Stephanie Spear 
National Cheese Day is June 4th, but one Del Ray shop celebrates cheeses every day of the year. Cheesetique, located at 2411 Mt Vernon Ave, Alexandria, opened in 2004 and has been a neighborhood go-to for wines, cheeses, brunch, and more since. Founder Jill Erber talked with The Fairfax Girl about why wine and cheese are a timeless pairing, and how the team works to make tastings approachable. Read on for more about Jill Erber + Cheesetique.
About Cheesetique
Jill Erber opened Cheesetique in 2004 at 2403 Mt. Vernon Avenue in the Del Ray section of Alexandria. “It was just a cheese counter,” she said. “I was cutting wedges of cheese behind the counter.” The store moved to its current location at 2411 Mt. Vernon Avenue in 2008 and grew into what was originally supposed to be a small cafe. “It grew organically,” Jill said. “And before we knew it we had a full-blown restaurant on our hands.”
The Del Ray shop, with its iconic black-and-white striped awning, is half cheese + wine shop and half bar + restaurant. There’s a private room in the back for events + wine tastings, and it’s easy to see why this spot has become a neighborhood staple. The staff is knowledgeable and kind, making it easy to ask (seemingly endless) questions about cheeses, wines, and various pairings. Seasonal specials and menu updates mean that there’s always something new to try.
The wine shop has everything a person could need for a picnic, an at-home charcuterie night, or just a regular shelf in the fridge for a cheese lover. This includes crackers, chocolates, dried fruits, and other accompaniments, many of which are labeled with the type of cheese they pair best with. There’s a cheese club for those who want to learn more about cheese. There is online shopping, making it easy to order a picnic basket before a show at Wolf Trap, or set up local delivery for a gift basket.
At one point, there were four businesses, including the main Cheesetique and Corso Italian in Shirlington. “There have been years of growing and years of contracting, but the main constant has been this spot right here,” she said, referring to the Del Ray shop. “The cheese is at the center of everything we do.”
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“The menus are fairly cheese-centric, but not to the degree where you couldn’t get something without cheese. But we try to be mindful of our food being interesting and using cheese as much as we can,” Jill said. “Then our wine list is designed to be extremely food-friendly. Everything can be paired with delicious foods – nothing is too strong or overpowering.”
Everyone is Welcome
Cheesetique is built around making cheese and wine approachable, not academic. The goal is for guests to taste, ask questions, experiment, and learn without feeling like they need to have the “right” answer. “I would say wine can be intimidating, and cheese can be intimidating,” Jill said. “So something that we’ve always worked very hard to do is to make both of those things very approachable to people.”
Her advice is simple: if you like the cheese and you like the wine, chances are, you are going to like them together. “If you have good cheese, you have good wine, they’re going to be good together,” she said. “You can’t screw it up, really.”
That spirit carries into the shop experience, too. Guests are encouraged to taste cheeses before buying them, and the cheesemongers are trained to help people feel comfortable at the case. Instead of expecting shoppers to arrive as experts, the team helps guide them through textures, flavors, pairings, and preferences.
“The best way to know if you like something is to taste it in the store,” Jill said. Jill’s approach is that she does not think every guest has to like every cheese. In fact, that is part of the point. “Sometimes we’ll have people that are like, ‘Yeah, I don’t like that,’” Jill said. “And no one cares if you don’t like it. It’s a safe space to not like that.”
Tastings at Cheesetique are about trying something, noticing what happens, and figuring out what works for you. “You’ve also learned something even if you don’t like something,” Jill said.
The Cheesetique Experience
One of Cheesetique’s signature event formats is its “Meet the Winemaker” series. For these events, the shop brings in someone directly connected to a winery, whether that is the winemaker, owner, export lead, or another wine expert. Guests taste five wines, each paired with a small bite. Each person gets a tasting plate, wine glasses, and a handout with details about the wines, cheeses, grape compositions, milk types, and other educational notes.
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Cheesetique also hosts deep dives into specific grapes and wine regions through events like “Meet the Grape,” where guests can learn about varietals in a relaxed setting. Past topics have included grapes like Nebbiolo, Sauvignon Blanc, and others, with each tasting built around education, food, and conversation.
For those who still love a cozy night at home, Cheesetique also continues to host online classes, which started during the pandemic. Guests pick up a kit, bring it home, and tune in for a guided tasting.
Beyond public classes, Cheesetique’s Del Ray space is also used for private events like birthdays, baby showers, bridal showers, dinners, and custom tastings. The team can build private tasting experiences around a specific theme, region, or preference. That could mean a Burgundy-focused event, a Greek-inspired tasting, a wine-and-cheese bridal shower, or something else entirely. “We’ve absolutely done stuff like that before,” Jill said. “People can be as specific as they want.”
The private room, lined with wine bottles, can be set up for seated tastings, presentations, or community-style gathering, making it a good fit for anyone who wants an event that feels a little more intentional than a standard dinner reservation.
Cheesetique is located at 2411 Mt Vernon Avenue, Alexandria, and is open Monday through Friday from 11:30AM to 9PM, and Saturday + Sunday from 10AM to 9PM.
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