Great Escape: A Little Vino with a Cause

Face it moms, you don’t have a lot of free time.

Taking care of the kids and the house, probably while holding down a job, doesn’t leave a lot of ‘me’ time, especially when you throw in community and charitable commitments.

Girls’ night out? Forget it!

Or maybe not.

What if you could have a Girls’ Night Out for a Cause?

It’s a concept Sherry Etes began mulling after watching groups of girlfriends come in at Uncorkt, a wine store and lounge located at 240 Main St. in downtown Racine.

The store hosts about 35 fund-raisers each year for everything from the Cops N Kids Reading Center and the Pink Paddlers, a local breast cancer survivors’ group, to the Ovarian Cancer Coalition and the Racine Friendship Club, a day center for people with mental health issues.

Oh, and don’t forget the schools.

“Lots of schools,” Etes said.

So, several times a month, moms and other women stop in to support the cause du jour. Along the way, they reconnect with friends, laugh, sample wine, maybe even plan a book club meeting.

“I see a lot of it,” said Etes, 38, who lives in Caledonia.

From the conversations she’s overheard, it’s about the only way some working women can get away. It’s a struggle Etes can understand.

Besides running Uncorkt, Etes has an 18-month-old son. Her husband’s two teenaged daughters also live with them.

“I have girlfriends I haven’t seen in two years, literally years, because I had kids, then they had kids,” Etes said. “I’d love to see them, but you really do feel guilty.”

That’s why, apart from the gathering-for-a-cause fund-raisers, Etes has geared part of her business toward making me time available by the ounce. For $5, women can sip six one-ounce samples of wine while relaxing at the in-store bar or lounging in an armchair.

It’s catching on, Etes said.

Some women who came to the shop for a fund-raiser have come back for a little down time with the ladies.

One local book club has taken to meeting once a month at Uncorkt, settling into the lounge with delivery from a nearby pizzeria and, of course, a few glasses of wine.

Another group of women who met on Facebook have started meeting two to three times a month at the store for a little face time.

Sometimes, it’s a struggle, Etes said. But they make the time.

For them, it’s all about connecting, whether it’s for a good cause or just for each other.