I had the pleasure of visiting two well-established wine stores recently. Both have had long standings in the wine selling industry. The first store I visited was the Morrell, which has been established since 1999 at Rockefeller Center, the second Heights Chateau in Brooklyn,
which was founded in 1986. Although both wine stores have been around for at least a decade, their styles are completely different.

Store Front of Heights Chateau

When I went to Morrell the product handler, Gus, helped me to navigate my way around the store. Upon first arrival it was obvious that there was a separation of the red wines from the white wines, and the champagne from the liquor. Morrell is an upscale wine retailer who’s wine prices range from $19 to $8,000. The wines were not only separated by type, but also by country and price range. The red wines were along the wall, while the whites were head in the center of the store. The champagne was displayed in the storefront window, and the liquor had a display behind the cashier’s desk. The average price for a bottle of wine sold on site is around $100. This is because most of the wines are sold through salesmen, marketing to the local businesses or online. Due to the fact that Morrell is an upscale wine retailor the associates focus on selling wines at higher price points, rather than selling large volumes of wine.

A red wine display at Heights Chateau

The setting at Heights Chateau was the total opposite from Morrell. Heights Chateau sells over 2,000 varieties of wines, and it shows in their displays. After talking to the sales associate, Amanda, I was informed that the prices of a bottle of wine ranged from $6 to $5,000, however the more expensive wines were kept in the stores underground cellar. This is yet another way that Heights Chateau contrasts from Morrell, who kept wines from a range of prices out on display in their in store glass cellar. Like the Morrell, the bottles of wine were also separated by country; however there was not as much of a separation as there was at Morrell. Heights Chateau also had the wines organized by price. Similar to the Morrell, the bottom of the display held the cheaper wines and the prices increased as you worked your way up the display.

A white wine display at Heights Chateau

If I had to choose a wine store to go back to I would prefer to revisit Morrell. The overall appearance of the store seemed to be more appealing to me and not as overwhelming as Heights Chateau.

Wine bottle display at Morrell