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Danielle Pattavina and Erika Dunyak are the owners of Schmetterling Wine Shop at 48 Main Street, Middlebury. Danielle has worked in the food and beverage industry for over 20 years; Erika is an agricultural attorney with a focus on cooperative ownership. In December of last year, Danielle and Erika hosted the inaugural Vermont Wine Fair in Bristol. They plan to hold the second annual festival this August.

Danielle and Erika

Danielle & Erika, tell us a little bit about the journey to opening Schmetterling.

We actually hadn’t planned on opening a wine shop in the summer of 2022. It just kind of happened, the stars aligned. It was more of a far off dream, we’ve had a business plan on the back burner. On a cold morning in March, the listing popped up. We got into 48 Main that afternoon to see the newly renovated space and on the drive back home to Shoreham we decided the time was now. The Kickstart Middlebury grant was the real reason we could open our doors. We applied for the grant and when we heard back that we were among the recipients, we signed the lease. The grant made it possible for us to move quickly.

Middlebury is a great location for Schmetterling. With other small businesses like Little Seed, Sabai Sabai, Flora, and Haymaker thriving, we knew there was ample foot traffic and like-minded business owners. Additionally, the Middlebury Co-op attracts a conscious customer and we’re starting to see those same folks come over to Schmetterling: people who don’t want to eat (or drink!) pesticides/herbicides and care about their impact on the environment.

What kind of wine can we find at Schmetterling, how is it different from other wine shops?

We’re really not that different! We have natural wine, which is just wine. Wine has been made since 6000 BC but in the past 100 years humans have chemically intervened. The wines at Schmetterling are chemical-free. We carry wines from all over the world and varietals you know and hopefully some that are new to you. We have Sauvignon Blanc from Loire Valley and Pinot Noir from Oregon. We also have Saperavi from Georgia and Coda di Volpe from Sicily.

What do you mean chemical-free?

It’s alarming to realize that there are chemicals in your food and wine. But alas many agricultural practices rely on pesticides, herbicides and chemical modifiers to turn out large quantities or to cover-up industrial farming practices (or to make processed foods). There are over 100 approved chemicals/additives (stop by the shop, we have the catalog here) that winemakers can add to wine. Things like: stabilizers, colorants, oak chips, acidifiers… They aren’t required to be on labels.

The winemakers we work with don’t use chemicals on their vines or in the winemaking process. Natural wine is not a fringe category and most likely some wines you like are naturally made. It’s traditional winemaking. Typically these wines are grown and made on a smaller scale both the property size and the amount of wine produced. In fact, we have natural winemakers here in Vermont making great wine and ciders.

How do I know if I’ll like natural wine?

If you like wine, you like natural wine. It’s not a different product. Do you like the organic lettuce your local farm grows? Or the wild raspberries you find on your summer walk? That’s the difference. If you take care to choose the food you eat, you should care about the wine you drink. It’s no different. Wine is an agricultural product.

You can taste before you buy on Saturdays. We hold tastings every Saturday in the shop from 11:30AM - 5:30PM. We typically charge $5 for 3-4 tastes. You can drop by anytime during the tasting and sample what we have open. We hope you’ll stop by and say hello!

What are your hours? Can I shop online?

Right now we’re open Wednesday through Saturday 11AM - 6PM. We will continue to expand and will hopefully be 7 days a week over the summer. We do have an online shop and you can shop from home and take your time to read the descriptions we’ve written. We can even bring the wine out to your car, if you let us know when you’re coming. Our website: schmetterlingwine.com

Anything else?

We love collaborating! We’re hosting an event with Beth Hankes on April, she owns Salt + Earth in Burlington. We’re also hosting Sparrow Hawk Farm’s flower CSA this summer (stay tuned for signups). We have 2 wine clubs: Zusammen, which pairs a record and a bottle, or two, of wine and our Wine CSA, next enrollment is June, it’s a 6 month club (at a very good price). We had the opportunity to host pop-ups at Haymaker last summer and we hope to do some events this summer, in Middlebury or locally. You can stay up to date by subscribing to our newsletter on our website or visiting our Instagram page: @schmetterlingwine