Uncorked: New wine shop lets local woman live her dream

"There's a wine for everybody."

That's what guru Kathy Schwader says is the driving idea behind the new wine shop opening in Le Mars.

The Hole N The Wall Mercantile, set between the Wells' Dairy Ice Cream Parlor and Hardees on Business 75, is slated to open mid-December.

The shop, an off-shoot of the Hole N The Wall Lodge in western Plymouth County, will features hundreds of wines, along with chocolates, cheeses and salsas to go with them. It will also offer hard-to-find bourbons, scotches and whiskeys, along with lodge decor.

"It's eclectic," said Schwader, the manager.

The shop's designers are creating a look that captures the ambience of the Hole N The Wall Lodge.

Schwader calls it "lodgy."

"When you walk in, there's barn siding on the walls, like at the lodge," she said. "Outside, there's a tin roof, and there's going to be a buffalo on the rocks." 
 
Schwader's mission at the shop is to match people with the best wine for their taste and price range.

And she's a master at this.

Schwader has been pairing people with wines for the majority of the past 30 years.

That's when her mother passed away, leaving Schwader to care for four younger sisters.

"A kind lady in Yankton, S.D., hired me to work at her liquor store," Schwader said. "I also had part time jobs at a greenhouse and at restaurants, so I learned the food business."

Next she spent 12 years in law enforcement, working as head dispatcher in Yankton.

While working there, her sisters grew up into adulthood.

"I became an empty nester at the age of 32," Schwader laughed.

So she got a second job: helping set up to restaurants in Yankton from the bottom up.

Later, the motivated woman started her own catering business.

Then a career change called her to Iowa. She was hired at Hy-Vee in Sioux City, where she worked 10 months as a night clerk then was given her own Hy-Vee liquor store to manage on Gordon Drive.

Schwader worked there four years before coming to Le Mars to work in the Hy-Vee Spirits store here for six more years.

She credits her store managers for good years with Hy-Vee.

"Hy-Vee gave me the autonomy to learn what I needed to learn," she said. "And they let me turn the store into what it was when I was there."

Her ability to connect people with a wine or liquor they would enjoy grew during her time with Hy-Vee.

She took classes studying vodka, single malt scotch, small batch bourbon and beer, and she is a "Master of Wine," having completed the Hy-Vee/Gallo Wine Academy.

"And I read like a banshee," she laughed.

Her connection with Hole N The Wall began a few years ago when she helped owners Dan and Lisa Wells set up their wine cellar.

When plans for the Hole N The Wall Mercantile wine shop started rolling, Schwader's name was at the top of the list of who should be involved.

"This is my dream," she said, then laughed. "I always told people my dream job would be to sit in a big chair and have people come ask me questions. I have a big chair at the shop and people will come ask me about wine."

She might not be doing a lot of sitting, though. The shop will be open 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Saturday and noon to 6 p.m. Sunday. Schwader said they'll offer tastings all the time. And she will always be hunting down new wines to offer.

"I picked out 200 wines last week," she said. "Every day is exciting. There are so many things to do."

Wine snobs are welcome at the store, Schwader said. But so are wine rookies, or even those who've never tasted wine before.

"We'll have a bottle open every day," she said. "And there's no such thing as a stupid question."

Schwader's favorite wine right now is Zinfandel.

"I like a good Zin in the winter," she said. "In the summer I like a Sauvignon Blanc. It's crisper and clean."

And there's a new adventure in every bottle.

"Our motto is: 'Too much wine, not enough time,'" Schwader laughed.

A bonus of the job at the Hole N The Wall Mercantile, Schwader said, will be getting to spend time with "wine people."

"Wine people like to visit, talk and cook. They love to share," she said. "There's camaraderie. That's what's fun."