New Haven Register (New Haven, CT)
‘It’s guys getting together’
Winemaker hopes to turn weekly lunch and wine-tasting with friends into an urban wine bar
WALLINGFORD — Wine aficionado and chef Arnie Schloemann wants to open an urban wine bar in town and all he needs to fulfill the dream is the commercial space, as he’s already had plenty of practice in his own backyard.
Schloemann, an award-winning winemaker, vino educator, chef, regional vice president of the American
Wine Society and chairman ofr the Hartford chapter, throws a lunch/ wine-tasting with friends every Tuesday in a 500-square-foot garage in his backyard.
Some just come for the delicious food prepared by Schloemann, the laughs and the conversation, but others come to participate in the wine making, as well.
He now is looking for a commercial space to open an urban wine bar in Wallingford that could encompass all that, and in Middletown is working with a partner to lease land from the town for a vineyard and tasting rooms.
For now, there is guy magic in that backyard building for the 10-15 friends. The weekly event is known on social media among his circle as #tuesdayswitharnie.
Bill Black, of Guilford, a retired accountant and author of three murder mysteries, has been lunching there for about five years and loves everything about it — the food, the wine, the conversation.
“I just enjoy it. It’s guys getting together,” Black said. “The wine is beautiful, very tasty. The food is excellent. … He’s quite accomplished over the years.”
Black said the luncheon is like a “discussion party” with a “cross-section of people,” and politics is the only topic off-limits.
“We talk about everyday things,” he said recalling an exciting talk about dishwashers (as in machines). “No one is looking to prove anything.”
The tradition started in 2014 with a few friends who were helping Schloemann build the garage on Tuesdays — his day off at the time.
He made them lunch every Tuesday for helping, but when the garage was done, they asked,
“What about lunch on Tuesdays?” Slowly, they brought friends.
Today they all chip in for food, but Schloemann is still cooking.
One of the “wine guys,” as they call themselves loosely, is John Costanzo of North Branford, who said every Tuesday on his calendar is booked.
“We have a laughs, great wine and food,” said Constanzo, noting last week Schloemann made calamari, shrimp and muscles over rigatoni. “The camaraderie amazing. The group is easy to blend with.”
Other lunches have included pork loin, chicken cacciatore, sirloin steak and chicken.
Costanzo said the guys “break each other’s chops” as guys do, and, “If I invite a friend I say, ‘Be prepared to have your chops broken and at the same time break chops.’”
Schloemann, 56, has been making wine for 30 years — for many of them as a hobby in the basements of old-school traditional winemakers in New Haven, North Haven and Branford.
About 12 years ago he upped his wine expertise by reading books and “hanging around” Connecticut wineries.
In recent years, he’s become an expert.
A chef before the pandemic, Schloemann, considered an expert in food/wine pairings, gives classes on the subject at various eateries. His wines, all varietals, have earned prestigious awards in the industry, including international competitions, and he has the collection of ribbons to prove it.
“I love wine and I love food,” Schloemann said.
Aside from his Tuesday lunch gatherings and the wine produced there, Schloemann makes wine in his garage and basement. He calls the enterprise Country Club Winery because he lives on Country Club Lane.
Schloemann puts an emphasis on educating people about wine — crushing it, making it, bottling it, tasting it, pairing it.
“I taste the wines and make food to go around it,” he said. “Certain tastes pair with certain wine.”
He and a friend/business partner are in the process of trying to turn a 30-plus-acre farm in Middletown into a vineyard with tasting rooms, but the project is still going through approvals. If it comes to fruition, planting of grapes will start next year, but they hope to open the tasting room sooner with wines they make here from grapes they have imported from California, New York, Chile and Africa.
Schloemann, unemployed since the pandemic, currently is looking for a location in Wallingford to open his urban wine bar, which would include people making wine, a tasting room, some food.
“I’m dedicated to the better understanding and appreciation of wine,” he said.
The structure in the backyard where the lunches take place has a rustic feel, with wine barrels in the back of the room and a small bar fashioned by him and a friend with wooden crates once used to ship grapes.
Richie Beaumont, of Middletown, was introduced to the group by a friend about eight years ago, and takes part in making wine with Schloemann, whom he considers a mentor.
Beaumont said his Sicilian grandfather used to make wine in the basement and it tasted like vinegar, but Schloemann knows the science, the intricacies.
“He’s just a master at it,” Beaumont said of Schloemann’s wine making. “Arnie really loves to make wine. He’s very passionate about it.”
Beaumont, the “baby” of the group at 50 years old, said he’s dreamed of owning a vineyard since he was in his 20s.
He works the social media for Schloemann and his use of the hashtag #tuesdayswitharnie helped make the wine/lunch gatherings a recognizable event in the community.
“It’s just a great time away — you’re just a bunch of guys,” Beaumont said. “You don’t leave there without a smile on your face.”
Barry St. Pierre, of Burlington, whom Schloemann considers one of his mentors, makes his own wine but said he and Schloemann collaborate, sharing ideas and supplies.
“We’ve spent a lot of time together picking our brains,” St. Pierre said. “It’s very good (his wine). He does a really nice job.”