By Peter Covino

Entertainment Editor

Anyway you slice it, an evening at a Vintage Vino cheese class is a fun and educational experience.

The downtown Kissimmee wine shop has been hosting an assortment of educational wine, beer and cheese classes for the past year and the classes really seem to be hitting their stride.

Shop proprietor John Suido and manager Tonda Corrente conduct the cheese classes, which are held once a month.

There hasn't been much fanfare, but quietly the Kissimmee shop  has become a showplace for quality, artisan cheeses over the past several months.

“We offer cheeses that you can't find anywhere,” in Central Florida Suido said, with maybe the possible exception of Whole Earth Foods in Orlando, which has an extensive variety of cheeses for sale.

But the wine bar has some specialty cheeses that might even make the cheese guys at Whole Earth Foods sit up and take notice.

For example, at the last cheese and wine seminar,  the selections included Upland's Pleasant Ridge Reserve from Wisconsin, a cheese that has won many awards including a best of show for best cheese in the United States by the American Cheese Society.

While Suido is the resident wine expert at the shop, Corrente takes pride in her years of  experience in the food industry and an ever growing knowledge of cheeses, both imported and domestic.

Together, they spend hours brainstorming which cheeses to select for each seminar and what wines go best with a particular cheese. The shop also offers both the wine and cheese for sale after the seminar.

As any cheese fan knows, even with the best of cheeses, the cheese does not stand alone. A good wine can enhance the taste of a fine cheese.

“I love food,” Corrente said, “and I love cheese,” Torrente said. When you add a good wine you have an unbeatable combination.

“That is why I am here,” Torrente said of her job as manager of Vintage Vino, and hosting the cheese and wine seminars. “I want to put that crave in your soul,” for the love of wine and cheese.

These are really interesting selections offered at Vintage Vino. Some of the other cheese selections at the last seminar included Mitica Romao from Spain, a sheep milk cheese blended with the essence of rosemary as well as Singleton's Sage Derby from the United Kingdom, which has a layer of sage on its outer edge.

The cheeses are all of the premium variety, but for cheese lovers, they are worth a premium price as well. The Upland's Pleasant Ridge Reserve retails for $21.99 a pound at the shop.

You can also buy a bottle of the wines that were paired with the cheese at the seminar: Philosopher's Stone Bordeaux Blend ($34.99) or Veget Macon (white, $14.99).

One of the things that Suido wants to get across is that Vintage Vino is not just a nice place to come to in the evening for a glass of wine or a bottle of beer. It is a retail shop as well with a large variety of wine as well as cheese for sale.

“We let you taste it,” Suido said of the cheeses. “We want it to be an educational experience.”

In addition to the cheese class seminars, Vintage Vino also hosts the popular beer nights each Wednesday. Select beers are offered at discount prices each Wednesday night. The shop has 35 craft beers as well as an assortment of cured meats.

If you missed the October cheese and wine seminar, it will be repeated Nov. 18 with the same cheeses and wine pairings. The class features five cheeses paired with ten different wines.

The December cheese and wine seminar will have be geared toward the Christmas holidays.

Reservations are necessary for  the seminars.  Call 917-627-8432. There is more information about Vintage Vino wine classes, the shop's wines of the month and more at www.vintage-vino.com.

Vintage Vino is open daily 4 p.m. to midnight Tuesday-Saturday. The shop is located at 14 E. Dakin Ave.