What keeps you here?
“I just signed a 15-year lease for a newly designed store that I’m madly in love with. I’m not going to retire; I love coming to work every day! I have the greatest job in the world. I come into this stunning place, I get to talk and eat and taste wine with my friends and customers. This store is like the local barbershop. We have everyone in here: the politicians, the artists, the musicians, the laborers, lawyers, students, professionals. And when they’re in here, they all get along!”
Where would we find you on Sunday mornings?
“At Shea O’Brien’s having brunch. It’s the best brunch in the region! I know food, and that food is so fresh and so amazing that I’m blown away.”
What is your favorite virtue?
“My sense of humor and high tolerance for alcohol!”
What profession, other than your own, would you like to attempt?
“Become a comedian. I could so easily be onstage; I’m onstage here every day, and I love it.”
Who is the most interesting person you’ve met here?
When you run a wine-and-spirits store in the Village of New Paltz, there is no shortage of interesting people, but Rauch said that the person she has met whom she found the most interesting was “my husband, Rick! He’s the most interesting person I’ve ever met, and he makes me laugh every day of my life.”
What is your idea of happiness?
She doesn’t speak, but just points to a framed portrait of her husband and daughter.
What is your idea of misery?
“New York not allowing me to open the store on Christmas Day! Really? Jews can’t drink?”
What talent do you wish you had been given?
“A great singing voice!”
What is your main fault?
“Being a control freak. It’s ‘my way or the highway.’ But as I said, I did do better during the move. I grew up in a kosher home, and with velvet furniture and over-the-top chandeliers; but I listened to my designer, who told me that ‘This is a wine store, not a Jewish mausoleum!’ And she was right. We compromised. I still got my gold-leaf ceiling.”
For which fault do you have the most tolerance?
“I’m not a tolerant person. I’m a kind, compassionate person, but I expect a lot out of people because I expect so much of myself. I make a dozen mistakes before I wake up in the morning, but I own them. If you make a mistake, own up, and then we move on.”
What is your favorite motto?
“Let it pour!”
If heaven exists, what would you like to hear Saint Peter say when he greets you?
“Would you like us to pair your wine with your dinner?”
