Abby Wakefield and Sara Kronon hatched a plan to start a new business in Harpswell while slurping oysters on the half shell and quaffing sparkling rose wine at a local restaurant.
The friends named their new venture Sip Seas, “a curated coastal experience” that pairs wine tastings with Maine-themed hors d’oeuvres.
For several days in July and September, Abby will prepare multiple appetizer courses — think small lobster rolls, local cheeses and petite blueberry desserts. Sara, a certified sommelier, selects wines for each Sip Seas course. Guests gather at The Harpswell Inn, a bed-and-breakfast in a 1700s shipbuilder’s home on Lookout Point, with stunning views of Middle Bay.
Food and wine seemed the obvious choice for the entrepreneurs, both in their 30s. Abby, a Maine native, lives in Cundy’s Harbor and is eager to promote Maine’s specialty foods. Sara, from Chicago, is a graduate of the Wine & Spirit Education Trust in England.
They met in London while working at international companies. Abby ran the e-commerce side of the upscale fashion house Louis Vuitton. Sara was head of British digital sales and strategy for Moët Hennessy, a line of Champagnes, fine wines and premium spirits. In the evenings, she earned a law degree.
Work and the pandemic sent both back to the U.S. Abby decided to make a career change. “In addition to building Sip Seas, I’m immersing myself in the local hospitality industry through hands-on roles that allow me to deepen my knowledge of food, beverage and guest experience while reconnecting locally,” she said.
She works as bar manager for weddings at The Harpswell Inn, along with roles at Sundrenched on Bailey Island and Maine Beer Co. in Freeport.
Sara stays with Abby when in Harpswell for Sip Seas events. Back in Chicago, she does consulting for IBM. Often she’s zipping off to Italy, where she and her mother own an Airbnb in Umbria. They also meander around the country, antique hunting for The Villetta, their antiques and vintage business with storefronts in Chicago and online.
The inaugural Sip Seas was in May. Sara and Abby wore white vests with a Sip Seas insignia — a red lobster with one claw pouring wine into a glass held with the other claw. Thirteen friends and family members were seated at a long, communal table on the inn’s glass-enclosed sun porch.
Abby passed out small plates for each of five courses and described where each treat came from.
The “Main(e) Event,” for example, featured petite lobster rolls with lobster from Henry Allen’s Seafood — just across Lookout Point Road from the inn — served on brioche buns from Porteur Breads in Brunswick. The 1950s lobster recipe, Abby said, uses lemon juice rather than butter or mayonnaise, and includes celery, scallions and bibb lettuce.
As guests nibbled their lobster, Sara described the wine they were sipping. She held up a unique, curved bottle of Villa Sparina Gavi. The crisp, Italian white wine is made with cortese grapes.
“It’s in an amber-colored bottle to protect the wine,” she explained, and it tastes like a “chardonnay and sauvignon combo with high acidity, fruity and with a rich body. There’s a salinity on the back of the palate.”
The “Say Cheese” course included Waldo Smog, a soft cow cheese with a layer of ash; and Landslide, a Gouda-style cheese. Both are made by Fuzzy Udder Creamery in Whitefield. Matching them was another Italian wine, Tenuta di Nozzole’s Le Bruniche chardonnay from Tuscany.
“The wine is delicious,” said a delighted Andy Ziegler, who was at Sip Seas with his wife, Liz. The Zieglers own the new Harpswell Collective, a studio and gallery space for artists at the former Estes Lobster House.
“I like to see beautiful things and help people grow their business,” he said about his support for Sip Seas.
Abby and Sara wanted their guests to sit together so they would chat, get to know each other, and discuss the food and wine pairings. “We want it to feel like the end of the night you’ve been to a dinner party,” Sara said.
“We came here knowing no one,” Thorne Conley said. “They designed it this way and we love it.”
She and her husband, Michael, live in Phippsburg. “It’s wonderful to meet new people,” Michael added.
Carole Airaghi-Zimmerman and her husband, Bruce, came to the event from their home in Cape Elizabeth. Airaghi-Zimmerman is from Milan, Italy, and knows good Italian vino.
“I’m enjoying the wine,” she said, adding that she wouldn’t ordinarily try the wines served at Sip Sea. “It’s so special.”
More than two hours after the event began, guests began leaving and exchanging contact information. The sun was setting over the bay, the clouds blushing pink and purple.
Sara and Abby deemed the first Sip Seas event a success, fulfilling their vision of “good food, good friends and good wine.”
Upcoming tastings are July 7 and 8 and July 26 and 27 at The Harpswell Inn. Each costs $110 per person. For more information and reservations, go to sipseasmaine.com. Sip Seas is also on Instagram @sip.seas.
