On October 11, I went to height chateau located on 123 Atlantic Ave, for my Retail Wine store analysis. I called in and talked to Amanda to see if when I can come in for a short talk and she responded with anytime I am available, really nice, I thought most people would have an annoy tone in their voice when someone ask if they can just go to the shop just to talk, that is customer service right there. When I did arrive, I first went around the store looking at the shelves of wine, the regions they sell wines from and the price of the wines and the interior of the shop was fitting. I met David who started working there last year June and he called the manager Alex to help me with my question and give me some information about the store.
Shelf Talker wine of Limited Quantity left, making sure that they sell and that the customers knows when they walk into the store.
Quite the variety of wine they have, Argentina, Italy, France, South Africa, Austria, Spain, New Zealand, etc. I also ask if they had any problem with customers time from time and David told me about shoplifters that comes by for the wine even thought they get caught shoplifting. Then there was one customer who keeps buying a Cote de Rhone wine made with Syrah grapes but hats Syrah and complains that the wine have Syrah but keeps buying it because he likes it, very odd. Most of the expensive wine they have are kept in their cellar which is set to 55 degree Fahrenheit as safekeeping them from the shoplifters. Alex and David told me about discounts for buying a case of wines which consist of 12 bottles, the more u buy the higher the discounts, buying 1 case give the customers 17% discount on the price and buying more would give a higher discount.
Wine from France Gewurztraminer from Alsace and Riesling from Alsace
I ask Alex which wine had the most value and he answer me with Malbec and Sauvignon Blanc would be with most value, but all the wine in the store had great value, and its about the customers preference, what they want at certain times. Unfortunately Alex got busy with another business and David took over for the rest of the tour, He mention that their is a tasting every Thursday and Saturday and I should come by if I have time to taste some of the wines, the wines they offer to taste are different every week. One of the other customer noticed me taking notes and ask was I doing a report and I answer just doing my college project about a wine shop and he said this is the right place. In general, the staff were all friendly, they were all very knowledgeable, and the customer service they provided to other customers were top notch.
Sparkling wine
A region we didn’t learn I chose was from Japan, Sake, which I did not know that they were considered wines actually
Outside of Astor Wines and Spirits
For my Wine shop retail analysis I decided to go to Astor wines and spirits located on 399 Lafayette St, New York, NY 10003, the area was very familiar to me and the shop was easy to find. When I walked in I was surprised to see how big the size was for a wine shop it was almost as if I walked into a small supermarket dedicated to wines spirits. I looked around at first then I began to look for help because I was so overwhelmed by all the columns and rows of wines, so I was able to speak with wine specialist Jared who was very pleasant and easy to talk to after explaining to him I am a wine student who is studying I was able to ask him allot of questions referring to demographics and things of that nature. I started off by asking him what kind of customers do they get and his answer was that they get a big range of customers but recently they have been seeing alot of younger people taking an interest in wine lately which is something he is happy about. I also asked him which type of wine and which wine do they sell the best and he responded by saying that there is not right or wrong answer for any of those questions it just all depends. As far as the type that sells the most would probably depend most on season and right now red is the best selling since its fall, and for the best selling wine he feels that New World Chardonnay is selling rapidly and also case wines which is something that alot of customers like to purchase especially if there a member to receive discounts. Next I asked in about areas in which most of their wines are from and the most exclusive wine varieties. Jared let me know that they wines from all over like Asia, South Africa and more but most of there wines come from Europe both new world and old world and then he said the most rare/ exclusive wine they have right now is from the Loire valley by producer Joley. Lastly I asked how do they choose there wines he told me that they two wine buyers that shop and taste each and every wine and rate them through a process to see which ones they feature. Jared was so in formative and so where the other associates I was able to fine out that once you become a member you enroll in a benefits program that features some of the wines that the associates actually have picked themselves I thought that we so interesting because thatâs such a great way to interact with customers in a personal level and they even offer wine tastings. I was also pleased to see wines that we have studied in class from the Loire valley and Riesling wines from Germany in fact I saw that amazing wine we tasted called Butterfly by Zilliken . Overall this was an amazing experience Astor wines and spirits is such a friendly and welcoming enviorment ready to help anyone who is new to wines or for some one who knows exactly what they want!
Butterfly By. Zilliken
Case Wines / Memebers pick from Portugal
Botanica Pinot Nior from South Africa also Staff Pick
Refreshing Reisling
ABSTRACT
From the past two weeks I researched several Wine & Spirt shops around the downtown Brooklyn and lower Manhattan. I called shops got turned down for request to interview managers or employees who had any knowledge of Wines. Some Shops were willing but they were on days that were inconvenience to me but I thank you them for their consideration. In total I visited four wine shop but I decided primarily to discuss two wine shops. The two other wine shops will be briefly discussed. The two wine shops that I visited in Brooklyn were purely for observation purposes. I wanted to see inside beverage shops that have a variety of wines and have wines from around the world or at least wines that were covered in class for the past several weeks.  I wanted to witness shops who cater to their customer and ultimately I wanted to have a discussion about wine.
“Nicolas Feuillatte Brut” A Sparkling wine from the region of Champagne with a rose blend of brut.
The first shop in Brooklyn that I was Michael Town Wines and Spirits located at 73 Clark St. Michael Town Wines sell a variety of wines in small yet decent sized wine shop. They also sell cognac, bourbons, whiskies located mostly behind the register. Â There wines though I appreciated the selection they had from different countries but what they lacked were the organization. In depth they had wines from Germany, France, Argentina, Chile, the grape varieties did differ but were grouped together with their represented countries. The store had red, white, dry, sweet wines in one section of the shelves from France. You couldnât barley tell the wines apart. I could tell from the region, appellation or at times the sub appellations. I needed to investigate these wines in this shop.
