Gourmet cheeses and award-winning wines make Milford home

If you’re walking along Broad Street in Milford, past the shops in the Forest Hall building, you could easily miss the Milford Wine and Cheese shop at 212 Broad Street. In fact, some locals don’t even realize it is there. However, if you are a cheese lover and or a wine enthusiast, you would make a bee line for this gourmet haven where the owners have curated a wide selection of domestic and global cheeses alongside a collection of finely crafted wines exclusively provided by Three Hammers Winery in Hawley.

You don’t have to be a seasoned cheese aficionado (a turophile) or a sophisticated connoisseur of wines (an oenophile), you just have to like wine and cheese and get ready for an adventure when you walk through the door. Adam Kolman, who is responsible for client relations and hospitality, stresses the importance of education. “We want to share our knowledge.

We want you to leave feeling like you’ve learned something,” he said. “For example, why does this wine (Riesling) pair so well with this Alpine cheese? It’s because they come from the same area, and they’ve grown together, and they share many of the same characteristics.”

Kolman is passionate about the wines. He mentions that they like to connect with the community and often have wine tastings at the shop, as well as “Fondue Fridays” on the first and third Fridays of the month. He has even taught charcuterie making classes. Kolman says, “We’ve been welcomed with open arms. People have been very receptive, especially the summer tourists, who are amazed at this little gem of a shop with such quality wine and cheese in this tiny little town.”

The spirit and craftsmanship behind their wines comes from proprietors Rob Kobrzynski and Christine Pucciarello, the husband and wife team who made their dream of owning a winery come true. Kobrzynski is a graphic designer by profession and has worked in advertising as a creative director and owner of his own company. One can see his unique sense of design on the wine bottle labels and in the layout and photos on the walls of the Milford shop. Pucciarello is a former corporate vice president of finance and operations. They recently announced that their 2023 Chenin Blanc was rated 91 points in the December 2024 issue of Wine Enthusiast and their 2023 Pinot Gris was rated 90 points. A 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve was rated 90 points. This is no small accomplishment.

Pucciarello and Kobrzynski poured their passion and experiences from travelling the country’s wine districts into creating the Three Hammers Winery in Hawley in 2016, an historic 1820s farmhouse on 15 acres originally owned by three brothers named Hammer. The winery was named as an homage to the brothers.

They started with 12 barrels of dry red wine and are now producing 150 barrels of a variety of wines. The winery also hosts tastings and even music events in the summer.

The staff is trained in the ways of wine and cheese, and they all seem to share the passion. Sarah Schaeffer has been working at the winery for five years and is the dynamic manager of the Three Hammers Wine Club. She is also engaged to Kolman. The wine club is multi-tiered, and members can sign up for three, six, or 12 bottles quarterly. In addition, members get discounts on wine, complimentary tastings and invitations to exclusive wine club experiences and events.

The Milford shop opened in 2023 and is becoming more and more popular. They feature a loyalty card where one can get a hole punched for every ½ pound of cheese.

One of the highlights of the Milford shop is Cellar 212, which is where many of wine tastings are held. It’s a cozy wine bar with stacked stone walls dating back to 1904. Celler 212 is also available for booking private parties.

The proprietors invite the public to enjoy their wine and cheeses, whether at the Milford Wine and Cheese Co. or the Three Hammers Winery in Hawley.

For more information, including tasting events, visit milfordwinecheeseco.com, email info@milfordwinecheeseco.com, or call 570-832-8998.

Three Hammers Winery can be found at 877 Welcome Lake Rd, Hawley. The winery can be reached at 570-949-4688 or info@threehammerswinery.com. Winery events and more can be found online at threehammerswinery.com.