Stansfield buys Champagne, kosher wines and South African wines for Sam’s Wines and Spirits in Chicago.
Is it true you were a stock boy who worked your way up to wine expert? I started at Sam’s 16 years ago, but I have 26 years of experience. I was going to be a carpenter. I went to an employment agency and got a job at the Chicago Wine Company in Niles. I was in packing, shipping. I remember the first bottle of wine I ever broke, a 1961 Chateau Latour. It was $100.
Yikes, $100 out of your paycheck? No, it wasn’t like that; you just learn right then to be more careful.
So you just got on-the-job training to learn wines? I wouldn’t call it on-the-job training. There’s an opportunity to get to know wines. And every now and then someone might take you aside and tell you things. But you’ve got to show personal initiative. You arm yourself with information and go from there.
And it got you to Sam’s? I started in the warehouse but wanted better things. I wanted to work with Bordeaux, but when I met Champagnes, I fell in love.
Kosher wines? You expect an older Jewish man, not a middle-aged African-American as the expert. Others didn’t want to put the initiative into learning the background. These wines have a history. You make the assumption the wine is inferior, that it’s just for a certain demographic. But you must take up the challenge.
What makes Champagne the beverage of choice for New Year’s? Champagne’s a wine with a life. When you have it, you see it, you hear it, you feel it. You not only taste it, you really feel it on your tongue. When you’re going to celebrate, you gonna reach for–a cabernet? I think not. Champagne exudes feelings of happiness.
But it’s expensive. Is it snob appeal? You see people on TV drinking Cristal and dancing. You can’t just go from drinking malt liquor to $180 a bottle. With those kinds of people, it’s like drinking money. It doesn’t show class, just that they have money to toss around.
What do you recommend for Champagne novices? The first thing you look for is a non-vintage brut. You’ll learn what you like. You want a good acidity and just enough fruit. Balance is the key word.
So the most expensive Champagne isn’t the best? The best is what no one can afford. I could sit with my friend and really enjoy a Krug Clos du Mesnil. It’s a single-vineyard wine, vintage 1986, very rare. But you have to know what you’re getting. Someone could buy a $400 bottle and it could go right over their heads [about how good it really is].
Why are Champagne and wine tastings now so very popular? Wine is a very social thing and people forget Champagne is a wine. Wine is the most economical way to enjoy life in a cultured manner. [It’s a beverage] that you don’t pound down. You take time, you enjoy it, it’s pleasant, it’s calming.
If you had one recommendation, what would it be? If [experts] tell you they have a favorite wine or know the best wine, it’s a lie. But if I have to say, it’s Champagne Brice, out of Champagne. It’s a pinot noir. It’s one of the best I’ve tried.
