By Grace Cameron, Copy Editor THE NEWLY-arrived Aussies working in Mandeville's bauxite sector are the latest to hear the news about the wines of Finnigan.
They got the word from the Venezuelans working on the power lines in Manchester.
But that's nothing new. Since 1992 Thomas Finnigan has developed a faithful following among foreigners, diplomats and food connoisseurs who faithfully pass along the word.
The Australians wasted no time. Eager for a sip of some of the 40 plus types of Italian wines carried by Thomas Finnigan Wine Merchants, they beat a hasty path the 60 miles from Mandeville into Kingston.
That's like the Dutch diplomat Finnigan found waiting on his doorstep one morning. Though he had only arrived the night before, the Dutchman had gotten wind of Finnigan's wines and cheeses and had been dispatched by his wife to stock up on supplies.
There are no signs pointing to Finnigan's place tucked neatly in a tiny plaza at the end of a cul-de-sac just outside the plaza strip on Constant Spring Road in St. Andrew. He never advertises yet food lovers, ministers of government, and many others keep climbing up the steep, spiral, wrought iron staircase and into his pint-sized waiting room.
"We make a lot of people happy," said the man at the centre of this unassuming wine emporium.
For Linda Cameron, a Canadian living in Jamaica for the last nine years, a visit to Thomas Finnigan is an experience. "It's not just about shopping for wine and cheese, it's the whole thing," she said.
"You pull into the court yard, park under a tree, go up this winding staircase and there's Mr. Finnigan, maybe an employee and usually a customer or two.
"You get to sample the olives and cheeses, so you leave feeling content. There's no pressure. So it's not just buying the food, it's the whole package deal," said Cameron who discovered Finnigan four years ago.
An English man from Notting Hill with an Irish name, who has lived and done business in New York, and has a house in Amsterdam, Finnigan professes an affinity for Jamaica. He got the bug as a boy, he says, from the beat of the music and flavour of the islands during his hometown's annual Caribbean festival. He has been visiting Jamaica since the 1970s, and finally moved here in 1990.
Finnigan's affection for the grapes also began early. "I've been drinking wine all my life," he says. "Winemakers -- the ones who are good at it -- are scientists, artists and magicians. I love going to wineries."
It took a scouting trip to the Mosel Valley of Germany when he was 13 to bring home the romance and taste of quality wines. "I tried some of the wine (on the trip). It was better than the Cypress Cream Cherry" he had been sampling in England. The Cypress Cream was "nasty" but it was the cheapest wine growing up, he chuckles.
There's nothing nasty about the wines imported by Finnigan and available in some of the finest supermarkets and dining establishments from Negril to Kingston. Sixty per cent of his trade, he notes, is done with institutions. Retail accounts for the other 40 per cent.
He chose Italian wines, he says, because they're the best value and it's possible to get a range of good, inexpensive Italians.
"The French can't make good, cheap wines."
In addition to wines, he carries a line of (mainly Dutch) cheeses, including hard to find types like Pecorino; smoked marlin; capers in salt; smoked cow's tongue (bought locally); sun-dried tomatoes; pickles, pine nuts, eight different types of olives, salami and mustard, among other items."People usually think they come for one thing and discover they want other things," he says in explaining the popularity of his establishment. Jenny Greaves and Jean Riley first climbed up the spiral staircase for the wines and cheeses but somewhere along the way they discovered one of Finnigan's better kept secrets -- his sandwich. (See recipe below.)
"It's delicious, it's more than a meal," says Greaves of the sandwich they call "The Finnigan.""I don't get to come often enough (for The Finnigan)," says Riley who adds that she comes "all the way from Irish Town (St. Andrew)" just for the special concoction.
Linda Cameron who says she stocks up whenever her supplies run low recently discovered the smoked marlin. "It's just absolutely lovely," she raves. Finnigan's popularity actually grew between 1992 and 1996 when he ran the hot Cafe Central, which was located in the back of the plaza. He has fond memories and amusing tales of the days (and nights) when diplomats, politicians and the well-heeled rubbed shoulders at the cafe. He closed it in 1996 because he was exhausted, he says.
His primary grouse in operating his business here is the "very unfortunate wine duties. Sixty per cent of wines (sold in Jamaica) is drunk by tourists and they want good wines." A duty of 120 per cent (compared to 20 in Holland, for example) handicaps the tourist product, he says. "It's a bizarre duty system." Still, he has managed to hold the price on his products. "You can get a decent bottle of wine for $300." His mark ups are low, he admits. "In Jamaica they mark up like crazy, but who does that benefit?"
FINNIGAN'S PICKS FOR A SIMPLE WINE AND CHEESE AFFAIR FOR 10
Items:
1 bottle of Merlot, "a safe red wine that everyone likes."
1 bottle of Tocai Italico, "a nice white wine with a little spice in it. This will stand up to some spicy food.
"Blue cheese, olives, Salami. The Salami could be wrapped around a toothpick with cheese and an olive stuck on the end.
The cost, about $2,500
THE FINNIGAN UNVEILED
Two types of cheeses, sun-dried tomatoes, pickles, salami (smoked marlin or smoked tongue) brushed with olive oil and pocketed in French bread. Toast the sandwich.
