Photographing $1,000 Worth of Cheese

That’s a lot of cheddar for a lot of cheese.

A few years ago, our friends and colleagues at Anheuser Busch decided they wanted a unique photograph of their beverage lineup. One of their product managers had seen an image of fine wines photographed in a wine cellar, and that served as the inspiration for our photo shoot. We constructed the cellar set in our studio (using stair stringers, fence pickets and faux stone) and outfitted it with bread and cheese. At the time, the brewer was making a push to reposition its offerings in a more upscale light—a little less ballpark and a little more symphony. So we chose to accompany the bottles with some of the finer things, like artisanal breads and delicious aged cheeses.

Oh, the cheese! The brewmasters at A.B. helped us with the appropriate pairings, and we turned to The Wine Merchant to help us select the cheeses that would best complement our beverages. (My personal favorite was a five-year-aged Gouda. Each bite was bliss.) The final tally for that cheese was just over $900, and based on my extensive sampling it was worth every penny. In the end my team divvied up the cheeses and we each took home quite a haul of exquisite snacks—plus a few beverages that paired quite nicely.