In Spain, the wine makers built fires from dried grape vines, and he ate fresh roasted lamb chops in the fields. In Bordeaux, he tasted 200 wines a day, and then relaxed with the winemakers’ families in the evening and drank wine with dinner. Jim Nejaime lives in Richmond with his wife and three daughters. He and his family own wine and cheese cellars and other retail businesses across South County.
Nejaime’s father moved to the Berkshires from Connecticut in 1962, he said, and bought the Stockbridge Center Market. Nejaime grew up in retail. His mother and a sister run a travel agency, Nejaime’s VIP Travel Inc. A second sister and her husband own J. Berger’s Deli, in Lenox and at Guido’s.
Nejaime’s third sister works with him and his brother in the wine cellars. After college, Nejaime worked in finance in Boston, and disliked it. He gave free reign to a passion for wine and food, and opened the Stockbridge Wine Cellar. He expanded it with his brother, and his sister came in as personnel/marketing director. She had been a food service broker.
The Stockbridge Wine Cellar moved across the street, to a larger location by the Lee Bank. Nejaime opened a Lenox Wine Cellar in downtown Lenox, and later moved it to its current location on Main Street. He and his family started a second Lenox Wine Cellar on Holmes Road, at the Lenox-Pittsfield town line. They have been in the business 22 years. They work with 25 associates, who average 12 to 15 years with them. Some have been there for 21.
In one morning, Nejaime said, he had tasted 20 Italian wines. He would bring maybe one of them into the store. He has 5,000 different wines on his shelves. He and his associates have tasted maybe five times as many.
They search out wines all over the world, Nejaime said. They travel, looking for wines that are affordable — $8 to $15 a bottle — and delicious. That is the fun part, and the challenge, he said. It is easy to spend a lot for a good bottle of wine. He and his brother and associates, including his cousin George, have travelled to California, and to Italy, Spain, France. The European countries are very hospitable, he said, because it is often hard for them to break into U.S. market.
He was recently Bordeaux, tasting wine futures. “When you buy wine,†he explained, “wine made from the 2000 vintage will not appear on the shelves until 2003.†Wine retailers will taste the vintage after it has vinified, but before it is completed. They will make a judgment on its quality and pre-sell it to customers at a discount. They have to know what they are doing, he said, since the customers rely on their judgment — but this makes it exciting.
Nejaime is also looking at newer wine markets: Chile, Argentina, South Africa, the south of France, Australia. Australian Sheraz, named for the grape it is made of, is becoming very popular. France makes Sheraz wine in the Rhône, but there it is by the name of the region where it is made. California also makes Sheraz now, because some California wineries have hired Australian wine makers.
Australia can produce such consistently good wine so cheaply, Nejaime said: $5.99 for a very good Chardonay. California does not have the benefits of cheaper labor and supplies. “In some industries, if your suppliers get expensive, you get locked in and have to raise prices,†he said. With wine, as something gets expensive [California Cabernets have, for example] he can fill in with a less expensive but equally good vintage — “as long as you explore. If you enjoy it. If you buy and sell what you love.â€
Nejaime’s Wine and Cheese Cellars also do some special things for customers. They have built and provided cellaring that people can rent for a nominal fee, Nejaime said. People who have no storage space at home can keep a small cache of wine.
They also run a a program like a Christmas club: people who want to build a small store of wine, and do not have time to stop by the store every couple of weeks, can set aside a small budget. The Nejaimes will put aside a few bottles of interesting wines in the right price range, when they come in. They also write up notes about serving each wine. By the end of the year, they will have three or six cases, or however much they specified, of different wines.
Nejaime said he is lucky that customers have responded. He is also lucky that Massachusetts, unlike Connecticut and New York, allows the sale of alcohol and food together. Nejaime also sells cheeses and fine foods. He buys many good local cheeses, he said: Berkshire blue cheese, Monterey chevre, Sheep Herding Company in Old Chatham N.Y., raw milk cheeses in Hubbardston and Westfield.
In Richmond, Hilltop Orchards now makes local wines. West County Cider in Colrain has just received some national press, and is having a hard time keeping up with demand. The local vines here are not wine grapes, and the Berkshire has too cool a climate for much wine making, he said. But sometimes people bring homemade wine into the Nejaimes’ wine tastings. They have tastings monthly at the wine cellars, sometimes to benefit local organizations.
They also love finding wine to match foods, Nejaime said. They just matched a menu for the Williams College Faculty Club. Every fall they host a harvest dinner with a local restaurant. They ask the chef to prepare a menu, and match wines with each course. They have done this for 21 years.
When he talks about his job, Nejaime said, people often tell him it does not sound like work. Retail means a lot of hours. The shop is open six days a week, 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. They spread out the hours among the staff, so no one does too much, he said. And tasting 200 kinds of wine in a day is, in fact, exhausting. But Nejaime said his job is a lot of fun. And he lives in a beautiful area.
“The people in the business, from growers to vintners to importers— 99 percent love it,†he said. “They love good things: music, art, good food ... They enjoy things in life.â€
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Companion Corner: Weber at No Paws Left Behind
By Breanna SteeleiBerkshires Staff
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — There's a young cat waiting for a family to play with him.
iBerkshire's Companion Corner is a weekly series spotlighting an animal in our local shelters that is ready to find a home.
Weber is a 10-month-old domestic shorthair. He has been at No Paws Left Behind since November.
Volunteer Claire Morin introduced us to him.
"He came in with an abundance of cats that were in a crowded situation in the home," she said. "Most of his brothers and sisters are gone, but Weber is still here."
Weber loves the attention and if you aren't giving him enough he will let you know.
"Weber is very, very sweet. As you can see, he's very needy for attention. He loves his treats, and he can get a little overstimulated. He's very attention seeking. And if you don't give him attention right away, he nips at you a little bit, not a bite, more like a tender here I am — pay attention to me," Morin said. "But he's very engaging, and he's a very, very sweet boy."
The city has lifted a boil water order — with several exceptions — that was issued late Monday morning following several water line breaks over the weekend. click for more
