New Cheese + Music Happy Hour - THIS THURSDAY 7/23
Does one day run into the next for you? Lost all track of time during this pandemic? Days just transition into evening? Especially for those folks working from home, it can be hard to know when the work day begins or ends. Just. Another. Day. But then! Along comes our perfectly positioned new Cheese & Music Happy Hour. Send your body all the signals it needs to wind down from the day and make your evening special. This is our FIRST TIME offering this event, and we’re thrilled to bring back and feature local musician Aaron Stephens. Aaron Stephens is a singer/songwriter based in Austin, Texas. He mixes earnest, soulful pop together with his smooth voice and rhythmic guitar playing. The end result is heartfelt and groovy music that covers a variety of topics and emotions. So how does it work? Purchase your $30 ticket today. On Thursday, pick up your cheese flight via contactless curbside (or have it delivered) from 1-4, and tune in at happy hour time of 6pm. This 45-minute event will definitely set you up for a perfect evening. Note: This is not a full guided tasting class. Instead, our cheese host will sporadically talk you through a flight of 4 cheeses and 4 food pairings, interspersed with a live set from Aaron Stephens. Info More info and tickets here. Get a sneak peek of Aaron’s music here. Deadline to purchase tix this Wednesday at midnight.

New Products in the Cheese Shop
So many new goodies… Over the next few weeks, I’m thrilled to announce some new treats that have made it into our shop during the pandemic. For now, we’ll kick it off with the following from our Beverage Purchaser and Cheesemonger Extraordinaire, David Rhodes:
“As a part of our renewed commitment to amplifying and supporting BIPOC producers, I've been working to bring in some new wines from BIPOC owned/operated vineyards and winemakers. I'm really excited to have these wines in, and am looking forward to continuing this mission with y'all going forward! If you try them out, let me know what you think!"

Andre Mack founded Maison Noir in 2007 after years of working as a Sommelier in San Antonio as well as at Thomas Keller's Per Se and The French Laundry. Mack likes to describe his Oregonian wines as "distinctive garage wines", and also runs an associated apparel line centered around the "Wine Lifestyle/Street Culture" of punk and hip-hop in the 90s. (Check out a fun video on his website.)


In their words, “the 2019 OPP (“Other People’s Pinot Gris”) is like Juggling Apples, Pears and Peaches while dancing to Pharell's ‘Happy’ - enthralling, upbeat, fresh and deluxe.” Try pairing OPP Pinot Gris with our new Cabra La Mancha. Inspired by cheeses produced high in the Pyrenees mountains of northern Spain’s Basque region, this soft washed rind cheese is made with goat’s milk and aged for over 90 days. During the maturation process, crafters hand wash and flip each one of these brined orange beauties over and over again until they’re ready. Expect a soft texture (great for melting too!), slight pungency, and subtle grassiness. Made by FireFly Farms in Maryland, a Good Food Award winner, and new to our shop for the first time ever.


For the red lovers out there, “Horseshoes & Handgrenades is a fruit-driven, full-bodied complex red blend sourced from Southern Oregon and Red Mountain Washington. The rich, ripe, voluptuous fruit comes from Oregon Syrah with just enough Washington Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot to give it complexity and structure. Think cherry pits and leather whips!” We think the perfect cheese pairing for this a new, exciting cheese - first available in any retail in our shop. Please welcome the birth of a new cheese, Whey Blue made locally in Schertz, just north of San Antonio, by Texas cheesemaker Susan Rigg of River Whey Creamery. Whey Blue is a “double cream, raw milk blue cheese - made in the style of creamy French blue cheeses, but with the terroir of great Texas milk. This cheese is aged for 60 to 90 days and will surprise you with its complexity. With aromas of toasted biscuits, and yet a nice subtle mottling of blue.” (Awesome pic cred to our director Alex @fromageforyou. Follow him in his new Instagram series on Texas cheesemakers!)

Try these wines - and cheeses - and let us know what you think! Thanks for being on our sourcing journey with us. (And get ready for next week’s wine reveal and suggested cheese pairing - both new to the shop as well.)

