It was raining and cold before I left the house. I had second thoughts about going there after being stuck in traffic for half an hour. But I decided to get it over with and visited Leiser’s just as I promised its owner. Before my visit, I had called Leiser’s and spoke to a gentleman named Eric Leiser. He politely told me that it was okay for me to research and write about his store.  Out of all wine stores in New York City, I had the opportunity to visit Leiser’s Wines and Liquors over the weekend.

In 1947 Lloyd Leiser Sr. opened Leiser’s Wines & Liquors on 162nd street as a single unit storefront. It had since expanded to 3500 square feet and now carries over 4500 different items in their store. Leiser’s is a well-known wine store in Queens and they currently have a web page where you can literally place orders. Their location is not hard to find since it’s located on the corner of 162^nd and Sanford Avenue. The parking is very easy to find and their store sign is big enough for anyone to see. My first observation of the store’s facade was not very impressive at all. It was an older looking liquor store but bigger compared to the ones found in the city. Perhaps they want to give an impression to prospective customers that they sell alcohol beverages for less. I can’t quite understand why they wouldn’t modernize or update their store due to the fact that they have been in business for over 66 years. I just rationalized in my head that sometimes, it’s not what the store looks like outside but more of what it holds inside.

As soon as I walked into the store, I was amazed at how big the store really was inside. I then walked straight to the cashier and asked for Eric Leiser. They had told me Eric was not able to see me but left a message that it was okay for me to roam around the store taking notes and pictures. After I was allowed to, I proceeded with my investigative research in the store. As I started my walk through, I had found that their floor, walls and shelves are very old as well. On the other hand, the items they sold were neatly placed on the shelves and variety seemed to be there. The first section of wines I got to was all local wines from New York. There were hundreds of local wines displayed on their shelves. Since I was not so familiar with our local wines, I moved on to different sections of wines. The thing I didn’t like about their store is that there were no signs or flags indicating which region of the world wines were from. I had to read all the labels on the wines to know which section I was really in. Instantly I started pondering their reasoning behind not putting signs or flags for different sections. Is it because they wanted to be intimately helpful toward their customers? It can’t be, because the employees were busy stocking new items on the shelves or at the register. I even asked one employee where South African wines were and he just pointed at the section indicating where they were. Once I was by South African wine section, I found no more than 10 or 15 brands of wine imported from South Africa. I was disappointed because they didn’t have the M.A.N. family wine, pinotage 2011 I was looking for. For a large store as such as Leiser’s, I expected to find more selection of wines. I took a mental note not to ever come here for South African wines and moved on to my favorite French wine section.

They had hundreds of French wines on display and I was impressed. Three of the most expensive French wines in their collection were Chateau Carruades de Lafite 2010 appellation Pauillac priced at $360, Chateau Duhart Milon 2010 appellation Pauillac priced at $200 and Chateau Palmer 2006 appellation Margaux priced at $360. One thing I found was that they had great selection of great French wines under $20. Since I was on under $20 wine budget, I tried looking for most interesting wine for myself. Voila! I found one I was very tempted to drink at home for cold raining day such as today. The bottle I found was from Chateau Clos Hortense 2010 appellation Saint Emilion, Bordeaux and it was only $17. I thought it was a fair price to pay for a wine from Bordeaux.

Leiser’s also had large selection of wines from Italy, Chile, Australia and United States. I was not really impressed with their wine selection from Germany and South Africa only because they lacked variety. The wines they had to offer prices ranged from $6 to $600 and everything else in between. This is a great place to go to stock up wines for your average parties or just to enjoy with your love ones at home. The employees there didn’t seem very friendly or seem too eager to help. I would recommend that you know your wines before you go to Leiser’s. Over all experience at Leiser’s was boring because I didn’t see many of the top wines I learned in class but it was simply educational.

This is Leiser’s Liquors link: http://www.leisers.com/

When I cam across this wine shop, I was really interested in walking in and seeing what their concept was about because of how they showcased their primary window.

It is decorated in an April Easter theme with not one wine in the window. With little bunnies, a goose, and some yellow and white tulips. Just the fact that they didn’t try to showcase their best wine show that they aren’t taking compensation from companies to showcase their wine on their window. It makes me feel like this wine shop is putting more of themselves into their image. The lac of excessive bottles on the outside, gives you an image into the warm yellow lighting of the inside. There was also a board on the outside that had a quote on it…

It made me feel like the owner or manager of this specific wine shop is a very spiritual person and views wine as something more than just making money of off it. Going into this wine shop I expected a very relaxed and calm feel to the inside.

When I walked into the wine shop, it wasn’t a huge space but it had an extensive collection of different wines. I wanted to start looking around on my own before actually speaking with one of the sales associates. The area was set up by the region that the wines were from. In the front of the store to the left, in a easily accessible areas, close to the check out counter, were the American whites and reds, to Italians Wines. Then it proceeded to the French Wine section. They have a section for Bordeaux, Loire Reds and Loire Whites, and Burgundy. I noticed that some of the wines were laid out on their backs and others were simply standing up. I asked the sales associate if there is a specific reason as to why they do this with certain wines and not others and she said that they pick certain wines with certain qualities to lay at an angle and now necessarily all the way down because not only does it keep the cork damp, but it also keeps some of the air bubbles at the top of the bottle of wine instead of at the middle which says allows a slower maturation and oxidation.

