Monica Brown is most at home in Ridgefield when comfortably entertaining friends with two and four legs. Brown grew up in Manhattan, Kansas that is.
“We call it the Little Apple,” said Brown. “I”™m a Midwest girl. I grew up on a cattle ranch. My parents entertained a lot through the business. They were always throwing parties and hosting dinners. I really took to the food and hosting atmosphere.”
Brown also took to the great many animals she was surrounded by throughout her childhood.
“I have a great love for animals,” said Brown. “We had cows, sheep, horses and of course dogs.”
Brown attended Kansas State University as a major in food and beverage management.
“I graduated and went into the restaurant business in management,” she said.
Brown”™s job took her all over the country moving to Denver, Kansas City and Lowville, Ky.
“My last restaurant management job was at a little jazz bistro in Lowville called Jack Fries,” said Brown. “It was in Lowville where the wine came to me.”
Brown became deeply involved in building wine lists while working in Lowville.
When Brown”™s now ex-husband received a job transfer to Stamford, she settled in Ridgefield, more comfortable with its countryside setting.
“Instead of getting back into the restaurant business in Manhattan, I decided to go to the wine side,” said Brown. “I began working for a French wine importer in New York City. It gave me a chance to go to Europe and France and see Bordeaux.”
Brown built her knowledge of wine and began to design in her mind”™s eye the wine store that she would one day open. It wasn”™t until 9/11 that she felt it was the right time to get out of New York City and stay more closer to home and Ridgefield.
“I had built up a really good knowledge base and I jumped into it,” said Brown. “I went for it.”
Brown opened Cellar XV in 2002, which she says is designed for the daily-basis wine drinker.
“I was looking for items $15 and under, sometimes $20, that are good wines but able to be had on an everyday basis,” said Brown. “I knew there was a lot of great wine at that price point, but so many retailers were just not going there. I wanted a wine store that”™s friendly, warm and comfortable ”“ a place that I want to be hanging out in.”
Brown had kept dogs, primarily Great Danes, through her many moves throughout the country and when the wine store opened she allowed them to roam the establishment.
“When I opened the store, one of the things I really wanted to do was focus in on one charity that would be our pet project,” said Brown. “At that time Ridgefield Operation for Animal Rescue or ROAR was just up and going. They didn”™t have the shelter yet, so we started throwing this event called ”˜Woofs Wines and Felines”™ as a big fundraising opportunity for them.”
Brown became immersed in the organization, an unofficial employee, consistent guest and board member in charge of the organization”™s fundraising. Brown also often stops by the shelter to walk some of the dogs.
“It was a small event the first year and it”™s grown since then,” said Brown. “This year will be our seventh annual ”˜Woofs and Wine.”™ It”™s a great way for people to come out and get involved.
Brown holds the tented event on the green in front of the wine shop.
She has also helped to establish two other fundraisers for the organization, “ROAR with Laughter,” a comedy night, and “Paws for a Cause,” a formalized dog walk fundraiser.
“The shelter is amazing,” said Brown. “It”™s a stone”™s throw from the shop. They”™re placing 400 animals a year. A lot of the dogs that we get are from the south, where they have a lot of the problems with care and home foreclosures. There is a great community feel here, a lot of people realize they should adopt before they buy a dog. You get a wonderful animal.”
Brown, still a great lover of Great Danes, adopted and is currently the owner of Cooper. Though his rambunctious nature forfeits his pass to the shop, he”™s been a welcome addition to Brown”™s home.
“He”™s a big boy, he stands up six foot,” said Brown. “The funny part is that his name was Cooper and in the wine business a cooper is a barrel maker. ”˜ROAR”™ is and will always be near and dear to my heart, there are great people in the organization. I have people who come into the shop all the time that have adopted dogs and cats from ”˜ROAR”™ and tell me how happy they are and how deeply it has affected their lives.”
