Q. Tell us a bit about yourself, Keith.
A. I’m Keith Mills, the owner of Esprit du Vin in Milton.
Q. How did your interest in wine start?
A. In grad school, my best friend was a waiter. I was always a good cook so when he said they needed chefs, I convinced the owner to hire me. For months I did prep work – cutting meat and vegetables. Later I was allowed to plate dishes and add sauce. I graduated on to salads and then desserts like classic French profiteroles, creme caramel, peach melba, crepes – all straight out of the Escoffier tradition. There’s such high turnover in restaurants that sticking around paid off and ultimately I became the sous chef/assistant chef. At the same time I was still working on my masters’ and transferred to Northeastern. I had family in Boston and felt more connected to this place than the Midwest. I never finished my masters’ because I was offered a job.
Q. It sounds like you were moving further away from food and wine rather than closer to them.
A. Though I was working as a private investigator, wine and food were still important ingredients in my life. I was a great PI but I knew I didn’t want to do it for the rest of my life. I took night classes and learned about litigation control and risk management. I saved companies literally millions of dollars. I eventually developed quite a reputation as an expert forensic accident reconstructionist.
Q. What came next?
A. My wife Linda and I were always hosting parties with our then-roommate and friend Chef Monte Casino. Monte comes from a long line of chefs. He’s previously worked at places like Elephant Walk, Les Zygomates and more. Currently he’s at the Cordon Bleu cooking school. We would often cook together and the more we did, Linda and I began thinking about the next step in our lives. We had traveled a lot and thought maybe a wine shop could be fun.
Q. How did a budding wine enthusiast become involved in the trade?
A. Linda signed me up for a wine seminar at Boston University. I listened and thought, “I can do this!” I’ve always been very driven and raised to believe that I could do anything I wanted. I developed a friendship with one of the instructors, Sandy Block of Legal Seafoods. I asked him so many questions and he was able to fill in the holes in my wine knowledge.
Q. Like what?
A. The things you should know if you’re going to be in the wine trade, like the regions of Burgundy. The staff at BU, including Sandy, Bill Nesto, and Alex Murray, have always been there for me. When I finished the course I was in my early 40s and tired of working for other people. I had been flying all over the country for my day job and had a real wakeup call when my daughter Chloe drew a picture of our family. She drew her, her older brother Cosmo, and my wife Linda in front of our home with me in an airplane waving goodbye in the distance. That’s when I knew I needed to make a change.
Q. What did you do?
A. I thought I could continue flying around for my day job and be able to manage a wine store at night and on weekends. Linda knew better – and she was right! We wanted to open a store here in the town we live in. Another good decision we made was to sell bread, cheeses, and other gourmet items in addition to wine. The synergy would match the dining experience.
Q. Once you made the switch into this new job, was it smooth sailing?
A. No! We were told by a lawyer that no new liquor licenses had been granted in Milton in decades and there was no way we’d get one. I wouldn’t take no for an answer so my investigative background proved useful as we did our homework, developed a business plan, and had a designer sketch what the facade would look like. We went to a town meeting where nearly 60 people showed up to voice their support for us and we were approved. We opened Esprit du Vin in January, 2001.
Q. What are your fondest memories of the eight-plus years you’ve been open?
A. The most fun is when my kids visit the store. This is so much a part of our family and the local neighborhood.
Q. So what comes next?
A. One day Linda and I will sell this place and move to the south of France to make wine. We’ll do that until the day they have to put us in the ground. That’ll be the ultimate terroir!
Dale Cruse is a website developer who is helping to change the wine world. He likes to eat, he likes to drink, and he likes to write about both at Drinks Are On Me.