Right after the section of the French wine, on the other side was the champagne section. and their extensive collection of organic wines. This specific winery is know for their organic wines.

I asked the sales associate what specifically made organic wine organic and she said that when the grapes are being grown, the viticulture practices have to be in accordance with what labels food organic, meaning that there isn’t any use of pesticides, chemical fertilizers etc. She stated that the Vinification practices have to be ALSO be organic, which means that there is little to no manipulation to the flavor and taste of the wine (no oak chips). She said that not many of the wines that are organic will say it on the label, so their customer really trust their words and knowledge when picking our the right wine. This organic wine is very popular to the people surrounding the neighborhood. This made sense to me since this wine shop is located in park slope.

The staff was really friendly and I could tell that the sale associate knows their information. She states that she gets the enthusiasm from the manager. She is very passionate about wines and is a very insightful person. She believe that people aren’t really taught to differentiate taste and smell and that when most people come into a wine shop they feel extremely intimidated. She takes joy in welcoming people into the world of wine.

The winery does wine tasting certain days and times.

They do this in their outdoor patio garden. It is nothing that is exquisite, but I believe that the patio goes perfect with the wine shop and how it presents itself.

I am really glad I was able to visit this wine shop. When I was strolling around the shop, I felt really good because I was able to recognize Grape Varieties and Appellations. If I had walked into this wine shop anytime before taking my wine class I would not have been able to have an intellectual conversation or ask the right questions to the sales associate. She didn’t really know the answer to ALL of my questions, but she was able to provide me information that I did not know. I would definitely be coming back to the shop when the manager is actually in.

The wine shop I visited was “Grand Wine and Liquor”. This shop is located in 30-05 31TH street Astoria, NY 11102. This wine shop is in a good location because it is closer to the N/R train station and it is distinguish by their big blue canopy. The front of the store advertises different varieties and popular brands of spirits on their windows to attract the attention of clients.

Upon entering to the store, I saw a cashier whom I introduce myself letting her know that I am a wine student from City Tech in Brooklyn. I ask her for permission to take pictures inside of the store and she kindly said “Yes, no problem”. This store has monthly calendar days of wine tasting which I think is fantastic as it attracts new clients that will purchase some wine, and also an opportunity for students like us to explore and learn more about the wine industry. The store also uses plenty of advertisement offering lower prices on their products, displaying them inside and outside of the store.

The store had a very interesting layout; on the entrance they have two fridges containing white wines and champagne bottles. These fridges are located there for one reason. The clerk explains to me that some clients want their bottle ready to consume as soon as they get home, saving them time cooling off their purchased product.

It was a surprise for me to see that this store is offering more variety of wines than spirits. The layout of the wines started on the right side with the France section, advertising Loire in a post. The france section started with different AOC such as St. Emilion, Margaux/St.Estephe, Merdoc and Cahors. In this section, I recognize the wines from Bordeaux with different appellations. It was really interesting and helpful having some tags posted on the aisles for example a France bottle from Rhone Valley where the tag has the description of the color, the aroma expected, and the balance on the wine.

On the same aisle, after the France section it continues with the California wines which are the biggest section in this store. They divided the California section from the variety of grapes, the first section started with Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noir, Sirah and Zinfandel.

Other wines are located in the back area, displaying wines from different countries such as Australia, their most popular brand Yellow Tail. One interesting fact is that this wine is produced by Casella Wines Pty Ltd based in Yenda, Australia, which has a population of approximately 1400 people. Also wines from Croatia, Romania, Hungary Bulgaria and many other countries.

On the left side they have located the Italian wine section which is identified with an Italy map in a poster. I was excited because this was our passed lecture in class, in which I could identify wines from different regions and learned a variety of wines such as Tuscano and bottles labeled with DOC’s.

Another section in the left side is the Latin-American section and it was identifiable with an Argentine map in a poster. I know we will be studying this area soon during class. Based on The Sommelier book, “Argentina ranks fifth in world in terms of total wine production”. That is amazing.

The last section on the left side was located the Spirit section. This section was identifiable with different post promoting Gin, Tequila and Rum. One interesting and expensive spirit was a “Remi Martin Louis XIII” with a price tag of only $999,999.99!! Unfortunately I left my credit card at home.

I notice that this shop has a wide price selection ranging from $9.99 and up. Besides the advertisement outside of the store, they have flyers inside offering special discounts and also business cards for their clients. Also, their website which is really convenient because you can choose a wine from the variety of grapes or the types of beverage you wants. www.grandliquors.com

I think one area to improve is perhaps having a shelf full of wines located in the middle of the store displaying a variety from different countries. One of the sale assistant told me that the reason for not having that shelf is because they don’t have more space, for that reason they have to mix it, even though the shelf is label by the variety of grape.

It was an amazing experience to visit this shop and do this assignment. I really enjoy seeing how wine shops organize different sections. Also, understand and differentiate the appellations, AVA’s, DOC’s. Thanks professor Goodland for this assignment!