Retail Beverage Shop Analysis/Comparison

For my Retail Beverage Shop visit, I went to Astor Wine and Spirits and Union Square wine.  Both retail stores had similarities as well as differences. Union Square wine was my first wine store visit, I was extremely excited because now that I study wine and have the knowledge of what to look for it makes it much more interesting. USW was a medium size store where they had a glass door entrance with their logo in red. When I entered there was a lady at the information desk who greeted me and asked how can she help. I told her the purpose for my visit and I proceeded asking how is the layout of the store, is it by region or by grape variety.  I was then advised to have a look around and the wines will be categorized by regions. The wine bottles were displayed by categories. They were set up with the high price wines at the top and the inexpensive wines at the bottom. They also had a Japanese wine section called Fukushima. USW carries canned, bottled and boxed package wine. They did not have recommended wines nor “shelf talker” however they had a featured section. It was very slow because there was only one other customer beside myself. Overall, I found USW to be simple and did not have a lot to offer such as tasting menus. Since I did not like my experience at USW a fellow HMGT student recommended me to Astor Wines and Spirits. When I walked in Astor Wines and Spirits, it felt like a supermarket because there were many signs, shopping carts, cashiers, and refrigerated areas. They sell other products such as wine openers, ice trays and wine bags for storage and gifting. I spoke to a friendly employee and asked her about their delivery services. I was curious about the procedures for ordering online because they had a delivery section. There is no need for a store visit when you can shop online. That’s if you study wine of course. The tasting area caught my attention because they had a calendar to inform their customers with upcoming tasting events. With wine tasting it allows guests to sample and choose their favorites, rather than making a blind purchase not knowing what to expect. I really enjoyed my experience at Astor Wines and Spirits because of the selection of wines from regions such as France, Italy and Spain.

Union Square Wines’ display of canned wines. The wine in the picture is a California Pinot Noir Rose.

Bandit wines in carton bottles. The blue boxes are Merlot and the yellow is Pinot Grigio from California. These wines would be paired well with salmon.

This is a shelf talker at Astor Wines and Spirits.

Rebel Red wine from Portugal made out of Baga grapes. 2016 Vintage

Cava Sparkling wine from Spain

3 thoughts on “Retail Beverage Shop Analysis/Comparison

  1. I think it is completely awesome that the first shop you visited was not to your liking so you went on and visited another one. The power is in the consumer and that is exactly what you exhibited. Honestly, if it was me, I probably would have caved and settled for a bottle from the store, similar to sitting in a restaurant and not wanting to be rude and leave after being sat. You pretty much inspired me to find another shop if no wine really appeals to me from a certain store!

  2. I love that you went to two wine retail stores and did a comparison. Although you found Union Square Wine simple with not too much to offer, I think it was interesting enough that they had a Japanese wine section

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