MUST Wine Loft is a European-inspired Wine & Cheese Loft located in the historic 5th Avenue Lofts building in downtown St. Petersburg, Florida.
We focus on balanced, appellation-driven wine & vermouth and imported & domestic artisan cheeses & charcuterie.
We have hand-selected every item on our shelves to share their stories with you so that you can share their stories of craftsmanship with your friends.
It is our honor to be your guides for wine & cheese pairing adventures and your party-hosting secret weapon - we are here to help you
Make A Grape First Impression!
We focus on balanced, appellation-driven wine & vermouth and imported & domestic artisan cheeses & charcuterie.
We have hand-selected every item on our shelves to share their stories with you so that you can share their stories of craftsmanship with your friends.
It is our honor to be your guides for wine & cheese pairing adventures and your party-hosting secret weapon - we are here to help you
Make A Grape First Impression!
Meet Our Founders
Photo by Thomas Hofer @quaker_tom
Jessica Arkwright | Founder & Sommelier
With over 10 years experience as a Sommelier, Jessica is excited to open MUST Wine Loft in downtown St. Petersburg.
Having grown up in Florida, Jessica moved to St. Pete from Chicago in 2011 to be near her big family again, and started an organic catering company (Farm To Fork Organics) with the late Chef Tommy Sapp of New Orleans. In addition to their weekly catering pop-ups at The Ale & The Witch, the two produced and sold cheese spreads, organic hummus, and beer cheese at local farmers' markets. After seeing a need for more local farmers' markets and wanting to connect residents to organic locally-grown produce, Jessica recruited friends to start the EDGE District Farmers Market. A couple years later, real estate changed hands and they lost their farmer's market home, and the EDGE District Farmers Market eventually closed. As life goes, when one door closes, another door of opportunity opens -
In 2014, Jessica was recruited by the MINA Group to open their first gourmet market concept due in part to her local roots and connections to local farmers, her hospitality experience in fine dining in Chicago, and her Somm background. As the Beverage Manager for both Locale Market and the "Wine Bar" that quickly became FarmTable Kitchen (later FarmTable Cucina), she was tasked with curating and managing the wine and vermouth cocktail programs, hiring, managing and educating the restaurant and wine bar teams upstairs at FarmTable, and managing the retail wine and craft beer program downstairs at Locale Market. In 2016, Jessica had the opportunity to travel to Spain with wine importer & sherry-producer Hidalgo, and it was there that she fell in love with the social culture of pairing wine, vermouth and sherries with queso y jamon (aka cheese & charcuterie), and learned the difference between pintxos ("pincho") and tapas. She loved the buzz in the tapas bars and markets, mostly how sharing food and wine brought people of all backgrounds together and turned strangers into new friends.
It is that joyful feeling of sharing nourishing food, good wine, and open conversation that we hope to inspire and encourage at MUST Wine Loft.
With over 10 years experience as a Sommelier, Jessica is excited to open MUST Wine Loft in downtown St. Petersburg.
Having grown up in Florida, Jessica moved to St. Pete from Chicago in 2011 to be near her big family again, and started an organic catering company (Farm To Fork Organics) with the late Chef Tommy Sapp of New Orleans. In addition to their weekly catering pop-ups at The Ale & The Witch, the two produced and sold cheese spreads, organic hummus, and beer cheese at local farmers' markets. After seeing a need for more local farmers' markets and wanting to connect residents to organic locally-grown produce, Jessica recruited friends to start the EDGE District Farmers Market. A couple years later, real estate changed hands and they lost their farmer's market home, and the EDGE District Farmers Market eventually closed. As life goes, when one door closes, another door of opportunity opens -
In 2014, Jessica was recruited by the MINA Group to open their first gourmet market concept due in part to her local roots and connections to local farmers, her hospitality experience in fine dining in Chicago, and her Somm background. As the Beverage Manager for both Locale Market and the "Wine Bar" that quickly became FarmTable Kitchen (later FarmTable Cucina), she was tasked with curating and managing the wine and vermouth cocktail programs, hiring, managing and educating the restaurant and wine bar teams upstairs at FarmTable, and managing the retail wine and craft beer program downstairs at Locale Market. In 2016, Jessica had the opportunity to travel to Spain with wine importer & sherry-producer Hidalgo, and it was there that she fell in love with the social culture of pairing wine, vermouth and sherries with queso y jamon (aka cheese & charcuterie), and learned the difference between pintxos ("pincho") and tapas. She loved the buzz in the tapas bars and markets, mostly how sharing food and wine brought people of all backgrounds together and turned strangers into new friends.
It is that joyful feeling of sharing nourishing food, good wine, and open conversation that we hope to inspire and encourage at MUST Wine Loft.
Chef Raymond Cotteret | Chef, Food Artist, Co-Founder
Raymond {pronounced reh-mone} and Jessica met at Locale Market and the two quickly formed a long-time friendship over their mutual love for cheese & wine (and France, of course - it's hard not to think of France when Raymond speaks).
