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