{"id":7104,"date":"2013-12-21T16:48:55","date_gmt":"2013-12-21T20:48:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.hagarty-on-wine.com\/OnWineBlog\/?p=7104"},"modified":"2014-06-17T19:49:20","modified_gmt":"2014-06-17T23:49:20","slug":"a-slice-of-tasty-at-the-culpeper-cheese-company","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.hagarty-on-wine.com\/OnWineBlog\/a-slice-of-tasty-at-the-culpeper-cheese-company\/","title":{"rendered":"A slice of tasty at the Culpeper Cheese Company"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u00a0<\/b>East Davis Street<\/b> shop serves the everyday gourmet<\/b>\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n

Experience counts. The more one gains the greater chance of success. Perhaps that explains why the Culpeper Cheese Company is a favorite haunt of folks who love quality cheese, wine, craft beer, soups and sandwiches. \u00a0\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n

\"Jeffery

Jeffery Mitchell<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cI became a wine buyer when I was twelve years old,\u201d says owner Jeffery Mitchell chuckling. \u201cMy mother was a hard working single Mom and loved her Chardonnay. When she broke her hip I was tasked to buy wine during her recovery.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mitchell remembers the corner shop owner cooperating with his mother during her convalesce by selling wine to the young lad. \u201cOne day her favorite chardonnay was out of stock and I made a buying decision on my own. It was a bottle of Verdicchio with a neat looking fish scale pattern. Unfortunately, the high acidity Italian white wine did not agree with Mom\u2019s palate.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I bought that wine home it was not a good evening. I learned there had to be radical differences in wine tastes. And that a bottle\u2019s shape did not make the wine,\u201d he says smiling.<\/p>\n

It was a lesson learned at a young age and provided the base for Mitchell\u2019s ever evolving knowledge of gourmet foods.<\/p>\n

After graduating from college, he took a course on serving wine in restaurants. \u201cIt was my first wine class but by far the best I\u2019ve ever taken. The instructor served ten wines. The first nine were purposefully hideous; over-oaked, high alcohol, too much sugar, and every other flaw you could think of. Then the tenth wine was poured and it remains in my memory to this day.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was balanced, in harmony and flavorful. The experience was an eye opener for me and led to a greater understanding of wine,\u201d recalls Mitchell.<\/p>\n

Going independent<\/strong>
\nSo how did his career as the proprietor of a fine food and drink shop unfold? After twenty years in the photography business, including time at Eastman Kodak, he found himself unemployed. \u201cOur division at Kodak saw that film was dead and digital would prevail but nothing in the corporate strategy was going to change. Our entire division was let go.<\/p>\n

\u201cI realized there is no future but your own. I worked as a newspaper writer, at Foti\u2019s restaurant and then at the Frenchman\u2019s Corner where I began learning more about cheeses. Seven years ago I opened my own shop called the Frenchman\u2019s Cellar and renamed it the Culpeper Cheese Company two years ago.<\/p>\n

\"IMG_8321_1\"\u201cToday wine and cheese hold equal attractions for me with cheese sneaking ahead. I\u2019m especially excited about Virginia cheese production. There are some astonishing producers here. Virginia is just a spark in the dark right now with about a dozen high quality producers. By comparison, Wisconsin has hundreds of cheesemakers,\u201d says Mitchell.<\/p>\n

His cheese inventory centers on what he calls \u201cnatural cheese\u201d; products that contain only salt, rennet, and curds. Like wine, cheese has terroir characteristics based on the breed of cows, sheep and goats\u2019 milk used and the grasses they feed on.<\/p>\n

So what can a customer expect when they visit the Culpeper Cheese Company? \u201cFirst, I hope you are greeted with a friendly welcome and that it smells good when you come in. We make homemade soups and Panini sandwiches daily.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am fortunate to have an experienced staff that can help in selecting products based on individual tastes. This is not a one person show. I am blessed to have knowledgeable personnel that make my success possible.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur shop carries over sixty selections of cheeses from around the world and about 400 different wines. We have a wine station where you can taste featured wines before buying a bottle or ordering a glass with a cheese plate or sandwich. One popular offering is our 6 for $60 program—a 22% discount over individual purchases. We call it \u2018wines that are right for tonight\u2019,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

For beer lovers there are 300 bottlings of craft brews and eight draft lines to choose from. One popular offering is the \u201ctrio of taste\u201d that lets a buyer sample three different four-ounce pours for $6. Recently the shop held a beer dinner with more to follow.<\/p>\n

\"IMG_8313_1\"Asked why Culpeper is a good location for a gourmet shop Mitchell replies, \u201cDavis Street is a pretty special place. A lot of \u2018Main Streets\u2019 are gone. If you drive elsewhere, there are beautiful turn-of-the-century buildings that are vacant.<\/p>\n

“In Culpeper there is a sense of the old and the new and the camaraderie among shop owners is great. Hourly we refer people to other businesses and they do the same for us,\u201d says Mitchell.<\/p>\n

The Culpeper Cheese Company is opened six days a week, closed Mondays. Visit http:\/\/www.thefrenchmanscellar.com<\/a> for hours of operation or call 540.827.4757.\u00a0\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n

John\u2019s pick of the month<\/b>\u00a0<\/b>\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n

Shropshire<\/b> Blue Cheese<\/b>\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n

$24.25\/lb.<\/b>\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n

Rather than go with a wine recommendation this month, let\u2019s celebrate the bounty of cheeses available at the Culpeper Cheese Company.\"IMG_8329\"<\/p>\n

One of our favorites is the delicious Shropshire Blue Cheese. This cow cheese hails from the United Kingdom & Ireland and was first created in the 1970s at Castle Stuart Dairy in Scotland. The cheese is semisoft with a sharp, strong flavor and a slightly tangy aroma. Pair with a Pinot Noir wine or a porter or stout beer. Cheers.\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Published in the December 19, 2013 edition of the <\/span>Culpeper Times<\/em>.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n
End of Harvest<\/dd>\n<\/dl>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u00a0East Davis Street shop serves the everyday gourmet\u00a0 Experience counts. The more one gains the greater chance of success. Perhaps that explains why the Culpeper Cheese Company is a favorite haunt of folks who love quality cheese, wine, craft beer, soups and sandwiches. \u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI became a wine buyer when I was twelve years old,\u201d […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"spay_email":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true},"categories":[1],"tags":[555,585,583,584,586],"yoast_head":"\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n