The wine store I chose was September Wines & Spirits. It is located by Ludlow St and Stanton. The Place was quite small with an array of wines arranged by region.

Upon entering the place after the snow we had over a couple of days, they are still putting their new wine shipments into appropriate places. I was greeted by a gentleman named Ian. I introduced myself as a student studying hospitality management and doing an assignment for my wine class. Ian helped me throughout my questions as I was quite confused how their wine categories are almost all over the place. Nevertheless this created a unique selection.

I am not that new to wine because of my background working in restaurants and nightclubs so I have basic knowledge of wines and what I do like and don’t like.

In front of the store there is a section that they change every month. For Women’s month, they have decided to have a collection of wine offerings that are made by women. Although this is quite confusing if the owner is a woman, or the founder is but I was told that it is women that are actually making the wine.

I then came across with one of the wine they carry from Airlie vineyards. The AVA is from Willamette Valley in Oregon and the wine owner, Mary Olson is a woman, the marketing(labeling designer) Kim Swecker is a woman, the wine maker by the name Elizabeth Clark is also a woman.

I actually purchased the wine and tasted it myself. The wine is called 7, which is a blend of, you guessed it! 7 different grape varietals. I also found signs of carbonation when I poured it which bubbled more than usual. Below are my tasting notes.

Wine name: Seven
Grape Varietal:  Müller Thurgau, Pinot gris, Riesling, Gewürztraminer, Chardonnay, Pinot blanc, Muscat Ottonel.
Vintage : 2014
Appearance:  Clear, Light body
Nose:  Lemongrass, melon and hints of pear
Palate: Pineapple, Juicy and there are signs of carbonation

This was quite interesting for me and they also have a section for Organic Wine and Bio dynamic Wines. The prices of the wines are on the pricier end. The cheapest one I found was at the range of $13 and have seen up to a $46 a bottle for a Brunello di Montalcino.

Overall, the lay-out of the store was confusing in the beginning but the employees was quite knowledgeable in directing you to how they arrange the wines. They are also pretty helpful in recommending wines and I think the Monthly “Special” was very interesting in changing things up to bring new exciting things that will attract patrons.

Kert Lasdoce
Follow @Wolves_Can_Cook

The store certainly attracts the attention of potential buyers with their bold choice of color.

My retail wine store of choice is BottleRocket Wine & Spirits; located at 5 W 19th Street around the Flatiron District.

What immediately caught my attention is store’s bright purple neon sign and its purple theme color. That gave me the impression of a cool, hip and trendy store.

Something I found interesting is the way they have categorized some of their selections of wine to a food pairing. Some that are shown here are for Meats, Poultry, Seafood, and different kinds of Takeout. There is also one for your value price wines.

Upon entering I noticed the different display stands. Each one can be used to look for a specific occasion wine that a customer may have in mind of purchasing. A sales associate helped answer my questions and explained to me the way the wines were assorted. Instead of being arranged by grape varietals, like most stores, the wines were alphabetically grouped by country of origin. To someone who may still be developing their palate or in need of a wine to pair for a meal, this is a helpful tool.

Once familiarized with  the store’s system of organization I began asking my list of questions.

What is the stores most prevalent demographic?
“We are a neighborhood store that serves towards our local clientele.”

What kind of wines would you recommend for someone developing their palate?
“For the Reds a light to medium body is a good way to start out because of the  lesser amount of tannin. That being said a Grenache or a Pinot Noir from France is a good way to go. As for the Whites , and aromatic Alsace or White Burgundy is a good choice as well.”

The display stand makes it easy for the consumer to identify the kinds of body the reds are. Medium bodied reads are shown to the right; Light bodied reds are shown to the left.

White wines display stand presenting their “bubbly” array of wines.

At Bottlerocket they are all about wine education. Next to each selection of wine is a set of informative tasting notes and suggestive pairing options. They provide free tastings Thursday-Saturday from 5 to 8pm.

I visited Heights Chateau on Atlantic Avenue.

Firstly, the shop itself is quaint. Upon entry, it does seem a bit overwhelming, but as you peruse the aisles, you’ll quickly realize there is an order in which these many bottles are arranged. The first thing you run into when you enter the doors is the checkout counter. I thought to myself “it would probably be impossible to steal from here” but I later found out that isn’t the case. The manager of 20 plus years whom I spoke with (whose name I forgot the moment I left) mentioned that, the store experiences shrinkage on spirits- specifically Grey Goose and Hennessy.

The first thing you see when you enter.

A view of the entire store.

