DARE Bottleshop and Provisions, Mary Daire
What compelled you to partner with BIFF?
BIFF’s nearly 20 year history of bringing world-class independent films and film culture to the Berkshires is an inspiration and a beacon for our area. As a small business deeply invested in our local community, Dare Bottleshop strives to align ourselves with organizations that continue to lift up our area, like BIFF. BIFF’s reputation precedes it and attracts people here from around the world each year, shining a light on Berkshire County as a world-class destination for culture & the arts.
Tell us about DARE Bottleshop and Provisions.
Dare Bottleshop and Provisions exists to represent small winemakers whose wines embody artisanal winemaking and representations of their regions. These are real wines; evocative, lively and transcendent. We proudly stock local craft beer and cider along with a highly curated selection of specialty foods and tableware. We like to think of ourselves as a dinner-party destination, where our customers can source the essentials for entertaining and enjoying moments with friends & family around the table.
What, in your opinion, is the creative energy between film and wine?
Wine is the liquid expression of the land from which it’s grapes were grown, and the moment in history when it was made, encapsulating the conditions of that particular year’s harvest. The best bottles of wine exude the imprint of the winemaker who crafts it and tells the story of where it’s from. As a famous winemaker once said, “Making good wine is a skill, fine wine is an art”….just as great filmmaking is an art, the product of its maker, the vision that that person has of the world and a view into the period of history that it represents.
FLASH ROUND:
Who would play you in a movie?
Kate Bosworth
What’s your go to movie snack?
Buttery popcorn
What’s the film title that best describes your life?
A Year in Provence because it reminds us of when we live together in Provence.
Mary and Ben bio:
Wine & food have always played leading roles in our lives. We’re a French-American couple; (Mary is a native of the Berkshires..and Ben, a Michelin-trained chef from the countryside of France) met in Lenox in 2006 before moving to France to pursue education and careers in the world of cuisine and oenology.
It’s there where our wine & food journey really began..living in Provence and eating and drinking our way around Europe before moving back to the Berkshires to start our family.
We’ve lived in the heart of the Berkshires since 2011 with our two young children and two dogs.
Ben officially hung up his chef’s apron in 2021 when we opened our first shop, Dare Bottleshop & Provisions, in downtown Lenox, MA. in November of 2021. Mary was a high school French teacher before joining Dare full-time with the opening of our Great Barrington location in March 2024.
Dare Bottleshop & Provisions is the culmination of our shared passion and interest in beautiful wine and delicious food, and the moments spent enjoying those things at the table with the people we love.
With the opening of our 2nd location, we are thrilled to build on our connection to our local community and bring amazing wine, craft beer & cider, unique beverages and specialty foods, along with exciting events and an unrivaled shopping experience to more of the Berkshires!