New Cheese Class in a Box - American Cheese!
Do you read our newsletters from afar - whether elsewhere in the state of Texas or beyond in these United States of America? Have you seen drooled and pined for our virtual cheese tastings? Great news! You can get in on the cheese tasting action too! Since we launched our “Cheese 101 Class in a Box” in April, we’ve shipped it to hundreds of people nationwide. We’re now thrilled to add a second option to the line up, our “American Cheese Class in a Box.” There are a couple of ways to enjoy it:
Open it as your own gift. Watch the 5 min “how to plate” video. Then sit down and relax watching our Cheese 101 video that John and I recorded from our home
Get a group of 12 orders together (all going to different destinations is fine)! Everyone receives their cheese box and watches the 5 min “how to plate” video. Then tune in LIVE with your own personal cheesemonger to lead your virtual tasting.
Thanks to the family reunions, corporate team appreciations, and groups of friends who have so far used our cheese class boxes as a way to stay connected during challenging times. We appreciate you!

Drive-In Movie at Community First Village
THIS Friday 7/24 (8-11pm)- Community Cinema: Sonic the Hedgehog Been cooped up lately? Want to get the family out of the house? And want it to do good? How about grabbing a ticket to a pop-up, drive-in theatre? That’s right. Community Cinema at Community First Village has transitioned to drive-in during the pandemic. You’ll be supporting Mobile Loaves & Fishes, as well as The Other One Foundation. They’ll have candy and drinks available there for sale. BUT! You can PREORDER A CHEESE PLATE NOW and they’ll have there for you to enjoy. Preorder your cheese plate when you purchase your movie tickets. Deadline for cheese plates is midnight Wednesday (tomorrow!).

A Commitment to Anti-Racist Action
We’ve recently experienced a wave of Black Lives Matter protests across America, accompanied by company and organizational statements to take meaningful action against systemic racism and denounce police brutality particularly against the black diaspora that populates this nation. In response, we circulated an internal document to our team reaffirming our commitment to equity and outlining the active steps Antonelli’s has been taking and will continue to take to foster an inclusive and diverse workspace. Our team wanted to share those actions with you in greater transparency. Together as a team, we outlined our collective commitment to ensuring our values, beliefs and practices are rooted in diversity, inclusion, belonging and equity. Read more about our team’s commitment to anti-racist action here.

(Virtual) Tasting Classes Coming Up
All are virtual with curbside pickups of cheese plates (or option for local delivery). Deadline to purchase tickets is midnight the night before an event. Click on the calendar date here to get more info or tix: Thu 7/23 - NEW Cheese + Music Happy Hour feat. Aaron Stephens
Fri 7/24 - An Antonelli’s Cheese Date Night
Sun 7/26 - Taste of Spain
Mon 7/27 - Cheese 101 benefiting The Trail Foundation
Thu 7/30 - Soft Cheeses: Rich, Gooey, Delicious

*Note: We offer classes and events in three different formats. If you’d like to know about how each different type of class is offered and the benefits of each, check it out here and scroll to bottom.

CELEBRATE! Not ready to brave restaurants? Or perhaps you don’t have the luxury of it as you seek to keep you or your imuno-compromised loved ones safe. Don’t forget we offer PRIVATE PARTIES for our Virtual Tasting Clients. Contact us for more details.

How You Can Help Us Stay In Biz
From Austin:
Place an online order or phone order with no contact curbside delivery to your trunk
Order for delivery through Favor Fleet for $12
Buy Tickets to a Virtual Cheese Tasting Class; pick up the cheese plate curbside
Order a Cheese Tray online
Schedule a Cheesemonger Live virtual appointment to look through our case for curbside pickup
Book a Private Virtual Tasting class. In these isolating times, we're looking for ways to connect and build community

From Anywhere in the United States:
To ship via UPS, order online and choose from our newly-added cheese/meat/add-on offerings
Know someone that can use a cheese-y pick me up, ship a gift box care package
Purchase a gift card for future use
Join our monthly cheese club
Take our Cheese Tasting in a Box virtual class. (not a live event; prerecorded)
Send our social distancing care kit.
Schedule a virtual cheesemonger appointment to discuss what you might like best and take your order for shipment
We offer FREE SHIPPING in Texas on orders over $75.

Stay Cheese-y!

John & Kendall
And Your Awesome Cheesemonger Team.