—by Allegra Lubrano
It’s not Putnam’s Vineyard, a name that sounds like an outlet for a winery in Vermont. It’s Putnam’s VINE YARD, a play on words dreamed up by owner Kelsey Rush to describe her remarkable place. It offers all things vine (plants, wines, and much more) and is located next to a rail yard. Hence, vine/yard. It’s been open all of three weeks.
And why Putnam’s? Because Putnam is the family name on Kelsey’s maternal side. Her 6th great-grandfather Seth Putnam was among the first settlers of The Fort at No. 4 in Charlestown in 1750, and another was the first settler and elected official of Middlesex, VT in 1785. Her family has been in New England since 1634. Nobody better call her a flatlander!
Kelsey Rush (L) and barista Julianna Borger. Allegra Lubrano photo.
Kelsey’s a true oenophile—a fancy word for someone who is passionate about wines, which she spent 2021 studying as she was dreaming up what she calls “a fun spot to meet with friends, go on a date, and try great wines.” She’s transformed the old Freight House, once a performance space and rental venue, into an oasis of plants, comfortable chairs, chair swings, an indoor pergola, funky wall-paper, and dozens of tables surrounded by greenery. Putnam’s offers weekly classes on plants, flower arrangements, terrarium building… and, of course, wine, which you can study by vintage or soil type or region or grape or winemaker. Plus, coffees and teas. This weekend you could attend a class on Friday on how to brew expert pour-over coffee at home. On SaturYAY (not a typo) you could pop over in the morning to have tea, coffee or an espresso drink while munching on a treat from VinDog’s food truck (think bacon sprinkled on freshly made donuts), take a class on flower arrangements taught by Morgan Movelle, owner and designer for Orford’s Farmhouse Flower Company, and sample a flight of different kinds of Mimosas. Check out the calendar here.
Putnam’s interior. Putnam’s vine/yard photo.
And how did Kelsey end up opening Putnam’s? It’s a long story. She was born in Oregon and raised in LA, but wound up in Hanover when her mother became the first single mom admitted to Dartmouth as an undergrad—and then stayed on to complete a Master’s in Arts History. After moving around the country with her mother for a few years, Kelsey came back to attend Dartmouth herself (’05); she met her husband (’04) there two weeks after arriving. After an odyssey that involved her husband getting his law degree and living in Boston, Carmel, and Palo Alto, the family decided amid the pandemic that it was time to move back to Hanover, which they did in 2021. Their two children are at the Ray School—having what Kelsey hopes is the idyllic childhood she had—while her husband works for Meta.
Kelsey, meanwhile, has found and managed to follow her passion: drinking and sharing wine with people. And providing a place for people to feel transported to an outdoor terrace or tropical hideaway while giving them the opportunity to learn more about plants, wines, and other essential parts of our collective lives. She reports that all of her friends, save one, told her she was crazy to sink her time and money into Putnam’s. But she had a vision, which she created herself with blue painter’s tape, a paint brush, some help from a friend, and a whole lot of plants.
You’re making a big mistake if you don’t stop into this little paradisiacal space at 188 S. Main Street in WRJ. Go there to relax, have a new experience, learn something that makes you happy and, it should go without saying, sample great coffees, teas, hand-picked wines, and obscure regional beers. Plus enjoy something to nibble on—or just bring in your own food from outside. Don’t walk.
Putnam’s vine/yard is open Wednesday-Saturday, 10 am to 10 pm.