Becky Hemmings, Suttons Bay’s grocery store sommelier
By Madeleine Hill Vedel
Sun contributor
Chatting with fellow wine lover, Kathy Garthe, at her home in Northport, I questioned if she still went all the way to Traverse City and its handful of wine shops to replenish her wine cellar and/or pick up a bottle or two of red to accompany her world-famous spaghetti sauce. “Actually,” she said, “I find Becky’s selections at Hansen’s so good that I just make a run to Suttons Bay more often than not.”
Kathy, along with many serious wine lovers in Leelanau County, is on a first name basis with Becky Hemmings, the person behind Hansen’s more than 1,200 wine labels — spanning all price ranges — in the center back area of the market devoted to her libation choices. “Becky is a local treasure.” Kathy tells me, “We feel like she is our own personal sommelier [a certification Becky earned 12 years ago]. I tell her what I’m cooking and she comes up with great recommendations. And she has introduced us to wines we now love but wouldn’t have tried without her encouragement.”
When Dave and Leslie Hansen, the original owners of Hansen Foods in Suttons Bay, were in the process of building a larger store, the wine department was not something they had considered developing and expanding. It was Becky who took the initiative and put the idea into their heads. “I knew they were ‘foodies’ and had a passion for wine,” she tells me, “So I told Dave a few months before they reopened that I wanted to manage the wine department. Short of laughing at me, we made a deal for a part-time job to start up the wine shop. That was 20 years ago this month. Six months later we recognized he needed me full time.” And even more so. Up until recently when she hired an assistant (Don Hartwig) she regularly put in six-day work weeks.
Becky came to her new post with a love of fine wine that grew out of her years working at the region’s fine dining restaurants, Hattie’s and Windows, among others. However, she had never worked in retail nor managed such an extensive inventory. During their initial negotiation Dave suggested she choose 300 labels to stock the shelves, two bottles deep.
“I met with five different wine reps, got lists, explained my vision, made my whole list and sat down with Dave at his house. I wasn’t on payroll yet — I did this footwork for free. I had this big list and I would say, ‘I know that name, I’d heard it was good, or I’d served it at Windows or Hatties.’ I was a baby when I started that wine shop.” Her early years were very much about expanding her initial knowledge base. She credits the dozen or so wine distributors she works with as well as the many clients with expanding her knowledge base and honing her education, culminating in her successful passing of her sommelier certification.
More than anything Becky sees her role as that of the conduit. She responds to requests and pays close attention to what sells. She listens to her distributors, tasting attentively with them every spring — though sometimes, there will be so many bottles to taste she has to request scheduled visits so she can take the time needed to properly taste their offerings. From these clues she decides how to stock her shelves. Melissa Fischer, former wine rep for Left Foot Charley in Traverse City says of Becky: “She is a spirited wine enthusiast with a great business mind. With all she does and all her decisions, she always thinks of how she can make Hansen’s better. Excellent palate and very fair to her wine reps who wait in line to have the chance to be in her wine selections on her shelves. Becky is always interested in the local Michigan wine, beer, mead, and cider scene and showcases it with pride.”
Dave Hansen clearly underestimated how important and appreciated the wine department could and would become. “Time and time again when a guest is in the store for the first time, and they find themselves in the wine shop, they go, ‘Oh my goodness I would never have expected this here.’ Sometimes visitors from the city think this is a podunk town, and they are surprised that the people of the community support a wine shop of this caliber,” Becky says as pride radiates in her voice.
Each day Becky fields questions concerning high acid / low acid, high alcohol / moderate alcohol, what pairs with corned beef and cabbage, soft and juicy or rich and earthy. Local chef, dinner party orchestrator, and food columnist Rose Hollander lives just minutes away from Hansen’s Market and has witnessed its evolution: “How many grocery stores have a sommelier on the premises?! She’s a wonder. I have benefited from the blossoming of her knowledge and commitment to providing quality wine in a range of prices. Plus, she really knows food, and gives excellent advice on pairings.”
Before COVID-19, Becky made a point of being available on the floor to all who sought her out, fielding questions about the wine stocked on her shelves, as well as the local winery scene, including deftly handling what she nominates as the worst question, murmured in a soft, conspiratorial voice — “So the local white wine is really good now. When will they figure out how to make good red — you know — like California?” Her whispered response was, “As soon as global warming hits us.”
“I am constantly reminding visitors that we are a cool-growing climate,” she says with a sigh and a laugh. And, even with climate change affecting us more and more each year, it is likely Leelanau will not be making heavy reds such as those of California or Provence any time soon. Though for fans of the lighter reds, there are many local options.
Such questions notwithstanding, Becky has learned what her clientele desires and, aiming to please, keeps the shelves well-stocked for them. Though affected by the shifting seasonal populations, the selections remain nonetheless relatively consistent: “In the summer, and year round, Chardonnay is still one of my top sellers. Sauvignon Blanc of course is very well loved. And I’ve been educating people on the beautiful virtues of dry rosé for years as I learned that from Hatties. [Which Becky promotes as a year-round pre-dinner and table wine].
“Going into the fall [my clients] start going into more Pinot Noirs and Beaujolais, though Beaujolais will never be a heavy hitter. Cabernet Sauvignon is always a heavy hitter, Zinfandel is popular, but high in alcohol, though I have Zin followers. Spain and Portugal are incredible values, great wine for the money. And of course French and Italian. People often think they’re looking for the next great thing but really they’re looking to satisfy their taste buds.”
When asked about the Southern Hemisphere regions known for producing wine, she said, “I have found over the years that Australian wines are not nearly as popular as they were 20 years ago, and 15-20 years ago South Africa came into the forefront, and I dabbled with them. But my particular place in the universe does not sell nearly as much Australian or South African wines as European.”
Once COVID becomes a distant memory, she looks forward to again orchestrating wine tasting events at Hansen’s, collaborating with the deli to offer nibblies alongside the chosen wines of the evening. Outside the market she has participated in wine-pairing dinners, at Hattie’s early on, with Martha Ryan at Martha’s Leelanau Table. “Becky has a super palate and if I ever have a question, she is the person I go to to get information about wine,” says Martha. In fact, one of the last pre-pandemic wine events Becky participated in was at Martha’s, a dinner featuring Portuguese wines. During these events Martha creates a special menu of dishes inspired by a chosen country’s wines and Becky explains the wines to the diners, who have the option of purchasing bottles and/or cases after the meal. Becky has also donated her wine pairing services at charity events such as Leelanau Christian Neighbors.
After 20 years devoted to the world of wine, Becky wouldn’t name favorites. “I like all good wines. And since beauty is in the eye of the beholder, it doesn’t matter what I like, but what my community likes. That is my daily challenge — not to have the biggest selection, or the most expensive wines in the area, or the most beautiful shop in the land — but to offer the best selection possible to accommodate the community’s needs and desires. Whether it’s a $5 bottle of wine or a $105 bottle of wine — I want you to be happy and feel like your purchase was perfect.” And on that note, I believe it’s time to pick out some bottles for the long winter evenings to come.
