She Magazine

Reading the wine print

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Uncorkt might be the only wine store in the world to have a corner where kids can play.

Owner Sherry Etes put in the low table, children’s chairs and box of books, crayons and building blocks for her own children when she opened at her old location on Sixth Street in Racine six years ago. Now her kids are too old for such toys, and she has moved to a bigger space in Racine, at 240 Main St., but the women-friendly atmosphere remains the same.

“We have a lot of women coming in here because we’re not a bar. We serve wine, but it’s not intimidating and it’s not smoky,” she said. “They can come in with their girlfriends after work, have a relaxing drink, and not have to worry about the bar atmosphere.”

Uncorkt stocks 700 varieties of wine and 50 micro-brewed beers. Etes sells sake, cheese and chocolate, and wine-oriented gifts to fit any price range from a stainless steel stiletto bottle opener for less than $9 to tubular “wine purses” for about $45 to wine racks that cost upwards of $400. It’s a place where you can find a great wine plus gift pairing for a wedding or birthday and spend as much or as little as you want.

“Not everyone can spent a lot of money and we respect that,” Etes said. “Most of our wines are in the $10 to $15 range, but if you want a $200 French Bordeaux, we have that, too.”

Etes got her start in the wine business at her ex-husband’s winery, von Stiehl. She worked there for about 12 years, then took a detour into mortgage lending before opening Uncorkt with her new husband in 2004. She knew wine and she knew business, but she sometimes had to prove herself.

“It was tough the first couple years, and not necessarily just with men,” she said. “Wine connoisseurs would come in and try to test our knowledge. You could feel it. But we are 100 percent sure we are going to do our job and that is to find you the perfect wine.”

Uncorkt does more than sell wine and gifts. Whenever Uncorkt is open you can sample featured wines for $5 per glass. Those wines change once a week and Etes will happily provide you with a plate if you want to break into some cheese and make up your own on-the-spot appetizers. There is a banquet space upstairs and the store offers “Wine 101” classes along with “Wine and Food Pairings” featuring Cooking with Class chef Staci Joers.

“It’s great to have classes there because rather than me just saying, ‘Chardonnay would be great with this chicken,’ we can actually enjoy the wine with the food and appreciate the nuances together,” said Joers. “It’s also just a great place to get wine because every person there really knows what they are talking about.”

Uncorkt is at 240 Main St. in Racine. Hours are Monday through Wednedsday from 11 a.m. to 6:30 p.m., Thursday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Sunday from noon to 4 p.m. Last pour is half an hour before closing. For more information, call 262-632-WINE (9463) or go to www.uncorkt.com.

Wine Divas help educate women about wine

On the last Thursday each month in the Lake Geneva area, dozens of women get together to eat, drink and be merry — and maybe learn a little about wine along the way.

Sisters Rallee Chupich and Tigrr Workman started Wine Divas of Lake Geneva about a year ago after seeing a similar group on television. They invited women to meet at their family restaurant at Gordy’s in Fontana and enjoyed seven themed wines over the course of an evening.

“It’s not as much about wanting to know a lot about wine, as it’s about experimenting with wines and trying things you wouldn’t otherwise try,” Chupich said. “Maybe you think, ‘I’m not a pinot noir person,’ but we pair it with some food and you’re suddenly won over.”

The Wine Divas’ night starts off with cheese and crackers on the bar and champagne in the glasses. Attendees choose their own wine glass charm, which they get to keep.

Over the next couple hours, three courses are served. Each time, two menu items are presented with two wines. The sommelier talks about each wine — the region, the winemaker, the reason it works well with this or that particular food. The wines are all reasonably priced, between $12 and $25, and the food is usually an “easy to recreate” delight like grilled scallops.

“I like tasting wine, but I don’t remember it,” Workman said. “So I take the information from the Wine Divas and make my own cheat sheets. Then when I’m at home trying to put together a dinner, I can check.”

