Uncorked is a new wine shop located in the Falls River Shopping center just off of Durant Road in North Raleigh. It opened up just before the Christmas holiday and my wife and I have been meaning to check it out. A few weeks ago we met some friends there to take part in one of their free Friday night wine tasting events and we had a fantastic time trying new wines and meeting the owner. The store has a warm rustic interior reminiscent of a tasting room you might experience at a vineyard in Napa Valley, complete with, rocks adorning the walls by the tasting bar in the back and decorative wood beams overhead with a large chandelier illuminating the shop.
While speakingwith the friendly owner and he explained that they typically have a free wine tasting every Friday night from 5:30-7:30pm. These usually involve a mix of four to five red and white wines that you can sample with 2 ounce pours. They also offer some great cheese plates that you can purchase to compliment the wines you are trying. While my wife and I aren’t wine aficionados by any means, we really enjoy venturing out to these events because wine tasting is a great way to get exposed to new and exciting varieties of wines and discover new favorites. It is also an excellent opportunity to meet new people as we have noticed folks are very friendly at these types of events and it is easy to strike up a conversation with strangers and share stories about favorite wines and vineyards you have visited.
In addition to their excellent wine selection the unique appeal of Uncorked is the fact that they have roughly 48 wines on hand that you can sample any day of the week. They have these nifty automated sampling stations that dispense samples of their various wines in portions ranges from a “taste” to a half or full glass. You pay for the samples from these stations by using a pre-paid debit card that you can get at the store. Their is a digital display at each wine station with information on how much each taste costs and when you insert your tasting card it give you a status on your available balance. It is a fun way to try a whole host of wines and test out wines before you buy a whole bottle to drink at home or give as a gift.
Recently the folks at Uncorked added an outside patio with tables with umbrellas for customers to sit at while they enjoy wine at the shop. They even have musical entertainment on select weekend nights usually featuring acoustic guitar music. For more information about Uncorked you can check out their website. They also have a mailing list you can sign up for at the shop to be notified about the wines they will be tasting each Friday night and other upcoming special events. To view the rest of my pictures of Uncorked check out my flicker photo album.
The Triangle Explorer 