Retail Beverage Shop Analysis – Donna Chow

The following Retail Beverage Shop I visited was called Heights Chateau. It is located in Brooklyn on 123 Atlantic Ave.

This is a visual of the the outside of WIne Shop. “Heights Chateau”. Taken on Atlantic Avenue.

They had this post-stand outside of the store on a Friday, that stated there were those drinks during those hours that they were promoting.

Another way this wine shop promotes their beverages is by holding tasting events. Which I witnessed that day of, there was an employee advertising to customers about Gin.(even me, but I kindly said no.

At first, this project made me quite nervous because I have never been to a Wine Shop before. Afterwards, I found that it was not as bad, because we have discussed over the questions that could be asked at the Wine Shop. Other than that, I found that the process was not very difficult at all. The first reason is because the employees are very customer friendly. A couple employees came over and asked if I needed any assistance a couples times. Another reason was that I found the store very cozy and calming. The interior design of the store appearance kind of stunned me because instead of aisles of groceries, they were many many different types of wine.  I was very fascinated about how organized and how each category of wines were placed. Correct me if I’m wrong, I think the store placed their wines very distinctively according to the locations, in a specific order.

I was very excited, when I noticed the wines of the countries our class has spoken about such as New Zealand wines, South Africa, Europe, places in the U.S.A., or even the wine variety names such as Sauvignon Blanc, Sparkling Wines, Zinfandel, and numerous more. I did acknowledge that within a country, there are different variety of grapes produced, therefore there were different wines coming from that specific location.

Heres an example of how they label the type of wine or origin of the wine. They also show a sample of how to distinguish whether the wine is Biodynamic, Organic, from Washington/ Oregon, or from New York

There was an employee who kindly answered my questions. With no hesitation she answered my questions without even having to think. She appeared to explain with very understanding way, so I understood her.

The first question asked was,

  • Which wine is most popular and why? The employee explained to me Italian wines because the owner of the shop is Italian and also because of the local customers. She also, stated that the shop was family owned.

Another question asked was

  • How much is a customer paying for a bottle of wine everyday? She stated around $15-$20. I thought to myself, “Wow, this industry must make a lot of income.” There are also, weekly specialized deals as low as $12.99.

When I asked,

  • What temperature do you store/ serve a certain wine? She said our store does not serve wine and they mention because we are “off-premise” which triggered my wine vocabulary. It is a regulation that they are not supposed to serve wine. However, they hold events where you can taste beverages.
  • As for the temperature, they have a cellar underground which they keep at 55 degrees Fahrenheit. However, the temperature of the store is around 68 degrees.

As for, How do you choose the wine you sell?

  • She stated, “We taste them first.” I believe that would be firsthand knowledge to know your stores beverages in order to sell them to customers. To precisely make decisions in promoting your wines especially during on-premise locations or special events.

I kind of regretted that I forgot to ask for the employees name and a little about her for me to share. With her experience, she knew what I came here for, she also asked what college I was from. I thank her very much for answering my questions.

I would definitely introduce the shop Heights Chateau to my classmates and maybe to others who are interested in wine to go there.

 

 

5 thoughts on “Retail Beverage Shop Analysis – Donna Chow

  1. Hi Donna, from reading your post, I think you must have had a great experience from visiting Heights Chateau! I was also very interested in the information and knowledge you gained from the lady who helped you with your question. I hope I could visit Heights Chateau next time too!

  2. I’ve been here before with a friend for the same project we’re doing and in comparison, I could say they had a lot more for wine than with my store. When I walked through Heights Chateau everything was in front of you. Labeled so you knew exactly what you’re looking at. Unlike with my store, I felt unless I knew what I was looking for on any other day I would be lost, unfortunately.

  3. Hi Donna. I like they provide the regions it’s very helpful customers to see clearly because sometimes people choose by the specific region.

  4. We have a senior at City Tech conducting their internship with NY Distilling company, I like that you were able to learn about their product. Since you were nervous this was a wise location to choose, it is small and intimate. It seems like you learned a lot.

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