For this new installment of our holiday shopping series, we talk to Larry Klem, manager at Stewart’s Wine & Spirits at 215 Elm St.
Here’s our interview.
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New Canaanite: How are things going this holiday shopping season?
Juicy and elegant—2020 La Rioja Alta S.A. Vina Alberdi Reserva. $28.99, save 10% by the case. Larry Klem: This is from a really great producer, LA Rio Alta. So that’s 100% percent Tempranillo which is the main grape that you have in the Rioja region. This is a little lighter than others, but again, medium-bodied. It has a really nice acidity. This would pair really well with a roast chicken and vegetables. And that one has been actually pretty popular throughout the year for us.”
Larry Klem: We had a very vibrant Thanksgiving week and a week up to it. But again, like last year was late, so it was all compressed in that last week. But the Tuesday and Wednesday here we’re really busy and happy to say that we actually excelled versus last year in sales. So that’s promising. And, a lot of really good rings, a lot of people buying a little more high-end wine, which is nice to see. And that being said, the week right after is a regrouping for us and for customers as well. Obviously a big consuming of both food and wine and liquor. So this past week, a little slower. It’s just always a regroup, which is great for us so that we can put the store back together, look at what we need for December and find some things that we want to focus on for Christmas versus just Thanksgiving.
Tell me about that. What kind of things are you thinking of for Christmas? What kind of things do you think people are interested in?
Tuscan Eleegance—2024 Il Borro Borrigiano Toscano, $21.99, save 10% by the case. Larry Klem: “This is a delicious blend of Sangiovese and Cabernet Sauvignon. So it has the richness of a Cabernet, but the Sangiovese also keeps it a little light and good acidity to it. It’s a great, really food-friendly wine. Almost all wines in Italy are food friendly because the Italians love food. When they make wine, I think they’re also thinking how it would pair regionally, whether you’re in Piedmont or in Neo Classical or in southern Italy. It goes with the regional specialties there.”
This year we decided to do something a little different. Typically we display a few things on this table over here, but we decided to go a little bigger, a little grander this year. So we came out with a little ‘Holiday selections’ area. Over the last month—actually, we started back in October—my other associates and I tasted with different distributors, a whole bunch of different wines, things that we just wanted to really focus on for Thanksgiving and Christmas that were food-friendly and interesting. Wines that maybe give people a little outside-of-their-box thinking for what they usually have. Thanksgiving is a big volume consumption. People are looking for comfortability in their selections. But that being said, they’re also looking for things that we suggest. So we came up with a lot of cool and interesting wines both domestic and imported. And we’ve done really well. Their selections have sold very well during Thanksgiving and we’re going to keep some of these and then add a few more things. And we tried to really find things that were food-friendly, that was really important. Obviously, they go great alone. Pairing Pinot Noir and turkey is always a classic pairing. We found a nice super Tuscan blend which I definitely recommend for Christmas time. It’s a Sangiovese and calin, you pair that with a roast pork loin, which is very traditional. My staff and I are all food enthusiasts besides wine enthusiasts. So we always want to think along, and that’s the question we get a lot from customers:’ What pairs with ham? What pairs with a roast turkey for thanksgiving or seafood or, Christmas Eve?’ So we try to align those things with our selections.
What would you say to someone who hasn’t had a chance to stop in yet? What would you say makes Stewart’s Spirits stand out?
Very limited—2023 Raen Royal St. Robert. $89.99, save 10% by the case. Larry Klem: “We’ve got a couple of heavy hitters here. We were very happy to be able to get this very limited pinot noir from rain. And those are the grandsons of Robert Mondavi, the famous patriarch of Napa. And it’s actually called Royal St. Robert in honor of him. And this got 99 points from James Suckling and it was one of the top wines in his yearly roundup of wines. It’s very limited and personally I tried it, it’s probably one of the best California Pinot wines I’ve ever had.”
I would say it’s our very knowledgeable staff for the most part. All myself and my three other associates are all wine certified, have been trained. And we’re enthusiastic. We’re enthusiastic about the wine and we’re friendly. We are never pushy about anything. We try to let people be, if they’re looking for help, we’re right there to help them. I think that’s what sets us apart. We try to take some of the mystique out of wine as far as people want more information. We’re happy to give it, but a lot of times people are just looking, ‘I just need something to go with this, or I just need a quick gift.’ And we went a little more high end with some wines this year and found quite a few wines that were a little harder to get that have been doing very well for us.