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| Sisters in wine |
Across 800 miles, siblings pen book that takes a saucy trip through wines for women
by Andrew Cannarsa
August 12, 2004
Growing up in New Jersey, siblings Barbara Nowak and Beverly Wichman, like many sisters, shared shoes and skirts
but that was about it.
"When we were in high school, we had separate lives," said Nowak, the older sister. "We went to different
schools and we had different circles of friends."
But after they graduated from college and moved to Washington, D.C., Nowak and Wichman learned they had more in
common than just fashion sense.
"One day we decided to go shopping together," said Wichman, who now lives in Berwyn, "and we realized, 'Wow,
you're the best person I've ever shopped with.'"
The sisters stopped for lunch at Clyde's Restaurant in Georgetown, ordered a round of Bloody Marys, and the
Saucy Sisters were born.
"We both said, 'I really like you,'" said Wichman, looking at Nowak as they sat outside Perennial Pleasures
in Exton. "And we were inseparable after that."
Speaking with Nowak and Wichman, co-authors of "The Saucy Sisters' Guide to Wine: What Every Girl Should
Know Before She Uncorks," it's hard to imagine one without the other. The stylish and spunky wine
connoisseurs - Nowak, the blonde who drinks white, and Wichman, the redhead who prefers red - created the
Saucy Sisters empire more than 10 years ago. The result has been a decade of radio shows, book deals and,
of course, wine-tastings.
"The best part is having a sister you love and you like to spend time with," Nowak said. "It's really been
such a wonderful experience."
The sisters got their start when they moved from Los Angeles to Nashville in 1993, where Nowak was pursuing
a career in television and radio. It was Wichman's idea to go along for the ride.
"I said to Barbara, 'You know what? You need a sidekick,'" Wichman said. "I listened to radio in L.A. all
the time, and when we moved to Nashville, there was very little talk radio or anything fun on."
"Fun" for Nowak and Wichman meant gabbing about wine, food and entertainment. The sisters, with zero
previous radio experience, pitched the show idea to WAMB in Nashville and were almost put on the air that
afternoon.
"After we went to the meeting, they said, 'When can you start?'" Wichman said. "And we were like, 'Don't
we need a demo tape or something?'"
For five years, Nowak and Wichman interviewed wine and food reviewers from all over the country on their
once-a-week show, "Eat, Drink and Be Saucy." They also penned two self-published Nashville restaurant
guides, expanding the Saucy Sisters brand.
In 2001, though, Wichman moved to Berwyn to start a new job. The Saucy Sisters were separated for the first
time in 23 years.
But over a reunion dinner in New York City in April 2002, Nancy Dunnan, a financial and travel author and
a frequent guest on the sisters' radio show, saw a light bulb flash over her head and suggested that Nowak
and Wichman write a girls' guide to wine. They loved the idea, toasted their wine glasses and started
brainstorming. The only obstacle would be the 800 miles between them.
"Being physically separated made it difficult," Nowak said. "We wrote independently and then edited each
other. For the most part, we knew the tone of the book, so we were pretty much on the same page."
After New American Library signed on to publish the book, Nowak and Wichman packed pens, paper and champagne
(their favorite) and met at a Days Inn in Christianburg, Va. - the middle point between Berwyn and Nashville.
"We outlined every chapter that weekend," Wichman said. "By the end of three days, we had every inch of the
wall covered with Post-it notes and writing."
They finished the book in August and it was released in March of this year. More than just a simple book about
choosing wines, it's a guide for Saucy Sisters etiquette, teaching readers how to correctly talk about wine,
how to follow the wine-tasting ritual, how to host a wine party and how to create a complete, cost-effective
wine cellar.
Also, it's about embracing the Saucy Sisters lifestyle.
The book was an instant success, finding spots on several best-seller lists in the mid-South and igniting a
cross-country tour for the Saucy Sisters in their "Grapemobile."
"We needed to have something that would make a statement," Wichman said. "A friend of ours said, 'Well, I
have a van that I'd be willing to give to you.'
"As it turns out, the state of Tennessee would not let her give it to us because we weren't a non-profit
organization," she added. "So she sold it to us for a dollar."
A dollar well spent. The sisters painted the van purple and covered it with Saucy Sisters logo stickers. In
the Grapemobile, they looped around the country, starting in Nashville, heading south, then west, then back
north, meeting people, drinking wine and promoting their book.
"We did 11,000 miles in two months and we had a ball," Wichman said. "To see the country in that way was
just fabulous. I didn't want it to end."
The sisters continue to promote, but when they're not on the road they love to run, cook and throw dinner
parties. Nowak and Wichman have run three marathons between them in Los Angeles and New York.
The sisters said plans are in effect to write another Saucy Sisters guide about having parties and
entertaining guests, and Wichman would also like to get back into radio. They do, however, hope to enjoy
a little down time as well.
"We've never really had a chance to look back and reflect," Wichman said. "We had no time on the road
because we were always looking ahead and we were so busy."
But no matter what they're doing, it seems Nowak and Wichman will continue to take the Saucy approach because
both said they are having the time of their lives.
"This is all so creative," Wichman said. "I never dreamed I would be doing any of this."
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