I visited La Cantina Wine & Liquor Located at 2355 Arthur Ave, Bronx, NY 10458. La Cantina sits at the Heart Of Little Italy. Little Italy is my backyard I’ve grown up there and it has changed a lot as I’ve grown up but the heart and soul of it has not changed. Which comes from its Italians who still live and run businesses in the area. Especially La Cantina which opened up about 15 years ago around the time I moved around the area. 

La Cantina

As I entered La Cantina I am greeted by staff but I also noticed that the store was narrow and had wooden columns and sections that contained wines from France, Italy, Spain, Chile, New York, and California. Anthony is the gentleman who helped me by answering the questions I had to ask for the assignment.

What’s a Shelf Talker?

A Shelf Talker is a wine that may have a description note that will indicate where it is from, grape variety, etc and what it could be paired with. Its usually used to engage potential buyers.

Anthony told me that his store did not carry any shelf talkers because to him they are useless and doesn’t fit within the ideal of the store. Being in the heart of little Italy La Cantina specializes in Italian wine and Liquor. They have Italian wines and liquors that could be hard to find in New York or anywhere else. Like Sambuca, Grappa, Amaro, and Limoncello.

I asked Anthony what he thinks La Cantinas advantages/disadvantages were, he told me the advantages of La Cantina are that they carry quality Items and Price. Which ranges from six dollar bottles to a thousand dollar bottles. Another advantage is specializing on Italian wine. La Cantina’s Disadvantage is not having warehouse pricing which has to do with the stores concept of choosing quality over quantity.

I looked around the shelves and saw the Italian wines which occupy the majority of the shelves in La Cantina. I was able to see some DOCG (Denominazione di Origine controllata e Garantita) wines from Italy.

DOCG Wines
on the left, Borgoni Borromeo Chianti Classico Riserva 2012. Grape Variety: Sangiovese
Region:
Chianti Classico
On the right, Vecchia Cantina Vino Nobile di Montepulciano Poggio Stella 2012
Grapes
Sangiovese
Region
Vino Nobile di Montepulciano

Cave des Vins de Sancerre Les Champs Clos Sancerre Blanc 2012
Grape Variety:
Sauvignon Blanc
Region:
Sancerre

DOC (Denominazione di Origine Contollata)
Blancos de Castilla Herederos del Marques de Riscal Rueda 2012
Winery:
Blancos de Castilla
Region:
Rueda

DOC (Denominazione di Origine Contollata)
Blancos de Castilla Herederos del Marques de Riscal Rueda 2012
Winery:
Blancos de Castilla
Region:
Rueda

Veuve du Vernay Ice Rosé
Winery
Veuve du Vernay
Region
Vin de France

I asked Anthony about Sparkling wines and their intended use. He told me that Sparkling wines are usually used in Celebrations anywhere from Weddings, Quiceneras, Graduation Parties, Toasts, etc. He also tole me he enjoys the Veuve du Vernay Ice Rosé 2012 chilled on a hot summers day. I appreciated his input because he was knowledgeable on all of his inventory. 

To be honest i did not expect the staff at La Cantina to have such knowledge. But my expectations changed once I received all of this information from them. And it made me feel good that there are knowledge people who share a passion for wine right in my backyard. I learn a lot from hands on activities and such. I asked Anthony if they had any internships sadly they didn’t but he said we could work something out. I am hoping to create one so that any of my other peers could benefit from.

Overall I enjoyed my visit To La Cantina and I learned so much. The staff is very knowledgeable of their inventory and will give you the best price possible for great quality wine whether your looking for a cheap or expensive bottle. Quality is Guaranteed at La Cantina.

Let Take A Wine Journey  

Urban Uncorked is a wine and spirits store located on 147 Flatbush Avenue extension in Brooklyn, New York. As I entered the retail store I was shocked at the huge variety of wines all around. I was welcomed by the friendliest sommeliers on duty.They had a wonderful selection of wines and liquors from many different countries which amused me because when I thought about “wine” the first thing that came to my mind was Italy, France and Germany. These are initially the only ones I’ve been knowledged on but they are so many more countries which also have great wine.

The sommelier Susan Ellis was very helpful throughout my interview for this project. I was introduced to the two most popular wines in store which were Pinot Project and Processo. Both of these wines were very popular not only for their price but also because it is very difficult for winemakers to grow the grapes involved in the processing of creating them. These two wines are typically sensitive to climate changes and vine diseases as well as sun exposure and temperatures.

How much are consumers paying for a bottle of wine for a celebration?

When consumers are paying for a bottle of wine for a celebration they pay $40 or more. They mainly buy red wine rather than white wine not only because it is the most valued but it is also they one with more alcohol provided in it.

