Piggly Wiggly may not be the place you'd think to go to find a wine and beer expert, but in Foley, wine connoisseur Pierre Vilain has been helping south Baldwin customers pick out wines for five years.

The California native's name really is Pierre — he didn't change it when he started giving wine recommendations at restaurants in his early 20s.

When Pierre started serving wine, he realized he needed to know more about it.

“To be able to sell wine, you have to know wine,” he says. “And someone told me once, 'The only way you're going to get to know it is to drink it, so that's what I did.'”

Now, Pierre offers hundreds of bottles of wine in the wine cellar at the Foley Piggly Wiggly, and he has tasted almost every one of them.

“My joke is that it's Tommy Cain's (owner of all the Piggly Wigglys in Baldwin County) money, but it's my wine cellar,” Pierre says. “It's my business within this business, and I have a whole lot of freedom. I'm not just an employee that's in here to sell wine and beer.”

In addition to learning on the job for more than 30 years, Pierre also recently attended culinary school at Faulkner State's Gulf Coast Culinary Institute. He says he has the book knowledge in addition to the experience to back up his wine and beer selections.

“He's earned this on his own,” says store director Everitt “D” Griffin. “He's done a lot of his own research, and he's developed a good specialized knowledge of wine. Pierre came in here and he had a really jubilant personality and was just nice to everybody. He is a crucial part of our operation.”

Pierre says he just enjoys helping people develop a love for wine.

“My big thing is I always wanted to be a teacher, and now I'm teaching people who come in here,” he says. “They come in to get a bottle of wine, and they end up getting a small class.”

Wine and food pairing with Pierre

Most people who need Pierre's help are looking for a wine to pair with a meal.

After pinpointing the customer's price range — he can go from $8 to $400 — Pierre likes to tell people to think about where the dish or some of its ingredients originated and to pair wines based on where they are made in addition to the “red is for beef; white is for fish” mindset. For instance, if you're serving the French Provencal dish ratatouille, choose a wine from Provence (southern France).

If beef is on the menu, try an Argentinian malbec — Argentina is known for its beef exports.

And there are some pairings Pierre just knows from experience: drink a cabernet, merlot or malbec with steak. Barbecue pairs well with red zinfindel, pinot noir and syrah (also known as shiraz). Chardonnay and pinot grigio are the wines to drink with buttery dishes, and champagne is fantastic with just about anything, especially fried foods, Pierre says.

Another important reminder from Pierre — cook with drinkable wine.

“It doesn't necessarily have to be high-quality, but you don't want to use cooking wine,” Pierre says. “It needs to be something you would drink.”

Find Pierre

Location: Foley Piggly Wiggly, 1200 S. McKenzie St. Walk in and turn left to find the wine cellar.

Hours: Pierre works from 10 a.m. until 6 p.m. every day except Sundays and Tuesdays.

Ask for him: If you don't see Pierre, just ask one of the other employees — they all know him!

Wine tastings: Periodically, Pierre hosts wine tastings. Ask to be on his email list for more information.