Millburn-Short Hills Magazine May 2016 | Page 69

O riginally from Scotland, Sean Larkin had never tasted wine before he moved to Millburn. All that changed when he met Danny Canizzio, Towne Realty co-owner and former purveyor of 40 Main. The rest is history. How did you become a vintner? It’s a long story. I came over here from Scotland in 1979. My godmother lives in Millburn and I got into the union and worked in sheet metal before starting my own company – Larkin Sheet Metal. I did that for about 10 years and one of my clients had a restaurant called 40 Main, which was located where Martini is now. I had my first glass of wine there. You’d never had wine before? What did you drink? No. I lived in Scotland and drank beer; I didn’t even know anyone who drank wine. I worked in a hotel as a waiter; the first bottle of wine I ever opened I broke the cork. I was petrified. So what changed? The owner of 40 Main ordered wine a lot and I wanted to know what I was drinking and where it was from; I started learning more about wine and researching it. Pretty soon I was complaining that 40 Main didn’t have a good wine list. The owner, Danny Cannizzo, a friend of mine who now co-owns Towne Realty, said, “If you think you can do better, you do the wine list!” So I took him up on it. I ended up composing a wine list for him that he submitted to Wine Spectator and he got the Award of Excellence. I did that wine list for about four years while I was doing my sheet metal work. I also hosted a lot of wine dinners. I would invite wine makers to come out from California and we sold out every event. How did you transition to becoming a vintner? I was living in New Jersey in a rented apartment on the estate of John DeLorean and it was DeLorean who encouraged me to follow my dream. I had just turned 40 and decided to move to Yountville, Calif. I didn’t have a job but one of the distributors I bought wine from for 40 Main had a sister company in California and they took a gamble on me. I drove from Napa Valley to San Francisco every day and sold wine to all the top restaurants in San Francisco. I had experience selling big jobs in my sheet metal business so it was the same thing, but instead of T-shirts with work boots I was wearing Nicole Miller ties and Bruno Magli boots. About a year into my job, I asked one of the wineries I represented – Titus – if they would sell me some grapes. I already knew what I wanted to do – which was make my own wine. I had my label designed already. Titus sold me half a ton or about two barrels of grapes that year and then I doubled my order every year after that. My first wine, a Cabernet Franc, was released in 2001 and wine critic Robert Parker reviewed it and gave me 90-plus points. That was huge for somebody coming from the construction business to get into wine and get 90 points from Parker. Since then I’ve had 15 vintages of Cabernet Franc and I’ve never received less than 90-plus points from Parker. Where do you make the wine? I produce the wine in Napa at someone else’s facility. The grapes are crushed and kept separate throughout the year and then we blend them and come up with that Larkin style. I don’t own any vineyards and wineries, but I purchase grapes from the top producers in Napa Valley. How has your business evolved? In 2005, I started the Jack Larkin label — a Cabernet and a Merlot named after my son. I’ve done 10 vintages and he’s 10 years old. I’ve never received less than 90-plus points from Parker for those either. In 2014, I started making my first Chardonnay, again under the Jack Larkin brand; that came out in 2015 and just got picked up by The French Laundry, Bouchon, Bistro Jeanty and Angele’s – four French restaurants in Napa Valley. I only did 93 cases and the first vintage sold out. Where can we find your wines in New Jersey? Boxcar in Short Hills is my number one account. Diners can also find it at Roots, 90 Acres, Pluckemin Inn, Ryeland Inn, Tewksberry Inn, and Bernards Inn. The wine is sold retail at Un-wined and Kings. What’s next? I would like to open a wine bar in Millburn. I want to bring a little Yountville, Calif., to Short Hills. What’s your favorite restaurant in town? I go to Peter’s every day for lunch while I’m here and sit with Peter Falzo, the owner, and have a bottle of wine and then we go to Florez’s cigar shop in Summit and have a cigar. Then I’m home to get my son Jack off the bus at 3:15 ■ MAY 2016 MILLBURN • SHORT HILLS MAGAZINE 67