A Featured wine from Astor Wine Spirits. ” Tenuta Rapitala” A wine with a Sicilian Terrior and a french wine making style of the grape Variety Grillo.
The second shop was Heights Chateau located on 123 Atlantic Avenue. I really endured what they had to offer in wines. It was a shop that offered not only a variety of wines but it also seemed to dedicate itself to wines and the education of wine at least from my perspective. What I observed Were once from France and Italy. They had other wines from other countries but my focus was primarily on those two countries. What amazed me was the organization of the French wines. Their French wines covered regions from Bordeaux, Burgundy, Alsace, the Loire Valley, the Rhone Valley and many other regions of France. Each of those regions had a dedicated shelf and had their dominant grapes along the vintage year organized in order. It was good to see a red dominant grape wine like Merlot in it home grown region of Bordeaux shelved and on display.
Even though the Heights Chateau gave me insight of what to really expect for purchasing a wine I wanted a better experience. So I went to Manhattan but this time with a series of question to ask. I wanted to ultimately compare these next two shops. The 1st shop, Astor Wine and Spirits located 300 Lafayette ST, the other wine and beverage shop Flatiron Wine and Spirits, located at 929 Broadway. The 1st shop I entered was Astor Wines and Spirits at first glance inside the shop it looked like a wine emporium or a Wholesale store to purchase wine but I was wrong. As I took further steps inside I would consider it the âWhole Foods Marketâ of wines. Astorâs had representations of French and mostly Italian wine but with a real great selection. There vintages prices range from $20 to $700 that was before I entered their wine cellar. Flatiron Wines though had a more intimate feel to their establishment. From the inside it seemed quite but it was completely busy but quick.
Pinot Rose
Present by Heights Chateau. This blended rose wine from France made from the region of Sancerre with a 2016 Vintage
The questions I had prepared to ask both representatives had similar answers but I was more concerned with their contrast answers. The 1st question that had me engaged with both shops was. âWho is your target demographic? âThat was question that each shop answered differently Flatiron answered their target demographic are millennials. I asked why and the Robby who took the time to answer all of my question answered, âwell Millennials drink nearly half of the wine purchased from wine shops. Robert no relation to Robby at Flatirons shop. Answered âOur demographic is mid 20âs to late 50âs. Both establishment did have wine cellars for their premier Cru wines in which the kept the storage temperature relatively the same between 58- 62 degrees Fahrenheit. I asked both establishments, what were the considerations for purchasing wine from a specific country, region, or appellation?”
Robert responded by telling me âitâs by popularity, most of our wines are Italian and French but we try to buy more Italian wines because the market is flooded with French wines and there can be a better appreciation for Italian wines in some time.â Robby from Flatiron responded a little bit differently it was more from a scientific and perhaps from a tasting perspective. The response was âIt depends on the vintage year the producer, the actual aging and vinfication of the grape wine. While discussing the taste of wine I also asked. âDo you taste your vintage wines and what impact does it have? Robby answered with assurance. âAbsolutely the taste has the biggest on our wines and also our taste makes an impact on choices for our customers.â That being said I wanted to further expand their thoughts on the taste of wines. I wanted to know from Robert from Astor wines. âCan you distinguish wine from its grape variety of similar genetics such as Riesling and pinot noir from a different region or country?
Robert answered me by comparing Riesling. âYes from the taste Riesling muzzle has a more of a fruit characteristic. I asked the same question to Robby from Flatiron Spirits his response I enjoyed. âLetâs say we have a grape variety of Pinot Noir in France and we have Pinot Noir grown in Oregon. What separates the two taste is the terroir also they are both dry wines. In France Pinot Noir is more acidic and needs more time to develop. In the U.S Oregon Pinot Noir is more fruiter, sweeter and the grapes tend to be much larger than French so we get more sugar, more than acid and we receive more juice.
I stalled for time I realized both establishments were busy but I asked important filler questions about there wine such as what wines from a particular region, appellation or sub appellations contributes to your sales and the gross profit?   Robby from Flatiron wines told me that. âThere are certain sub regions that are expensive I they somehow get any Grand Cruâs in their possession they usually make more money on from those purchases. From Astorâs wines Robert Answered itâs the Premier Cruâs and the Italian wines that contribute to the sales. I wanted to know besides the demographic who was the general target market. Robby said anyone who indulges in are more expensive bottle and Robert from Astorâs explained they also deliver throughout the United States so the whole country they deliver to as a whole.  I asked both representatives from both shops. âAre there any issues with customers with theft or unfulfilled orders or promises from vendors and distributorsâ?
Robert replied Not specifically and Robby said no. The last question I asked both Robby and Robert was. âHow long has each establishment ben open for Astor Wine & Spirits has been open at the 399 Lafayette location for about 10 years but the company itself has been around for over 50 years. Flatiron Wines & Spirits has branched out as well having shops in San Francisco, California area. Both shops were able to help me identify wines and have a better appreciation of wine at the Flatiron New York location I purchased a Hungarian Rose wine that was enjoyable but high in acidity. I enjoyed this project very much and Iâm looking forward toward the next assignment.
” Tenuta Rapitala” A wine with a Sicilian Terrior and a french wine making style of the grape Variety Grillo.
