Robert Sox was approaching 50, had a respectable nestegg, wanted a second career, and was smart enough not to take unnecessary risks. He did his homework and came up with WineStyles, a wine store in the Shoppes at Woodhill. WineStyles is connected to a national franchise operation.

One way Sox separates his shop from the other wine shops in town, is the style categories such as "crisp" and "rich" and "smooth." The shop's wines are clustered and displayed in their respective styles. A rich chardonnay can be described as oaky and creamy, while a crisp chardonnay would be dry. Even "bubbly" is a label above bins of that style of wines, mostly champagnes and sparkling white wines.

Sox has a master list of labels supplied by his franchise headquarters in Florida. With 1,800 labels, there are more than adequate choices, but there are economies of scale, too, and studied popularity. The home office knows what the American wine drinking public wants, and the home offices passes the wisdom and the products to Sox .

For the most part, Sox buys from the usual importers and distributors in the local area, but the home office supplies his shop with the WineStyles private label. For instance, a bottle of white table wine is labeled simply "Cool and Crisp. 2005 Monterey County. White Table Wine." With tax the bottle sells for $16.21. It goes well with "salads, flaky fish, shellfish, spicy dishes and cheese," as the label says.

Sox is a local. His ancestor came into Charleston in 1745 wearing nothing but a coffee bean sack. Pirates robbed his ship and took everything, clothes and all, and he was lucky to be alive. Heinrich Sachs didn't like being reminded of his sack suit, so he changed the spelling of the family name to Sox. Sox said his earliest American Sox moved to Saxe Gotha almost immediately after changing suits.

Sox graduated from Lexington High School in 1975, where he played on the tennis team and edited the yearbook. He majored in financial management at Clemson University. After a few years in the banking business at Hilton Head, he finished his MBA at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with an emphasis on finance.

For 19 years he worked with MeadWestvaco, formerly known as Westvaco when he joined the company (and even earlier, the West Virginia Pulp and Paper Company). To start, Westvaco placed Sox in Charleston and New York City, then Virginia. Sox moved to the Czech Republic for four years, and he spent another two in Texas. Sox left Westvaco in 2004.

Sox made shopping for his second career interesting. Deciding on WineStyles met all his requirements and kept him in the Midlands.

Sox's wine tastings are free. Maybe a visit and a purchase is a good idea to get on the invitation e-mail list. For the most part, the wines run between $10 and $20.

WineStyles at the Shoppes at Woodhill will be one year old at the end of April.

Sox can be reached at 695-1120.

Robert Sox