Foodies
No. 109 Cheese and Wine I
’ve been to plenty of cheese shops and a few liquor stores in my day, but I’ve never experienced a place exuding as much passion as No. 109 Cheese and Wine. Located at 109 Danbury Road, it reminds me of a Vermont Country store or perhaps a French Village shop. These two neighboring stores, owned by Monica and Todd Brown, offer fine wines and spirits, gourmet cheese and charcuterie, and curated specialty items sourced worldwide. Co-owner Todd Brown is something of a Renaissance man. He started his career in fashion, found his way to the world of music production, then the automotive industry. From there, he continued to follow his passions which led him to fine wines and cheeses. “There’s nothing we carry in this store that we don’t love,” Todd explains. From wines to bourbon cherries to Alpine Cheeses and French cheese knives, Todd can expound on the origins and quality of every item with an encyclopedic level of knowledge. The wine shop delivers on distinctive wines you aren’t going to find anywhere else. “98% of our wines are biodynamic, organic, and sustainable,” Todd says. While the wines are sometimes obscure, that doesn’t mean that they are all expensive. You can purchase a bottle of wine that costs as little as $13 but also find more luxury wines and champagnes, with the highest price being “a collector’s dream” - a Domaine Dujac French Burgundy retailing for around $495. “Our sweet spot is delicious wines that can be very difficult to come across, most in the $25 price range,” explains Todd.
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March/April 2022
Walking into the wine shop is a bit like walking into a personal wine cellar. “We have a wine cellar at home, but we wanted this to be a place that we could pull from. We wanted it to feel like our cellar.” When you visit, don’t miss the handmade counter that Todd and a friend designed using barn wood and the grill of a 1937 Mack Truck and 1942 vintage Dodge parts. You won’t find “staff picks” or prices on the shelves when you walk around the shop, instead, you will find Gary or Greg. They are friendly and approachable, ready to make suggestions based on what you like. “We almost always ask what you’ll be eating and pair your wine based on that,” Todd says. A Perfect Pairing His wife and co-owner Monica is a charming gal who hails from Kansas. She is blessed with a discerning palate, which she further developed as a restauranteur and later, a sommelier. During a time when she was the manager of Jack Fry’s, an institution in Louisville, Kentucky, her personal life took her to Stamford, CT. She decided to branch out from food to her next passion: wine, and soon secured a job with a French wine importer. “At the time, my exposure was more with New World wines. I didn’t know as much about Old World wines. So, I just fell in love with French wines, the French lifestyle, and the idea of food accompanying wine versus serving wine as a cocktail.”
PHOTO BY ROGER GARBOW
by Sarah Gauthier Galluzzo
