner and Office Manager

Rachel is the daughter of founders Hans and Jolanda Weber and officially joined the family business in late 2023 after an over 10-year career in the banking industry. As a co-owner, Rachel oversees many of the day-to-day administration and business activities, including bookkeeping, marketing, website management, logistics and customer communication. She can also be found in the store, helping wherever needed.

Rachel enjoys being involved in all aspects of the business and is passionate about carrying forward the legacy her parents built while helping Stonetown Cheese continue to grow.

A mother of three, Rachel is also active in outdoor and sporting activities, runs a hobby farm with her husband, and pursues photography as a passion project whenever she finds the time.

Christine Stevens

Christine Stevens

Store Manager

Christine has been in the retail and food service industry for nearly her whole working career, focusing on the cheesy side of it for the last 10 years. When you aren’t seeing her face in the farm store, she can usually be found cutting, weighing and labelling cheese to ship to customers.

Being a St. Marys resident, Christine spends her home time enjoying the many trails and greenspaces our town has to hold with her husband and 2 daughters. She finds peace in watching the small things and embracing our tiny significance to this vast world. Her two favourite cheeses at Stonetown are the Wildwood and Smoked Chipotle.

Wendy Furtenbacher

Wendy Furtenbacher

Marketing & Business Development

Wendy brings over 15 years of experience in the cheese industry, with a background as a Cheese Educator, Cheesemonger, Category Manager, and Cheese Judge both in Canada and internationally. She began her career through blogging and hosting cheese appreciation classes, and now works in marketing and business development at Stonetown.

She is a graduate of the Professional Fromager program at George Brown College (2012), where she also teaches, and became an American Cheese Society Certified Cheese Professional in 2014. Wendy has served on the Board of Directors for the Ontario Cheese Society and completed Cheese Appreciation Levels 1 and 2 through the Cheese Education Guild.

Prior to her work in cheese, she held roles across nonprofit and corporate sectors in member services, corporate development, and sales. She holds a BFA in Art History and remains actively connected to the arts community.

Nathan Grant

Nathan Grant

Production Assistant

Nathan joined our team in January 2024 coming from previous experience in the dairy industry of over 17 years. His primary role at Stonetown is to assist Ramon with the daily cheese production requirements. Nathan also works some of the local farmers markets on the weekends from May to October and is looking forward to meeting more of our Stonetown Cheese enthusiasts out in the wild this coming market season. In his spare time, Nathan likes to experiment cooking with a bunch of our cheeses to help customers have a general idea of what works best with different food and how to use it in an economical way. During his downtime, you may find him up north off the beaten path or shopping alongside you at one of the many farmers markets in Ontario. He also enjoys woodworking and making products that pair with cheese.

Fraser Reynolds

Fraser Reynolds

Production Assistant

With a background as a chef in Toronto, Fraser has been a longtime fan and customer of Stonetown Cheese, using their products in the kitchen for years. After moving back home, he joined the Stonetown team and is now helping craft the cheeses he’s loved for so long.

Awards

We are very proud of our 50 awards won to date!

2026

  • Grand Champion – Wildwood Royal Agricultural Winter Fair – Variety Cheese – Cow Milk
  • 1st Place – Wildwood Royal Agricultural Winter Fair – Firm and Hard – Surface Ripened, Brushed and Natural Rind
  • 2nd Place – Grand Trunk Royal Agricultural Winter Fair – Firm and Hard – Surface Ripened, Brushed and Natural Rind
  • 3rd Place – Wildwood Reserve Royal Agricultural Winter Fair – Firm and Hard – Surface Ripened, Brushed and Natural Rind
  • 1st Place – Farmstead Fontina Royal Agricultural Winter Fair – Semi Soft, Interior Ripened
  • 2nd Place – Homecoming Royal Agricultural Winter Fair – Semi Soft, Surface Ripened

2025

  • Grand Champion – Wildwood Royal Agricultural Winter Fair – Variety Cheese – Cow Milk
  • 1st Place – Wildwood Royal Agricultural Winter Fair – Firm and Hard – Surface Ripened, Brushed and Natural Rind
  • 2nd Place – Grand Trunk Royal Agricultural Winter Fair – Firm and Hard – Surface Ripened, Brushed and Natural Rind
  • 1st Place – Farmstead Fontina Royal Agricultural Winter Fair – Semi Soft, Interior Ripened
  • 1st Place – Grand Trunk American Cheese Society Competition – Open Category – Washed Rind Cheeses
  • 3rd Place – Grand Trunk American Cheese Society Competition – Best in Show (nearly 1600 entries)
  • Grand Champion – Grand Trunk SIAL Canada International Cheese Competition
  • Category Champion – Swiss-Style – Grand Trunk SIAL Canada International Cheese Competition
  • Best Canadian Cow’s Milk Cheese – Wildwood SIAL Canada International Cheese Competition
  • Category Champion – Firm Cheese – Wildwood SIAL Canada International Cheese Competition

2024

  • 1st Place – Wildwood Royal Agricultural Winter Fair
  • 2nd Place – Grand Trunk (same category as Wildwood) Royal Agricultural Winter Fair
  • 2nd Place – Farmstead Fontina Royal Agricultural Winter Fair
  • 4th place – Wildwood World Championship Cheese Contest Wine/Spirit Washed Rind/Smear Ripened Cheese

2023

  • 1st Place Category Champion – Grand Trunk Royal Winter Fair
  • Grand Champion – Wildwood SIAL Canada International Cheese Competition
  • Category Champion – Firm Cheese – Wildwood SIAL Canada International Cheese Competition

2022

  • 3rd Place – Grand Trunk Royal Agricultural Winter Fair

2021

  • 3rd Place – Farmstead Fontina Royal Agricultural Winter Fair
  • 3rd Place – Wildwood Royal Agricultural Winter Fair
  • Grand Champion – Grand Trunk British Empire Cheese Competition
  • Grand Champion – Amazing Grey British Empire Cheese Competition

2020

  • 3rd Place – Amazing Grey Royal Agricultural Winter Fair
  • 3rd Place – Homecoming Royal Agricultural Winter Fair
  • 2nd Place – Wildwood Royal Agricultural Winter Fair
  • 2nd Place – Farmstead Fontina Royal Agricultural Winter Fair

2019

  • 1st Place – Farmstead Fontina Royal Agricultural Winter Fair
  • 2nd Place – Capri Ella Royal Agricultural Winter Fair
  • 2nd Place – Wildwood Royal Agricultural Winter Fair
  • 2nd Place – Homecoming Royal Agricultural Winter Fair
  • 2nd Place – Capri Ella British Empire Cheese Competition

2018

  • 1st Place – Farmstead Emmental Royal Agricultural Winter Fair
  • 1st Place – Farmstead Fontina Royal Agricultural Winter Fair
  • 3rd Place – Capri Ella Royal Agricultural Winter Fair
  • Grand Champion – Grand Trunk British Empire Cheese Competition
  • 1st Place – Farmstead Emmental British Empire Cheese Competition
  • 1st Place – Farmstead Fontina British Empire Cheese Competition
  • 3rd Place – Capri Ella British Empire Cheese Competition
  • 3rd Place – Homecoming British Empire Cheese Competition

2017

  • 2nd Place – Homecoming Royal Agricultural Winter Fair
  • 2nd Place – Wildwood Royal Agricultural Winter Fair
  • 1st Place – Grand Trunk Royal Agricultural Winter Fair

2016

  • 2nd Place – Wildwood Royal Agricultural Winter Fair
  • 1st Place – Grand Trunk Royal Agricultural Winter Fair
  • 1st Place – Homecoming Royal Agricultural Winter Fair