My first ever wine retail experience was quite exciting, where I got to spend it with my college friends in experiencing it together. This experience is something I would never forget, since this was my first ever walking into a wine retail store.

When I first saw the front of the store I couldn’t believe that it was actually a wine retail store because the signs and surrounding was not some place I would’ve thought a wine retail store would be placed. Next to the store were hotels, high end restaurants, and a wide range of clothing stores. However, when you look at the front they have writings and displays of wine glasses that cashes your attention of what their wines they sell inside. The sign was light pick and in big fonts “Crush Wine & Spirits.”

So, has you walk inside the automatic doors open for you and you see a lovely display of spirits in front of you with different grape varieties from France to the red side of the wall. As I looked around I tried to find someone whom I might’ve spoke to on the phone before going there; all I saw was a woman sitting in the front on the computer. So, as I approached her I asked her I called a day before to ask if we would get a tour of the place and ask questions about wine. All she could say was oh okay, but let me see if we have anyone available.

This gave me the impression of unsatisfied customer service and a bad hospitality service to someone who clearly was supposed to communicate with other staffs before leaving for the day. This led me to an unpleasing first impression of the place; so as I said okay then… can we at least walk around and take pictures for our assignment. Even though, she gave us permission to walk around, I was still unsatisfied with so many questions of what is the most expensive wine, what are some wines customers buy most, where do you store all your wines, and how much to you sell roughly every week?

Each questions were answered by their manager; Veronica Stoler said as followed:

1. What is the most expensive wine?

The store manager Veronica Stoler told us that customers buy the Louis XIII do Remy Martin all because of the brand name. The name of the wine is what the customers are buying, not the taste of the cost of the wine itself.

2. What are some wines customers buy most?

As for the wines customers buy most are really depending on the years they were produced or the grape variety they are produced by, is what the customers mainly look for. So, she said the wines that she has seen so far was the 2009 wine that people enjoy most because during that time the weather and climates were the best. Which made them the top sellers.

3. Where do you store all your wines?

Well, as for storing their wines, she brought my friends and I to a glassed room with rubber floors and a cooling machine that keeps the wines cool and moist in every wine bottle. As for the rubber floors, it is to keep the vibrations when walking, from affecting the wines inside the storage.

4. How much to you sell roughly every week?

Veronica Stoler couldn’t really give use an actual amount, but when thinking carefully she said about 2,100 bottles. Which includes both online and in store sellers.

As you can see, Crush Wine & Spirits is a store that shows both grape varieties and spirit wines from France. Each part of the store shows that they are mainly about France wine which is one part of the worlds wine. Veronica Stoler is a well knowledge manager that was kind and respectful enough to answer our questions and curiosities. I am very thankful to her for providing more knowledge for my friends and I about wine. Overall, my experience to visiting a wine retail store was exciting and informative to learning about wine.