I researched a wine store close to my job on google maps. I looked at ratings, number of ratings, comments, and pictures to find Columbus Avenue Wines and Spirits. Located on the upper westside, it was easy to get to. On the window display with bottle caps in Cluster like balloons with strings and a cardboard cutout of the bottle floating in the air. There was a girl sitting on a chair with a white dress and it said, “enchantment awaits.”

Champagne Nicolas Feuillatte, France- “Enchantment Awaits”

Inside it was empty; a cashier, a man in the phone talking about orders, and two customers. The girl told me to wait for the man to talk to, so I looked around. They had sections with wines from Greece, Spain, Australia, Italy, France, and Champagne.

Greek Wines – Paranga, Megas Oenos, Melissa (left to right)

The Champagnes were in like a closet space in the wall.

Closet space with Champagne

Champagne Veuve Cliequot Ponsardin, 2004, France (left yellow label) $89.99. Champagne Veuve Clicquol 2008 Vintage Rose (Pink Label, Right)

French wines Margaux, Saint Estephe, & Paulliac ranging from $179-$229.99

A middle aged man wearing a green knitted sweater, khaki pants, and glasses walked to me and asked me if I needed help. I knew this was the right guy to talk to. His name is Michael and he is one of the managers there. I told him of our assignment and he was willing to take a little bit of time to answer them. I asked Him how he chose the wines to sell. He said, “I taste them and if they taste like crap, we don’t buy it.” He explained that there were three ways that they picked the wines. One was for a representative of a distributor to come and do a tasting. A second was sight-on-scene where if a wine was good last year, he would order more or ask a colleague which wines are good . And a third was if a regular customer were to request a wine, he would then order it and keep it in stock for that customer. I then asked him how long he kept his white wines since they aren’t meant to be saved and aged for very long. He’s said, “A year, if it collects dus, it’s out.” He explained that within a year all of their wines are sold. The turnout is a year. He pointed to a large pink bottle half my size, and he said, “Even big bottles like that get sold within a year.” I saw the price tag and they were asking for $ 663.99 for it! Wow, I can only imagine the kind of party it would be bought for. Lastly i asked him which wines sold best, foreign or domestic. He said that he believes that their California section is great, but the customers in that area request more of the imported wines. I finally asked Michael for a recommendation that is sweet. He recommended A South Australian Shiraz wine, That Is not sweet but has a more “jam-ier” taste of blackberries. He also recommended a Riesling From Mosel, Germany. I have yet to try them.