’New Canaan Wine Merchants’ on Pine Street Changing Hands

State officials on Friday issued a provisional Package Store Liquor Permit to a Wilton man who is taking over a wine shop on Pine Street. The applicant for a permit at New Canaan Wine Merchants is Robert Hall, officials at the state Department of Consumer Protection’s Liquor Control Division confirmed. 

Hall’s business, H.A.R.T.S. Inc., is registered at a residential address in Wilton, according to records on file with the Connecticut Secretary of the State. He could not be reached for comment. The shop at 36 Pine St. has been owned and operated for about 10 years by Jeff Barbour.

SLIDESHOW: 20 Things You Only Know If You Shop and Dine in New Canaan

New Canaanites have plenty of reasons to shop and dine locally, and those reasons go far beyond the fact that the village center has scores of independent businesspeople—retailers, restaurateurs, service providers—who work here and have had a tough go with the weather these past few weeks. Our owners-on-site specialize in their fields and offer a wide range of expertise. They support most every community event that locals associate with the town—fishing derby, Waveny summer concerts, Santa’s visit, little league, Holiday Stroll, ice cream social, Halloween Parade. It’s hard to find two important community events in a row in New Canaan that aren’t sponsored in some way by Walter Stewart’s, Karl Chevy or both. Because familiarity breeds conversation and rapport, we can come to know our local small business owners and workers better than we may at, say, out-of-town chains. The slideshow above is a testament to that strong connection—click through to learn more about some of those who make up the economic lifeblood of the business district.

New Canaan Experts Pair Wine with Easy Valentine’s Day Recipes

By Michael Dinan

When she’s up from the city at her Fairfield County home and dining in New Canaan, Lyon-trained chef Victoria Hart Glavin’s favorite places to eat here are Ching’s Table and Thali. The owner of Tiny New York Kitchen online, Glavin says that on a night out, she likes to order dishes that she wouldn’t normally cook at home. There are plenty of options in town. Last week, NewCanaanite.com posted the top-5 local romantic options for those seeking to stay in town while dining out for Valentine’s Day. Today, we’re tapping Glavin for some stay-at-home Valentine’s Day recipes, and we asked two New Canaan wine experts to help pair the right bottle with her dishes.