Daily Archives: March 14, 2017

Retail Analysis Nicole Semeraro

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Since I don’t have the luxury of visiting any unique wine stores in New York City, I have decided to visit a Wine and Liquor store in upstate New York called Thruway Wine and Liquors. This store peaked my interest because it has been around since 1954 and continues to grow. It supports lots of local providers including, Millbrook Vineyards and Winery, Brotherhood Winery, Warwick Valley Winery & Distillery and so many more. The plaza where the store is located in was just redone so everything is brand new and when you walk up to the store it is very warm and inviting with a wide selection of wines inside the store.

The complete store front from walking in 

When I first walked into the store I spoke to a sales woman who had helped show me around and explain any questions I had. My first question to the sales lady was what their most sold red wines are. She continued to explain to me how blends are extremely popular in their store at the moment and showed me a wine called Adobe Red, which is a rich red blend and also their most popular. This wine is from Paso Robles, California and when I did some research on that area I found out it is located between San Francisco and Los Angeles and they are known for their blends. It was displayed in a wooden wine rack surrounded by other popular red wines.

Adobe Red Blend-most sold

After we had finished with the reds she started explain some popular white wines to me. Matua is a very popular brand in their store and it is from Marlborough, New Zealand. According to the sales women it is one of their most sold when it comes to white wines. This wine had peaked my interest since we had just learned about wines in class. Two very popular white bottles from this area and this winery were the Sauvignon Blanc and the Pinot Noir Rose.

Matua Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Noir Rose

Most of the bottles are stored in their main store but I was also informed that they have a back room for inventory and extra bottles. The store also has a separate room that is temperature controlled. This room is specifically for fine wines and they have over 90 different wines from around the world that are top rated. With such a huge variety of wines, this store does a great job at displaying them all and having people who work there that are very knowledgeable of the product they are selling.

Stores temperature controlled room 

Union Square Wines & Spirits

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For my Retail Beverage Shop Analysis, I decided to go to a wine store I had never visited before but had heard a lot about from some of my fellow wine-loving friends: Union Square Wines and Spirits.

Union Square Wines and Spirits is located just a block from Union Square at 140 4th Ave. (bet you didn’t know there was a 4th Ave. in NYC!).

Here is what the entrance looked like as I walked towards it:

The store has been around since 1995 and one can tell just how much those working there appreciate what they do just by speaking with them about their offerings.

The space is quite large, with wine selections from all around the world:

They often host a variety of events including free wine tastings on Saturdays, which I thought was a great supplement to their retail offerings. Not only that, but they even have Enomatic wine machines, which allow them to offer patrons a taste of expensive wines without having to finish the bottle for fear of spoilage.


One of the store’s Enomatic wine machines.

Speaking of expensive, the wines at Union Square Wines and Spirits have surprisingly high price tags compared to those I’ve seen in other wine stores. The lady I spoke to said that this was because they offered only the highest quality wines, but that they also had cheaper selections for those on a budget (the cheapest one I saw was about $10). In fact, there was a sales bin at the entrance offering discounted options for less selective customers. They also offer a section of featured wines to incite their customers to try something new.


A selection of wines from Germany with their (steep) prices.

One thing I particularly liked was that not only did they organize their wines by region, but also by grape variety. You will see an example of both in the photo below, with Sauvignon Blancs, Merlots, Cabernets, Syrahs, and Zinfandels in the background, as well as Australia, Southern France, Rhone and Bordeaux wines in the foreground:

Along with regular wines, this store also offers a great selection of spirits, as well as a wide variety of kosher wines for its Jewish clientele. In fact, they have a kosher wine specialist who researches, buys and helps customers choose their kosher wine in-house.


The kosher wine selection (left) along with some of the spirits on offer (right).

In conclusion, my visit to Union Square Wines and Spirits was a very productive one. I finally got to visit the store that all my oenophile friends had been raving about and see what all the fuss was: this store offers a truly fantastic, well-organized selection of wines, allowing you to browse, taste and explore the wonderful world of wine with the help of their knowledgeable staff for hours on end. Albeit at those prices, one may only want to buy for very special occasions.