What is your Background?

1). Amy- My very first job was bussing tables at the age of 14 in a restaurant. I worked my way through all positions in a restaurant (Including cook) all the way to owning one when my daughter was a toddler. Unfortunately my marriage didn’t withstand those stresses and I quickly realized that working inside restaurants would take too much time away from my daughter so I shifted my career to the accounting side of hospitality. I have spent the past 15 years as a controller for many different venues that were operated by the large hospitality group in West Hollywood that owned locations globally. Prior to this venture Heather was a stay at home Mom for the past 10 years so this has definitely been quite the adventure for her.

What was the ultimate decision that led to you pursuing to open your Shop?

2) Amy- We went out for Heathers birthday and decided to stop at a cheese shop on the way to wine tasting. We never left. We had such a great time and after quite a few drinks heather stated “Fullerton needs one too these” and just like that, we were off and running. I didn’t really give heather much of a choice but secretly I knew she was excited at the opportunity to go in this adventure.

What is your favorite thing about what you do?

3) Heather – our customers. We have met some of the greatest people in our shop. People who have truly become part of our friends and family circle.

Do you have a memorable moment you shared with a customer?

4) This is a tough one. I’d say the first time sharing OG Kristal (a cheese) With many of our customers. To see their faces light up when they start chewing and tasting all the amazing flavors and textures that come through. Or when one of our most frequent loyal customer FINALLY won something at one of our events. She was so excited to win some Let It Brie gear

How did your love and appreciation of cheese evolve from Cheese aficionado to a Business Owner?

5) Heathers answer to this one was “Amy”. Just like we had stated before it was me who drug Heather to jump off this cliff. We have been friends since kindergarten and our relationship often includes Amy convincing Heather she HAS to go on these crazy adventures. Heather keeps me grounded or I’d be jumping off cliffs into new ideas all the time. But the idea of going on this adventure with my best friend was a no brained. And then of course it took a lot of classes, training, touring and of course TASTING. The best part.

Are their comparisons to raising a family and running a Business?

6) They are both juggling acts which require balance. If you don’t have your family on your team it’s going to be tough. Heathers kids were older and not so reliant on her but it’s still tough to find that balance especially when a business is new and requires so much of your attention.

What words of advice would you share with other women who have been thinking of taking a step towards becoming Entrepreneurs?

7). If you have a passion for what you want to attempt then your family will see that in you and hopefully support you. And then at that point you need to just take that leap and jump. Fear holds us back often but without taking chances or leaping off cliffs towards what you want, you’ll never get the chance to soar.

Wine Talk: Ladies, we have teamed up with Scout and Cellar! We thought Amy and Heather’s shop was a delicious complement to the clean crafted wine.

To learn more please head to : Website: www.scoutandcellar.com/socalmom

For Wine Novice Drinkers who love cheese

What are the Best Cheeses for White Wine 101

and Red Wine 101?

Whether you are choosing the cheese to pair with your favorite wine or just picked up some great cheese and want to compliment it with some wine. It’s best to consider the intensity first and then match that intensity.

Let’s talk about the red wines. Generally speaking aged cheese will pair best with bold, intense wines. This is because the aged cheese will lose its water content over time and become a higher fat cheese with counteracts the high tannins found in these bold wines.

Now while considering white wines remember that sparkling whites go great with the creamier cheese such as Brie. This is because the high acidity offer a palate cleaning effect to the stickiness of the cheese. Crisp white wines work well with younger, softer and pungent cheese.

Red wine pairings from left to right

St Agur -France

Rusticella Moliterno – Italy

Drunken Goat – Spain

Parmigiano Reggiano – Italy

White Wine Pairing

Fromager D’Affinois – France

Good Thunder – Minnesota

Coppers Hill – England

Wensleydale Lemon & Honey – England

When pairing wine with cheese it the final choice rests in the one who is eating it and everyone’s palate is different. Although the maker of Coopers Hill recommends that it be paired with a red, we prefer to pair it with a white that is complex enough to compliment it such as a Chardonnay or a Sauvignon Blanc from California. Sauvignon fro the California region tends to lend a richer variety of this grape.

Blues can swing both ways but we like to pair them with the sweeter wines. A red such as port can stand up to the intensity of the strong blues but a sweet white such as Moscato can balance the funk in the blue which makes it taste creamier.

When you just aren’t sure what to do you can always rely on a couple things. Regions tend to produce traditions that work. The people of the regions have been consuming both for hundreds of years and know what works well together. You can also rely on alcohol content. ABV of 12% or under go best with more delicately flavored cheese and higher ABV work with more intense flavors. The main goal in pairing wines with cheese is to not let one become lost within the other. So get out there and start experimenting. It’s for a good cause.

https://www.letitbrie.com/

Let it Brie with Wine and Cheese

Wine Talk: Ladies, we have teamed up with Scout and Cellar! We thought Amy and Heather’s shop was a delicious complement to the clean crafted wine.

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