Take the time to explore, read about, and taste your way through our selection of the world’s finest cheeses!  While our department may seem small, it packs an impressive, rotating array of top-quality cheeses covering all the major styles and cheese-producing regions of the world, including excellent examples of the most famous favorites like Cheddar and Gruyere, as well as countless newcomers that you’ve probably never seen before (don’t miss the Malagon with Rosemary, our favorite!).  

As Americans of a certain generation, many of us grew up on large scale, factory-made cheeses that became a staple of the American diet.  If you come from this type of a background, discovering today’s small scale, boutique, artisanal cheeses can be an eye-opening, mind-blowing experience.  With hundreds of cheeses from France alone, not to mention Spain, Italy, Belgium, Holland, the UK, the US, and elsewhere, the variety of flavors, textures, nuances, and complexities is staggering.  

We know cheese! Our staff of seasoned cheese specialists has studied and sampled literally hundreds, if not over a thousand, different cheeses and presented dozens of seminars on the world’s cheeses for our own customers, as well as for the Smithsonian’s Residents Associates educational program.  Each week, we draw on this experience to add exciting varieties to our selection.

To enhance your enjoyment of cheese, we also offer:

• A rotating assortment of excellent examples of cheeses covering all the major styles
• Delivery from our suppliers in small quantities, multiple times a week, to ensure that the cheeses we offer are in fresh, top condition
• Easy-to-read signs for every cheese, indicating milk type, whether it’s pasteurized or unpasteurized, region of origin, recommended wine pairings, and a description of the cheese
• Our 30-second Cheese Chart, illustrating the 7 Major Cheese Types (do you know what they are?), with examples and principles of wine pairing for each style.  Refer to the chart in our cheese section or pick up your own, FREE purse-size copy!
• Integration of cheese into many of our FREE weekly in-store wine tastings to maximize your tasting opportunities
• Frequent educational cheese tastings and seminars to guide you on your journey of discovery
• Knowledgeable, full-time cheese specialists on staff to help you make a selection, recommend cheese and wine pairings, or help you plan a knockout cheese and wine tasting right in your own home!
• Don’t see what you’re looking for? Because our preferred supplier imports literally thousands of incredible cheeses, we can special order virtually any cheese you’d like and have it within days of your order!

Just as in winemaking, the art of cheesemaking depends on numerous variables, including:

• The type of milk used (usually cow, sheep, or goats’ milk, a mixture of milks, or something as exotic as buffalo or yak milk)
• What the animals are eating at the time of milking
• Whether the milk is pasteurized or unpasteurized (Although there seems to be some confusion as to whether unpasteurized cheeses are allowed to be sold in this country, the rule is simple:  unpasteurized cheeses made in the US or abroad are legal for sale in the US, as long as they have been aged for a minimum of 60 days, ostensibly to destroy potentially harmful bacteria.  This rule effectively eliminates importation of a few cheeses such as Brie or Epoisses, which, by definition, are aged for fewer than 60 days.)
• How the curd is handled – for example whether it is cooked, pressed, or “cheddared”, to expel moisture and create a firmer cheese
• The length of aging and aging conditions, which facilitate growth of various types of molds
• Whether the rind is washed or rubbed with herbs, seasonings, brine, liquor, etc. during aging

Also as in wine, during the last ten years, there’s been an explosion of artisanal cheesemakers, both in the US and in Europe, creating very high-quality versions of classic cheeses, as well as new, original creations.  Some of these artisans also dabble in organic cheeses, cheeses suitable for vegetarians (with enzyme or herb-based coagulation, rather than rennet), and “farmstead” cheeses made exclusively using milk from their own, closed herd of animals.  All of these developments make discovering cheese more exciting than ever!

If you’re curious about cheese, would like some help in planning a cheese event, or would like to place a special cheese order, give us a call, drop by the store, or email our resident cheese whizzes,  Katie ( This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ) or Suzanne ( This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it )