The world of wine is opening up to people in Cornwall, thanks to the efforts of enthusiast, Cornish winemaker Derek Crookes.
Derek Crookes is the co-owner and wine buyer at Kernowine in Falmouth. Del, as he is known to all but his mum, grew up surrounded by hospitality in the three bars on his parents’ campsite in Challaborough, south Devon.
Fast forward 20 years through a career in journalism and a move back to the west country – Del decided to take his love of wine a step further and make it a career.
He explains: “As we were moving to Cornwall in 2017, I enrolled on a two-year wine and spirits course, the WSET Diploma. It’s a tough two-year slog, learning everything there is to know about still, sparkling and fortified wine and spirits with a three-hour blind tasting exam of 12 wines at the end.
“I ended up winning the Moët and Chandon sparkling prize in 2019, achieving the highest marks for the theory and tasting exams in the world that year.”
After two years learning the trade at BinTwo in Padstow, Del decided to take the plunge and open his own wine bar, shop and school in Falmouth.
“I wanted to curate my own list of my all-time favourite wines, “ he reveals. “I love sharing my knowledge and my main goal was to help customers explore grape varieties they’d never heard of, or areas of the world they’d never considered buying wine from.”
None of the wines are sold without being tasted by the team first, (a tough job but someone’s got to do it!) and there are more than 20 wines available by the glass as well as cider, beer, cocktails, non-alcoholic options, soft drinks, tea and coffee.
The company’s ethos is “sustainable, ethical, local”. The bar has a bottle refill system which saves recycling glass and helps to cut CO² emissions, whilst all of the corks are recycled by a local company.
Alongside the wines, the bar serves a range of charcuterie boards featuring Cornish and international meat, cheese, fish and vegan products plus a changing small plates menu that complements the wine list.
Kernowine is located on Killigrew Street in Falmouth and is open year-round. As well as holding monthly classes, tastings and winemaker visits, the Kernow Wine Club allows aspiring sommeliers to subscribe to a personalised wine delivery every quarter, as well as receiving ten per cent off all purchases.
