Wine & Roses Prepares for Its 25th Anniversary

Editor's Note: Corrected version was posted on Sept. 22.

The Denis brothers, owners of New Milford's Wine & Roses, are preparing for a special anniversary.

Louis Denis, 54, a New Milford resident, was one of three founders of the New Milford Chamber of Commerce 25 years ago, and served as the past president of the organization. He and brother Chris, 48, own Wine & Roses, which sells unique domestic, imported and micro beers, domestic and imported wines, gorgeous flowers and gift items, the only wine and floral store of its kind (per the brothers) remaining in the area. And Chris, the president of the local Lions club for the past 15 years, oversees the Garden Café, a cute little eatery with both indoor and in-season al fresco dining open seven days a week.

And, before you know it, February 2012 will be here and so will the 25th anniversary of Wine & Roses.

“25 years means a lot,” says Louis, turning to his brother and partner. “We calm each other,” he says with a smile. “When one of us gets down, the other keeps us both going.”

Louis Denis admits that Wine & Roses competes with “box stores” (chain liquor retailers), but they’ve stayed afloat – not only through the current economic recession but through many other weathered storms – but really because of two things: retaining its customer base, and experience. “Customers are cost conscious,” Louis attests. “And Chris,” he says, nodding towards his younger brother, “knows wine very well.”

“We’re a personal type of business,” says Chris. “I have 25 years of experience in tastings, seminars and events. You learn as you taste.” Wine & Roses stocks a lot of California wines, as well as German and Argentinean brands. “We also have some very nice combo and cheese packages,” Chris says, and that includes both wine and beer packages.

Louis and Chris are third generation in the florist business. The Denis family’s involvement began in the 1930s with their grandfather, Louis Denis I. He had a saying, which the family has always adhered to: “Don’t worry about the competition. Be the best you are, and don’t look backwards.”

And they have. “You have to love what you do,” says Louis. “I love getting up and I love my business.”

“Every day,” says Chris, “is a new day. It’s not just 9 to 5. We diversify.”

And the fourth generation of the Denis family is slowly coming on board. Paramus Catholic junior Brian Denis, Chris’s son, works occasionally at the store, as does Louis’s daughter Kimberley, a Penn State business and marketing major.

“It’s a long road,” says Louis Denis, “and you don’t know where it’s going to take you.”

For Chris and Louis Denis, and Wine & Roses, that road has reached 25 years. New Milford is very fortunate.

Wine & Roses, 710 River Road, New Milford, (201) 262-9463 or (800) 262-7673, www.wineroses.com