Category Archives: Uncategorized

RETAIL BEVERAGE SHOP ANALYSIS

Posted on by
5

GRAND WINE AND LIQUOR

For my analysis, I decided to visit Grand Wine and Liquor in Queens, located at 30-05 31st St, Astoria. As advised, I contacted the store manager through email to arrange an appointment prior to my visit. Unfortunately I was told by a lady in the store that GM was in the store but unable to meet me. Unable to tell me in person, she emailed me saying to arrange another day with her. Not wasting any more time I decided to just do a little tour around myself with no assistance offered and took a couple of picture with permission.

The store itself is quiet big, selling a large variety of wines, and small variety of liquors. The newly renovated store is neat with clean wooden floorings and glass windows that stretch the entire width of the store. The store has two long wine racks displaying their variety of the wines. And at the back end are three large chiller for some white wines, champagnes and sparkling wines.

The first rack and on the right side are a large variety of American wines coming mainly from California and Oregon. The bottles are arranged according to the state/region and the type of grapes. On the front section of the shelves that is labelled ā€œStaff Pickā€, there is a small selection of wines from various regions. And for each different wine producer, small notes are written on a cue card which I believe are positive feedbacks from customers. On the left side of the rack, three quarter of the wines are French wines, offering wines from Bordeaux, Loire, Burgundy, Alsace and Rhone. And on the last one quarter of the rack, it is shared between Germen and Austrian wines. Both have a very small selection of wines offering only one white wine from each country.

On the second rack, on the right side, it is shared between Chile, Argentina and Australia. The Chilean and Australian wines offers a good variety of wines and balanced between the white and the red wines. As for the Argentinian and New Zealand wines, only a small variety of Argentinian wines, offering only Chardonnay for their white wine and mostly white for the New Zealand wines.

On the other side of the rack, it is shared between four categories of wines, South African, Dessert wines, sparkling wines and champagnes. The South African wines offers a good variety of wines with balanced selection between the red and white. A small selection of dessert wines offered are Sherry, Marsala and Port. And Iā€™m not sure if Ice wine is considered dessert wine, but I was also available. As for the sparkling and champagne wines, surprisingly the store offers only a small selection.

Coming back on a different day with an appointment made again with the GM. And again sheā€™s unable to meet me in person to answer the questions that Iā€™ve prepared. She sent a store assistant to assist me with the questions. The questions are:

How do the store choose their wine selection?

  • They choose their wines based on the customersā€™ demands. And Greek wines is one that they have included as it was more demanded around their neighborhood. Also they try to balance the selection of wines from the Old and New world

How do you store your wines?

  • They donā€™t have any wine cellar or chiller rooms. They only store them in the basement and only controlling the temperature in the basement.

Any particular vineyard/wineries that you get the wines from?

  • And the assistance only recommended to visit vineyard in Long Island.

The only negative about the store is the GM. Very unprofessional when it comes to replying emails. Even when appointment was made for my second visit, she was unable to meet me.

IMG_1820 IMG_1816 IMG_1819 IMG_1818 IMG_1817

Retail Beverage Shop Analysis

Posted on by
2

Eliana Guerron
Professor Goodlad
HMGT 2402

For my beverage shop analysis I went to visit a liquor store near my home, called Liquor Town & Fine Wines located on 135-21 Crossbay Blvd, Ozone Park ,Queens. I was amazed at the selection of wines and spirits. As soon as you enter to the right side they have the display of spirits, each section with the respective sign. Toward the back they have the display of wines mostly from the United States and some from Italy, France, Australia, Germany, and South America. There was also an area for organic wines and also another area for kosher wines. This is the first time I see an area for kosher wine in a wine store. I asked one of the attendants for wines from Spain. He toke me to the second floor full of old world wines, most of them from France. They were displayed by region, some from Burgundy, Bordeaux, Rhone North and South. I thought to my self if I wasnā€™t studying wine I wouldnā€™t know the differences among the different regions from France. It was really interesting to see the way they organized the wines by region and varietal each with its specific labels. The display was also elegant. The pro of this wine shop is that the presentation of the wines makes it easy for the consumer to find what they are looking for. The con is the workers are not too informed about wines. They were hesitant to answer the questions and, in fact, told me I should email the manager with my questions. He never got back to me.

Liquor Town and Fine Wines store front

Liquor Town and Fine Wines store front

photo

red wines

 

In comparison when I went to visit the other store close to home called Deeganā€™s Wines and Liquor, what a difference it was. The owner was very approachable. They have been in business since 1979. The store wasnā€™t as big as the previous one, the display was simple, not as broad and modern as in the other store. The store is small but the owner told me that they have a lot space for storage because they sell mostly by cases ,but the owner was happy to answer my questions. She said that the most popular wines she sells are red wines from France, Argentina, and California. She said that an increase in wine sales came after a news story 20 years ago about why French people who drink wine have lower cholesterol even though they eat a lot of food with butter. They rotate the vintage, and put bottles on sale to prevent overstocking.