The sommelier Susan developed her knowledge by working in wine shops and drinking wine. She said that choosing the wine they sell is one of the easiest things because of course the seller wants to hand over the wine they have so that consumers can buy it, but they decide which wine is the easiest to sell in the location they are located in. One concept that they use to decide which wine is the best to sell is by tasting the wine and than making sure it fits what they think their customers would like. Naturals wines are the trend for the people who buy in her store she says many people go for natural wine because of where they come from and also the prices they are sold for. Her store also stores the wine 50-55 degrees which make it even better for those who are going to buy immediate wine to share with their loved ones.

France

Susan explained to me that Chablis was one of the most sold wines in the France section of the wine store. It is a nothernmost wine district wine of Burgundy in France. This wine is made in a cool climate which produces wines with more acidity and flavors less fruity which makes it dry. I like how we learned about this specific wine in our class and I come to the retail store to find out its the most sold in the France district. It’s good to see that things you never knew or heard about are really out there and very popular to those who enjoy their cups of wine here and there.

Italy

For the Italy region the best seller was Chianti Classico which is produced in Tuscany. This was another region we learned about in wine class. I really like how their posters of each country mention the famous regions that the wines are from.

New Zealand

Germany

Chile

We haven’t learned about Chile wines but the best seller in this wine retail store was the Refugio which is a pinot noir which is aged and fermented completely in stainless steel and concrete egg. They do not use oak to make this kind of wine. I can’t wait to learn more about Chile wine looks like they have a good selection.

I really enjoyed my interview at the wine retail shop because not only did I get to see new countries and regions where wines are produced but I also received some knowledge on the regions we haven’t studied on as of yet. Also relearning what I already knew because #istudywine about Italy, Germany and France made me realize that I finally know something about wine and I can go to a wine store and say I know at least three wines types in each region. One thing that did catch my attention as I left the store was “Sake” which to japanese is a rice wine but in reality it’s a beer. I found it interesting because Susan told me that normally beer is fermented by converting the starches in a grain into alcohol but in this case they do the same process with rice. I would recommend this wine retail shop to anyone who would like to furthermore their understanding of wine because they also provide courses and are very welcoming and eager to help students learn more about the topic and the background. Also free wine tasting Friday’s and Saturday go tasteeee guys!!! 

Gnarly Vines vs Heights Chateau

On March 13^th, I visited two wine retail shops with a group of friends who are also studying wine. We decided to visit two different retail shops. The first retail shop is called Gnarly Vines, located at 3241, 350 Myrtle Ave, Brooklyn NY 11205. Afterward, we went to Heights Chateau, located at 123 Atlantic Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11201. We called a few days ahead of time and asked if it was possible for their employees to take some time to answer our questions.  At the end of the day, it was needless to say which shop is better in terms of customer service, number of wine varietals, and amount of wine knowledge the employees possess.

Gnarly Vines

Upon arriving at Gnarly Wines, the employee had forgotten that we’ve called and didn’t relay the message to the manager therefore we couldn’t really ask many questions. The employee answered a few questions and briefly described the shop. According to the employee, Gnarly Wines opened approximately 10 years ago but the interiors looked old, dusty, and maybe vintage. What kind of wines do customers usually purchase? Customers usually ask for recommendations but rosè and sparkling wi nes are popular. They also prefer inexpensive wines. Any marketing strategy or up selling techniques used?  No.

Some Sake selections from Gnarly Vines (Please don’t mind Jessie)

As the very first time visiting a wine retail shop, it wasn’t a pleasant experience because one of the employees, possibly manager, seemed rude; wasn’t even looking at us when we talked and ignored us later on. Although, no customers were present at the time, the employee had to help others with managing the inventory. We didn’t ask any more questions because they looked busy and it seemed as if they didn’t want to talk with us; possibly due to us not being customers. What’s good about Gnarly Vines is that majority of the wines has an extremely descriptive label attached to the shelves.

Heights Chateau

Heights Chateau was established in 1986 and has received the Award of Distinction from Zagat Survey. The one who answered my phone call and answered our questions was Dave.

What makes this shop different from other shops?

There are 3 tasting events weekly; a time when the owner, manager, employees, and customers gather and do different tastings.

Among those that have been tasted, what do the employees and manager prefer?

Most of them, including Dave, prefer whiskey and bourbon.

2015 Crozes-Hermitage (Cotes du Rhone AOC)

Any other marketing techniques used for attracting customers?

Promotions and discounts.

Why or what makes customer wants to purchase wine here?

Frequent customers or buyers praised the store for good and fair pricing. These customers spread word to others and this attracts even more people to come.