The checkout counter was a bit dusty and cluttered by display cases of wines and some paper goods. I was told that the store doesn’t carry too many supplemental supplies to be paired with a bottle of wine simply because of lack of storage and wasting capital. Staff members have extensive wine knowledge and are able to solicit pairing suggestions to clients. There was,n however, a wicker basket full of wine openers on the checkout counter.

This was very interesting to see that this alternative is offered

The manager and I walked through the aisles with him pointing out to me the wines are separated by region and variety (red, white, rose). The organization of the store made sense, however, the signage was outdated and unappealing. The idea behind the paper signs are functional and great for reeling customers in and allowing them to locate wine by region of their choice. The signage is due for replacement as it is flimsy and faded. There were also paper flyers announcing the dates and times in which their distributors would be conducting tastings.

Some of the sparkling wines were refrigerated.

The boxed wines weren’t on the same wall units as the bottled. They were in their own smaller section near the spirits.

Heights Chateau doesn’t always offer discounts, but this is an example of what the savings would be.

While in the aisles, the manager was sure to tell me one thing I would not find is the supply of Romanee Conti (a red wine hailing from Burgundy). This wine is priced at $3000 per bottle and is kept downstairs in the basement for security purposes. Customers did have access to wines from countries including USA, France, Austria, Israel, Spain, South Africa, New Zealand, Australia and more. Customers are able to find Kosher, boxed, sparkling wine, and more.

Heights Chateau has more female patrons than male. According to the shop keepers, women mostly purchase Rose and White.

Nice to put a face to the name after learning about it.

Red wines of Italy

My takeaway from the interview and walk through experience: Wine is all about perspective and is truly subjective. A $15 bottle of wine may do for me what a $3000 bottle of wine may do for someone else. This is not to say that every wine from every region will taste similarly, it’s all about preference. The appearance of this particular location doesn’t hinder any sales, as the store has an abundance of regulars. Additionally, the store manages to attracts clients in other ways like free delivery within the 5 boroughs, promotional bags (an employee chosen recommendation bag of wine bottles and a free reusable tote) and a wine of the month club. Though this may not be the case for other wine retailers, Heights Chateau’s sales and retention is not visibly influenced or affected by the ambient conditions.

My family frequents the liquor whenever there a celebration to have, and with my cultural background, there is always something to celebrate. This liquor store that I visited back in February is one that we frequent often, and though I’m not of drinking age I can give my opinion that I rather favor the shop. Upon entering the store, I was able to get help right away from the staff members at the cash register who then lead me to Trueman Haskell III who is the General Manager of Wine and Spirits Discount Warehouse. He was able to answer all my questions though there weren’t too many, and with me already knowing the store I only need info mostly on their wine section. Here are some pictures I was able to take of the wine choices they had, such as their red section that included Merlot, the white section where I found our recent study if Sauvignon Blanc, and of course, box wine.

As I went further into to the store near the back I found a refrigerator that I’m familiar with that holds the wine I see when I walk in. Trueman told me that where they keep most of the wines that don’t see, which is a way for them to move product that hasn’t done well on profit. This actually clarifies why whenever my brothers and I walk in there a note is on the door explaining some type of sale. Which we usually walk past, to be honest.

The wine that is refrigerated and may be resold

The box wine was something I’ve always heard of but, has never actually seen; it was later explained that there’s usually a pouch inside to hold the wine because I couldn’t figure out how something like that was possible.

Near the front of the store all the way to the left I found where another good part of their wines resides in regions rather than grape variety. From New York to Australia to Syrah there were many wines there waiting for the seals to be broken. By the end of my visit, I felt I had more than enough info and thanked Trueman for his help. Here are the questions I asked along with his answers in quotations.

What are some wines you desire to have in your shop?

“We have a little bit of everything. Wine is very diverse so we try to take it all in”

What are some struggles you have while in this location?

“There isn’t much to complain about. We’re right next to grocery store (ShopRite), so business is good.”

What are your best sellers/where do most of your profit go?

“Most of our wine profit goes to the less expensive names such as Yellow Tail, and Barefoot, which go for $10-$12.”

Do You make your own wine?

“No, I leave that for the pros”

Below I took a picture of some that caught my eye, I should warn you I know very little about wine and mostly just like liquor/alcohol for the pretty bottles.

Country- America Region- California Grape Variety- Cabernet Sauvignon Vintage- 2013 Producer- Down By Law

Country- New Zealand Region- Marlborough Grape Variety- Sauvignon Blanc Vintage- 2015 Producer- Starborough