Deegan's Wines and Liquors store front

Deegan’s Wines and Liquors store front

red wines display

red wines display

White wine display

White wine display

Spirits display

Spirits display

Dundee Hills, Oregon: Pinot Noir Country and So Much More

Posted on by
Reply

In March 2014 I was in the Oregon wine country, touring tasting and learning. Lea003rning a lot. I drove north from Salem towards Dundee, and at first I felt that the wine country was quite similar to Long Island but boy was I wrong. Yes, there were flat places and a maritime climate. Yes, there were sod farms and farm stands with local produce but that is about where it ends. What I thought were apple trees were filbert trees, where on Long Island there would be flat land at every 007turn in the Willamette Valley a turn off the road can lead up a steep hill.

The maritime climate was showing at its peak with grey skies, a deep dense fog and a constant mist and light rain. It was cool and the damp March air was heavy, blanketing the vines as they rested for the winter. I was able to just see the faint outlines of the hills that surround the valley and the pine trees that tower over head with their commanding presence. Their beauty helped make this region unique.

021 019On Dundee hill various vineyard management philosophies were evident. At White RoseĀ  Winery: http://whiteroseestate.com/ the vines were trained very close to the ground to accommodate for the fog that often covers their vineyards. With some vines pruned and others still showing their canes the growth that takes place was evident. The pruned vines sat just inches from the ground but the canes shot up over six feet from the ground. I had seen this type of pruning before but only in books.

Just a few hundred yards away was Domaine Drouhin: 015http://www.domainedrouhin.com/en/ and Archery Summit: http://www.archerysummit.com/, their properties are adjacent to each other but their planting styles are worlds apart. At Domaine Drouhin their vines are planted very close together, spaced about three feet apart and four feet wide. This dense planting results in more vines per acre than many of the surrounding vineyards but they tend to drop a significant amount of fruit leading to similar yields per acre.027 Archery is on the south side of the hill and uses wider planting and a north-south planting pattern.

This is Pinot Noir country and the wines express their sites beautifully. Though, through all this Pinot Noir I was surprised to see chardonnay on the tasting menu at Domaine Drouhin. They use a Dijon clone and have had great success in this cool maritime climate. Earlier wine makers tried to use other clones with less success, Drohin, however, shows beautifully with a balance between a crisp French style and new world expressions.

My visit to Domaine Serene http://www.domaineserene.com/ was inspired by Prof. Roger Dagorn, MS. ā€œA must seeā€ he said and he was right. I found elegance here, not only in the030 wine but in the winery too. The lawn and winery are immaculate and all encompassing with a wrought iron mastodon on the lawn created by a local artist representing a time long gone. The wines I tried were the Evenstad Reserve, 2009 and 2012 Pinot Noir they had red fruits on the nose and pallet yet was beautifully spicy as well. The heat of the 2009 vintage was evident and will ensure the wine lasts for many years to come.

My last visit was to The Four Graces http://thefourgraces.com/, a wine we use in the wine class to show the style of Oregon Pinot Gris. Unlike the previous wineries the tasting room for Four Graces is on the valley floor at the edge of the town of Dundee. The tasting experience here was warm and friendly, relaxed yet intense with site specific details. Here I did not stay with only Pinot Gris and Pinot Blanc from their various vineyards but of course tried their Pinot Noirs as well. Of outstanding mention was the Black Family Estate wines http://thefourgraces.com/vineyards/black-family-estate-vineyard.html. Though they are labeled as Willamette Valley they are predominately Dundee. This was among the most full body of the Pinots I tasted on this day and well worth my final stop.

As in many wine producing areas locally sourced food is of great importance. If you ever do get a chance to visit the Willamette Valley be sure to have lunch at Red Hills Market http://www.redhillsmarket.com/. Ā They offer local food at great prices. The roasted ham sandwich with honey butter and melted gruyere was a treat as was the salad made with those local filberts that seem to be everywhere. Finish with a Stumptown coffee and then head back to Portland.

So, as I sit and write this post I am happy to add another wine region to my travels, another experience spent talking to people with passion and a deep understanding of their vineyards and wine. I love that in so many of the wine regions I have traveled there is outstanding locally sourced food and art that inspires. Wine has a way of bringing the best of what is available to one place and that is evident in Willamette Valley.

034 029010 024 026025

Champagne vs. Prosecco and more French Wine

Posted on by
Reply

I do not really love that the wines are being compared as they are only similar in that they are both sparkling wines. That said, this is a good way to learn about both. Please share your thoughts with the class about sparkling wine. Do you have a favorite?

Wine Folly Champagne/Prosecco

http://winefolly.com/review/champagne-vs-prosecco/

While you are at it, why not think about more sparkling wine Wine Folly French Sparklers

http://winefolly.com/review/sparkling-wines-france-much-champagne/

Coffee, Per Eater

Posted on by
Reply

So this IS aĀ beverage course, so let’s explore another beverage…coffee. Share what you like about coffee. Here is a post by EATer on NYC coffee. My favorite, Brooklyn Roasting Company (just down the street at 25 Jay Street), is not on the list but I still respect what they wrote about:Ā Best Cafe Coffee http://ny.eater.com/maps/best-cafe-coffee-shop-new-york-city-brooklyn-queens

What is your favorite coffee shop? Is it on the list?

Let me know of you try any of the shops on here.