What wines do your customers usually purchase?

Young buyers prefer American wines and spirits meanwhile the elder ones prefer French wines that are sweet and full of tannins.

Wines from a region that we haven’t learned: Portugal Wine – Vinho Verde DOC produced by Casal Garcia

Overall, I had an amazing experience visiting Heights Chateau because of the number of alcoholic beverages offered and services provided.  Additionally, this retail shop sells many wines from different countries across the world: France, Italy, Germany, USA, South Africa, Chile, Portugal, Argentina, Greece, New Zealand, and many more. Most of the employees are knowledgeable with wines and other alcoholic beverages. There are even wines from regions that we’ve studied from class. For example, there’s Alsace, Rhone Valley, Loire Valley, Bordeaux, and Mosel.

Sparkling Wine – 2013, Blanc De Noirs

The 2015er Riesling we tasted in class

A Closer Look – Descriptive labels attached to the shelves in Gnarly Vines

I have actually visited two retail wine shops with my friends. However, I will mainly focus on one, which is Heights Chateau.

This is me in front of the Heights Chateau. Don’t mind Irene’s face on the side.

Heights Chateau is located in 123 Atlantic Ave, Brooklyn. It takes a couple of minutes to walk from the school to get to this retail store. It has very good reviews online and the employees spoke politely to me on the phone when I gave them a call for an interview. When I first arrived in the retail store, I was surprised by how nice the placed looked with rock music being played. The beverages are organized neatly by their country and regions. An employee named Dave greeted me and answered all of my questions that I had for him. He included interesting information about Heights Chateau. Dave told me that Heights Chateau used to be located in another place, but they moved here for more space. Currently 15 staff members are working here. Dave also mentioned that the younger crowds of their customers prefer American wines, while the older crowds prefer France wine and Scotch whiskey. The older crowd prefers their alcohol on the sweeter side. In the back of the store, there is a tasting table for customers. Dave commented that people who are planning events usually go to the back to taste wines so they can use it for those events. After interviewing Dave, he allowed us to look around the store.

This was displayed in front of the counter. The sign recommended which alcohol to try/buy.

The wines are organized by their countries and regions. Shown above is France wine.

Shown above are wines from Rhone Valley.

Here are the questions that I asked Dave:

Which wine did you sell the most? Like what is the most popular wine you are selling?

“I can’t think of the most popular wine on top the of my head, but the cheapest and most popular bottle sold is the $7 Astica Malbec wine.”

What wine is your all time favorite? Like what wine do you recommend?

“My favorite wine is from Italy.” (After saying that, Dave showed me the wine)

Dave’s favorite wine from Italy.

How would you guys compare your prices to other retail stores?

“I consider our prices to be good pricing. We have many loyal customers who help us spread our popularity by talking about our store to their friends and acquaintances.”

Does your staff taste every wine in the store?

“Our staff tried most of the wines and whiskey.”

Where do you buy your wine?

“We actually buy our wine from a lot of places. The ones that I could think off of my head are Opici, Winebow, and Wine Universe.”

These are $13 wines from Marlborough, New Zealand. The vintage year is 2017 and the grape variety of this wine is Sauvignon Blanc. The producer is the Babich.

Closer look of the New Zealand wine.

These are $14 sparkling rose wines from France. The producer is Rene Briand. The vintage was not mentioned nor was the region. This is also mentioned to be brut rose (dry).

This is the shelf for dessert wines.

This is the shelf for Sake. It is located across from the dessert wine.

This is a $67 red wine from Rhone Valley, France. The producer is Domaine Louis Clerc and the vintage year is 2010. The grape variety of this wine is 100% Syrah.

Closer look to the $67 red wine.

There are maps of regions shown next to wine bottles. The maps show regions and appellations of those regions. Doing this can teach customers where their wines come from and how the regions look like.

Overall, I had a great time and learned a lot from this store. The employees are polite and I gained connections from this place. Once I turn 21, I would definitely come back and buy alcohol from this place.

The second retail store I went to was Gnarly Wines and Spirits located in 350 Myrtle Avenue. I wasn’t too fond of this place since their customer service were not so great. My friends called and made an appointment for an interview for this place, but the employees forgot and acted as if we were a nuisance. They acted as if they wanted us to hurry up and leave. The employee didn’t really know how to answer our questions. In my opinion, the only good thing about this place are the varieties of the wine and how there are descriptions about the wines near the bottles. Those descriptions are useful and interesting. Heights Chateau didn’t have any description of their wines near their bottles so maybe they should do the same thing so people can understand their wines more.

This is a $27.50 Apricot liqueur from Austria.

