For my retail shop analysis, I decided to visit Gnarly Vines and Wine Spirits. This wine shop is located at 350 Myrtle Avenue, in Brooklyn. Approximately 4 blocks away from my home. Before visiting I decided to do some research on them and got a great first impression based on their website. I loved that their philosophy involves wine being about pure enjoyment and that in their shop they’ll tell you what you like and then let you form your own conclusions based on what they’ve told you. Upon their website, they come off as open-minded and very helpful as well as passionate for the wine experience. They mention they offer food pairing and never putting a wine on their shelves unless they really like it. I went into Gnarly Vines with high expectations.

Upon entering the shop, I didn’t automatically speak to anyone to see if I would be approached, however I wasn’t, which was a little disappointing. After taking a roam around the store I approached one of the workers and let her know I was doing a City Tech student and was doing a project. The store was empty, just full of about 5 employees doing restocking. My first impression of the store was that It was decently sized, I thought it was going to be smaller because of how it looked on the outside but I automatically noticed their huge wine selection. I was first interested in what she thought made this store so different from other wine shops. She responded that their take on wine is different in the way that they don’t compromise what they believe in for money. They genuinely believe in handcrafted wines and genuinely believe in the experience of every customer, what they want and look for. She also mentioned they grasp a lot of attention from the neighborhood by having a Wine of the Month Club in which customers can become a member and receive a selection of their favorite wines at $120 a month. They also offer delivery options for their customers and tastings/events. She mentioned all of these things put together really grasp their customers and keep them. I asked them about their pricing for the wines and she mentioned they have wines ranging from $8 to wines that are $300. She then told me to give her 5 minutes, to take a look around the store and to let her know if I had more questions. During this time, I took the opportunity to look around, I noticed that they are very descriptive and detailed with every wine bottle which I personally loved. One thing I didn’t love was how dusty the shelves were. I’m not sure if that’s even a big deal but as a consumer I didn’t like seeing that. Overall my experience out of 10 I would give a 6, I would go back when I turn 21 and perhaps dive more into the experience such as tasting.

Gnarly Vines Wine & Spirits Brooklyn (outside of store)

Wines of Italy

Sparkling Reds

Philosophy of the shop- This grabbed my attention!