Uncorked

Sacha Walters, Staff Reporter

There's a new 'big cheese' in town and it's paired with a host of wines. Uncorked, a little shop at 8 Hillcrest Avenue, Kingston, opened on Tuesday, and wants to make a big statement by offering 130 varieties of wine and 45 different cheeses.

But they don't stop there, a host of speciality foods will also be available for when you decide to get creative in the kitchen or want to grab something good for dinner.

"We love cheese, we love wine, we love food ," notes Anna Kay Von Dueszeln, one of the three owners of the business. Along with her two partners, Cynthia Hanworth and Debra Valentine, she saw a gap in the food market they wanted to fill with this sort of speciality store.

While many of their cheeses, wines and other delectables will be imported, they will be carrying many local items.

"The sweetness of the store will come from the local products we'll carry," said Hanworth, who was particularly proud of the local goat cheeses from Tamarind Hill in Port Antonio.

"We're all about education. Cheese and wine is something that people can be really intimidated by, this is an opportunity to dispel that," Hanworth explained. They will have daily wine and cheese samples to aid in the education process. She notes that many Jamaicans are uncomfortable with their wine knowledge and should just let go of that fear and accept that they can never know everything about all wines.

Uncorked is geared towards the hostess on the run who needs a bottle of wine in a jiffy, or any other ingredient to make dinner complete. They will carry exotic foods like olives, anchovies, arugula, soups to take away, recipe cards with great ideas how to use these ingredients, frozen pasta sauces, baguettes, crackers, an assortment of desserts, meats, fish and a host of other items. But for Hanworth and Dueszeln, one of their favourite new discoveries is Peppadew - whole sweet piquante peppers stuffed with goat cheese. They swear they are heavenly morsels which will speak only after you take a bite.

Uncorked - Tel: 632-5500.