This description explains information about the Apricot liqueur. This is considered a “shelf talker” that explained how treasured the fruit apricots are. It explained how Austria has an annual summer fest dedicated to the fruit.

For my retail store assignment, I had visited two of the retail wine stores with my friends at March 13th. One of the location that I have visited is a Gnarly Wine and Heights Chateau.

Gnarly Vine

A sparkling France wine called Rosa Rose Rosam, produced by Domaine La Grange Tiphaine Year 2016

I first visited Gnarly Vine which is in 350 Myrtle Ave. I picked this location because it takes twenty minutes to travel by walking from the school to my destination. I made an appointment a week before I visited on March 13th at 2:30 pm. As soon as I arrived in the store, the staffs forgot that they have an appointment with us. The manager of the store had one of the staff to answer my questions. Based from my knowledge of what I learned from the staff, the Gnarly Stores had been running the store for 10 years. The wine that the staff will recommend to the customers is based on what region that they preferred. In her opinion, she recommended to order a cheap wine that is around in the year of 2002. I took a tour around the store setup and realized the Gnarly Vine have some attributes and weaknesses. The store looks a little messy but organized because there are labels for each and every of the wine that are displayed in the shelves. They put information on the map of the region, description, producer, and the price. However, there are boxes everywhere which makes it hard to make a path for people to walk through and some of the bottles were displayed where you can’t see the labels on the vintage. The store was also not sanitized properly and it would not be good to have dust gathered to the wine bottles nor the shelves.

My next visit to Heights Chateau which is in 123 Atlantic Ave. I picked this location because of the customers’ review on Heights and a short distance to walk from the school. I made an appointment at the same date at 4:30 pm. When I arrived in the store, I spoke to a staff named Dave who answered my questions about Heights Chateau. Dave had told me that Heights Chateau had been running the business for more than 20 years. Originally their store was in Ave V but move where it is more spacious and for the 15 staffs to work. In the store, they have the owner and the manager to take charge tasting wine and writing about it in the portfolio. He gave us list of various wines that customers that often ordered based on their age. Young people would buy American wines and older people will buy American wines or Scotch because they prefer a sweet taste. Dave is knowledgeable about the marketing that they own 20% of New York State wine. Dave keep checks on the temperature to be around 55 degrees for the wines’ condition. As I toured around the store, I had found the store has many attributes. The store is spacious which many room to walk through and many of the shelves are label to be either biodynamic and organic. They applied soft rock music played and ladders for reach wines on the upper shelves. In the back of the house, they have a set of kitchen house for wine tasting. They also have another room that leads to where they kept their portfolios. It shows that the management that the store had run is very neat and organized.

Heights Chateau

A Chile wine called Tannat, produced by Vinedo de los Vientos Year 2014

Chamber Street Wines seen from outside

I visited Chamber Street Wines located at 148 Chambers Street, New York, NY 10007 between Broadway & Greenwich St
TriBeCa. Though I don’t drink wine, this is the first time I’ve stepped out of my comfort zone and actually visited a wine shop and I must say, it was quite an experience. Through the given list of choices of wine shops located across the five boroughs of New York, I chose this particular shop to visit because it had a warm ambience to it. The employees were very friendly and knowledgeble and it helped a lot especially because I was a tad bit nervous and they made me feel welcome. The price range is pretty reasonable and the employees provide customers with recommendations to fit well within their budget. The shop is known heavily for its selection of vintages, and also, has a great variety of wines that range from Piedmont reds to dry whites.

Before visiting, I took it upon myself to research the shop to know a few basic information. I researched about the founder and co-founder of Chamber Streets Wines whom are David Lillie and Jamie Wolf and what motivated them to open such an establishment. Once I arrived, I mentioned I was a student studying wine and would like to be assisted throughout my visit. First and foremost, once you enter the shop you can’t help but notice that the shop is very well organized and clean. A few of the questions I asked were, “How do you maintain inventory with such great selection of wines?”, “Can you direct me towards the wines you currently have on stock from France and inform me about each label associated with the bottle?”, “Do you have any Sparkling Wines on stock such as Moscato d’Asti?”, and “I have studied about wines throughout France, Germany, and Italy, can you mention another region popular for winemaking?” I felt very comfortable asking such questions because well, “I study wine.”

Overall, I was surprised with the outcome of my experience. I had a wonderful time and it was a great opportunity for me to visit a retail beverage shop because now I have a better outlook on how I will be perceiving wine from now on hereafter.

Variety of wines displayed for customers to view.

Wine from France (The Dupasquier vineyards located near Rhône Valley)

Sparkling Wine (Champagne)

Wine from Spain (Sade Rubor 2014)