Raymond is our not-so-secret weapon when it comes to food. He has been obsessed with food since his childhood, having grown up in Versailles, France within "a cooking family." Fun fact: Raymond was actually born in Melbourne, FL, after his parents came to the United States post-WWII to work in his family's french restaurant - the only french restaurant in Florida at the time! His parents returned to France less than a year later, and Raymond enjoyed his french education until the Vietnam draft ended in the U.S., making it a much better time to return to his home state of Florida. He immediately began working in french restaurants - at first as a server so that he could practice his english - and eventually went back to his roots cooking in his family's french restaurant {Rollande & Pierre - which housed The Melting Pot in St. Petersburg for many years - as they'd moved from Melbourne to St. Pete}. From there, Raymond was the Executive Chef at The Garden, the Princess Xanadu royal yacht, and eventually opened his own French restaurant, La Gavroche, with his lovely wife, Ingrid. Raymond's passion for cooking and knowledge of ingredients continually surprises us, and we are grateful to have Raymond's amazing expertise and friendship and look forward to bringing back our hands-on "APPELLATION: Passport Series" classes, curated tastings, and full-service catering {his cooking expertise doesn't end at food - this talented chef hand-carves ice sculptures too!}.
Raymond {pronounced reh-mone} and Jessica met at Locale Market and the two quickly formed a long-time friendship over their mutual love for cheese & wine (and France, of course - it's hard not to think of France when Raymond speaks).
Raymond is our not-so-secret weapon when it comes to food. He has been obsessed with food since his childhood, having grown up in Versailles, France within "a cooking family." Fun fact: Raymond was actually born in Melbourne, FL, after his parents came to the United States post-WWII to work in his family's french restaurant - the only french restaurant in Florida at the time! His parents returned to France less than a year later, and Raymond enjoyed his french education until the Vietnam draft ended in the U.S., making it a much better time to return to his home state of Florida. He immediately began working in french restaurants - at first as a server so that he could practice his english - and eventually went back to his roots cooking in his family's french restaurant {Rollande & Pierre - which housed The Melting Pot in St. Petersburg for many years - as they'd moved from Melbourne to St. Pete}. From there, Raymond was the Executive Chef at The Garden, the Princess Xanadu royal yacht, and eventually opened his own French restaurant, La Gavroche, with his lovely wife, Ingrid. Raymond's passion for cooking and knowledge of ingredients continually surprises us, and we are grateful to have Raymond's amazing expertise and friendship and look forward to bringing back our hands-on "APPELLATION: Passport Series" classes, curated tastings, and full-service catering {his cooking expertise doesn't end at food - this talented chef hand-carves ice sculptures too!}.
Alex Paunic | Co-Founder
Alex Paunic is a local entrepreneur and cybersecurity professional. He met Jessica and Raymond when Jodi introduced them, knowing Alex's interest in wine and Jessica's interest in cybersecurity. They all hit it off immediately, sharing stories of their favorite european meals over wine, and are excited about opening MUST Wine Loft together.
Alex moved to St. Pete in 2013 from Denver to work for cybersecurity giant McAfee and managed their large distribution operation at Tech Data. In 2017, Alex co-founded cybersecurity firm PreCog Security, providing organizations with security risk management. Originally from Serbia, and living in the states most of his adult life, Alex has been working in various IT and cybersecurity marketing roles for more than 13 years. His favorite pastime is spending time with friends and enjoying St. Pete's vibrant restaurants and downtown nightlife. Alex is excited to join MUST, and brings his technical expertise to help keep our customers' data secure, both online and in our store.
Alex Paunic is a local entrepreneur and cybersecurity professional. He met Jessica and Raymond when Jodi introduced them, knowing Alex's interest in wine and Jessica's interest in cybersecurity. They all hit it off immediately, sharing stories of their favorite european meals over wine, and are excited about opening MUST Wine Loft together.
Alex moved to St. Pete in 2013 from Denver to work for cybersecurity giant McAfee and managed their large distribution operation at Tech Data. In 2017, Alex co-founded cybersecurity firm PreCog Security, providing organizations with security risk management. Originally from Serbia, and living in the states most of his adult life, Alex has been working in various IT and cybersecurity marketing roles for more than 13 years. His favorite pastime is spending time with friends and enjoying St. Pete's vibrant restaurants and downtown nightlife. Alex is excited to join MUST, and brings his technical expertise to help keep our customers' data secure, both online and in our store.
|
Jodi Chemes | Co-Founder
Jodi Chemes is a Certified Public Accountant with her Masters Degree in Taxation from the University of Denver. She is originally from Rochester, NY, and currently lives in St Petersburg with her human and animal companions. In her spare time she advocates for animal welfare, adopts and fosters greyhounds, creates custom stained glass projects, and spends time with friends & family enjoying wine & cheese together. She contributes her business skills to MUST Wine Loft as our numbers and cents guru, and also co-founded St. Pete Women's Collective/VENUS St. Pete, which is a cooperative artist space/gallery. We are excited to have Jodi on our team and look forward to the financial expertise and positive energy that she exudes. |