A while back the limitations of our current cheese store/ageing room really started to get to us, especially as we were in the process of trying to perfect every stage of our cheesemaking. We wanted much better control over temperature and humidity than our current store could offer, so we looked around for the best solution.
The answer we were looking for turned out to be an underground cheese cellar – a large concrete bunker buried in the earth. Being fortunate enough to have a good sized clay hill along the boundary of the dairy, this seemed the perfect solution. It's just a shame that this was in 2008 and, with the recession kicking in and the banks reeling, there was no chance of getting a loan for such an adventurous expansion.
So we reluctantly shelved the idea and concentrated on tangible changes, such as improving the milking parlour down at Manor Farm and perfecting the grazing pasture, silage production and winter feed for the cows. We also rebuilt our little cheese shop here at the dairy, added a new product to the range (our lovely Somerset Ricotta) and built a new website.
But the underground cellar idea didn't leave us, and only made more sense as time went by. To have a cellar right here in the hillside, where the cool earth would help keep the temperature at between 10 and 12 degrees all year around, where we could divert our spring through the rooms to keep the humidity constant, where we'd have vastly more space to play with AND be able to have our packing and cutting room right where the cheeses mature… it just had to be done.
But we still weren't absolutely certain until we visited the Comté cellars of Fromageries Marcel Petite in the Jura Mountains of France. Established in 1966, this enormous cheese-ageing complex is built around an old Napoleonic fort 3600 feet up in an Alpine forest. Expanded over the years with multiple ageing suites built into the earth around the original fort, the affinage today stores a staggering 180,000 rounds of cheese. They even have a fleet of robot helpers who work day and night, lifting, washing and turning the cheeses to aid their maturation. We are indebted to the Petite family and their team for the time and knowledge they shared with us, our trips over there really helped sealed the decision in our minds.
So it's full steam ahead here at the dairy, with the second week of digging well underway and things moving on nicely. The hillside has all but disappeared and a new one has temporarily formed in the field behind. We also owe a big thanks to all our Westcombe neighbours for their patience and encouragement as we work to get the new cellar built and the next phase of Westcombe Dairy underway. Roll on springtime when we'll hopefully be ready to show it off!
Tom.