During winter months, when Gordy’s is closed, the Wine Divas move the party to other restaurants in the Lake Geneva area that have women as owners, chefs or sommeliers, including Sopra in downtown Lake Geneva, Kirsch’s restaurant at the French Country Inn along Lake Como, and Cafe Calamari in Williams Bay.

Seventy percent of the women are regulars, and other guests include bachelorette parties, women wanting to network and make new friends, and moms who look forward to the Wine Divas as their girls’ night out.

“It’s very fun and social,” Chupich said. “Sometimes the women are really loud. It’s not a place where everybody has to sit quietly and formally.”

“The nice thing is that it is as educational as you want it to be,” Workman added. “You don’t have to sniff the wine.”

Wine Divas of Lake Geneva is open to any woman interested in good wine and good company. For information and tickets, call 262-275-1570 or go to www.gordysboats.com/AboutGordys/wineDivas.asp

Lake Geneva Wine Festival offers plenty of tastings, treats

This fall, on a crisp September day, more than 1,000 people will gather on a grassy hillside at the Grand Geneva Resort and Spa in Lake Geneva, listen to a string quartet and enjoy a fine glass of wine.

One event will draw them: The Fourth Annual Lake Geneva Wine Festival, which will be held Sept. 10 and 11.

“The setting for this festival is just spectacular,” said Dianna Colman, co-chairwoman of the festival. “We do it on a hillside overlooking a golf course. And we’ve been blessed by the weather fairy — it’s been sunny and breezy every year.”

The Lake Geneva Wine Festival is actually several events wrapped up in one weekend, starting with three late-afternoon wine seminars on Friday at the Grand Geneva.

That night, dinner is prepared by guest chefs working with wine experts to pair the wines.

On Saturday morning, there are two more seminars. Saturday afternoon is filled with the Grand Tasting, a time to try dozens of wines and sample treats from local restaurants. Wine is served in crystal glasses and wine aficionados can sit at tables or on the grassy hill overlooking the golf course.

“The Grand Tasting is an exceptional deal, especially compared to food festivals in other cities where you pay $20 for a couple sips of wine and then have to go back for more tickets,” said Marie Kropp, emeritus board member. “At the Lake Geneva Wine Festival, you pay $75 and you eat and drink all afternoon.”

There’s also a raffle and a charity auction featuring luxury items (like Kentucky Derby box seats) and wines for sale (ranging from $10 per bottle to several hundred).

The Lake Geneva Wine Festival typically attracts more than 1,000 wine fans from Wisconsin and all over the country. Co-chairwoman Grace Eckland has seen newlyweds enjoying their honeymoons, bachelorette parties, and wine lovers who’ve heard about the festival’s growing reputation.

“We have a reputation of being a very upscale wine festival,” she said. “People are impressed by the quality and variety of our wines.”

The festival illustrates the organizational skills and creativity of women. The executive board is comprised entirely of women — Colman, Eckland, Ruth Anne Morava, Janis Scharnott and Mary Leaf Wruk. And emeritus board members are Kropp and Cindy Stuhley, who started the festival as a way to raise money for the Geneva Lakes YMCA, George Williams College of Aurora University and Holiday Home Camp.

These are the event’s benefiting organizations. The festival unites the boards of and volunteers for these three groups; 200 people are needed to take tickets, direct parking and serve food during the weekend of the festival.

Last year, the wine festival donated $30,000, and organizers hope to donate even more this year. It’s a massive project, and the volunteers do it for love, not money.

“We don’t get a dime,” Eckland said. “Well, we do get aprons.”

The 2010 Lake Geneva Wine Festival will be held on Sept. 10 and 11. Tickets for Friday’s dinner are $100; seminars are $35; and the Grand Tasting is $75. The Grand Geneva Resort and Spa offers special room rates for attendees. For information and tickets, cal 262-245-8635 or go to www.lakegenevawinefestival.com.