An invitation I cherish every winter is to gather family style with French friends over a warm caquelon of melted gruyère and raclette. However, to avoid cheese-induced indigestion, lore suggests kirschwasser (and a few white wines) should be the only drink consumed with fondue. Four frustrating attempts to find the German cherry brandy finally brought me to The Liquor & Wine Grotto in Montecito.
“People come to us when they are looking for something they can’t find,” said Brian Brunello of the dedicated shop on Coast Village Road that he co-owns with fellow enthusiast Jason Herrick. “We are the anti-mainstream box store.” The shop, which was opened in 1976 and taken over by this pair in 2009, was also spared the worst of the slide, with just some minor mud intrusion and landscaping damage.
Wine is in Brunello’s blood (not to mention his name!). He started making it with his father around the age of 8 and is now a certified sommelier by the Court of Master Sommeliers. He admits that wine is a moving target that requires a lot of tasting but explains that with the cocktails craze, liquor offerings are now also tremendously complex.