A New York style wine bar has opened in Falmouth with an array of Cornish products to choose from.

Owner Derek Crookes, a former journalist turned wine specialist and wife Natasha are settling into life at Kernowine on Killigrew Street.

The shop stocks around 350 bottles of wine, spirits, beer, and cider - with a heavy focus on local produce.

They have been busy training up new staff as they reopen tomorrow (January 6th) following a short break.

Derek worked in London for a long time before becoming obsessed with wine and taking it further to gain qualifications.

He passed his Wine & Spirit Education Trust (WSET) Diploma in 2020 - winning a world prize for top marks in sparkling wine tasting and theory.

He began to have an idea about opening his own shop after working in Padstow's wine shop and bar BinTwo. When the unit became available in Falmouth he decided to grasp the opportunity.

Speaking to Nub News on their opening night, Derek and Natasha said:

"It has been steady turnover. We have had quite a bit of interest from people. We have had people who love wine come in and comment on how pleased they are that we are here. There have also been people pop in who haven't seen us before and take a look around.

"Very happy with how it has turned out. The design brief was a New York style neighbourhood wine bar. We feel like it is the right atmosphere, a welcoming and relaxed place for people to come and have a drink. We wanted it to be a cosy wine bar but it has the right balance of being cosy and modern."

The ethos of the business is sustainable, ethical, local. Being environmentally friendly. Supporting staff and the people who produce the wine fairly. As well as trying to stock as many Cornish products as there are.

One of the main features of the bar includes 16 seasonal wines by the glass and wine refills. The wine refill system is connected to four wine kegs (just like beer kegs) where people can bring their own bottles, or buy one, to be refilled - cutting down on waste and CO2 emissions. It also boasts a coffee machine, and still/sparkling water.

There is space for around 20 people to sit in the bar. Tables will be set up for people to sit outside when the weather is warmer.

Kernowine will be open again tomorrow (6th January) 11am-9:30pm.

See more news and updates from the bar here.

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