Cheers to That: New Wine and Spirits Store To Open, Bringing Community Focus to Wilton Center

Natalie Gehrels and Jonas Andersen are excited to bring the second outpost of their wine and spirits shop, Folkways, to Wilton Center.

The shop specializes in small-production, organic and low-intervention wines, along with curated spirits, beer, non-alcoholic options and specialty goods. The duo chose Wilton after more than a year of exploring locations in Fairfield County.

“We were really looking at all the towns to understand where would be a good fit,” Natalie said. “It kind of just — Wilton became more and more apparent that it was the best fit… It just felt like, oh, we could be here.”

The couple opened their first Folkways four years ago in Croton Falls, in a 1917 train station building in North Salem. Natalie said they began noticing that many customers were traveling from Fairfield County to shop with them.

“Once we started understanding that people were really looking for what we had in Croton Falls — and that people were driving from long distances to come to the store, from Fairfield County but also from Brooklyn and Manhattan — we started to understand that there was something happening here that people were gravitating towards.”

That demand helped inform the decision to expand into Connecticut.

The Wilton location is in Old Post Office Square (10-24 Center St.), which is also home to CT Coffee & Grill, Eco Chic Salon and Red Rooster.

“We just got our liquor license and everything. Now we’re in full motion and really bringing in more and more stuff,” Natalie said.

Unlike many traditional wine stores, Folkways emphasizes producer stories and agricultural practices behind each bottle.

“We don’t really think about wine as a commodity,” Natalie said. “For us, there’s a whole story behind every bottle. There’s deep farming and heritage and ancient methods and practices that are going into every single bottle.”

Rather than stocking widely distributed labels, the shop focuses on curated selections and recommendations tailored to customers’ tastes.

“Our job is to get to know you, to understand what it is that you enjoy drinking… and then we can recommend something,” she said.

The Wilton store also carries beer and non-alcoholic wines and drinks, and features specialty items and fermented beverages.

In addition to retail sales, Folkways plans to host events and programming in the space. The Wilton shop includes a seating area designed for tastings and small gatherings.

“Community connection has been everything for us,” Natalie said. “Really deeply leaning into programming and having very thoughtful, considered events… so that people can come together… have a conversation and find commonality and learn new things.”

Planned programming includes a contemporary fiction book club in partnership with a Ridgefield bookstore, structured as a wine tasting and discussion salon, as well as tastings with wine and spirits producers.

The owners are not hosting a formal grand opening event. They will officially welcome customers beginning Monday, Feb. 23.

“We didn’t plan like a big, hard opening or anything like that,” Natalie said. “We really want it to be an open invitation for people to come in and discover and have a conversation with us.”