Johanna Rugerio

This is a 2013 Propreita Sperino Lessona from Piedmont, Italy. It’s made from Nebbiolo, a grape variety. This is a Red wine from Italy.

This is 2017 Allee Bleue Chenin Blanc from South Africa. This is a white wine from a region I didn’t know they made wine. This is a great wine for those who enjoy Chardonnay who are interested in trying other varities.

“Women in Winemaking”

This is the wine that was recommended to me to purchase, Sempervirent, a 2018 Rose Wine from Southern France

    I decided to go to Brooklyn Wine Exchange located at 138 Court St, Brooklyn. I noticed the outside of the store was very modern. It didn’t look like a store that has been passed down to generations. When I walked in I introduced myself and explained what my purpose of the visit was. The gentlemen gave me a business card and informed me to reach out to Tim, he was the liaison to speak with regarding the different wines. I was actually impressed with the fact they had someone dedicated to speak about wines. Later to find out, they also offer free wine tasting and classes for those who would like to join. These classes are free to the public on the daily basis, first come first serve. I think this is a great way to interact with customers and involve those who would like more about the wine industry.

    When one of the main things that caught my attention was the brick walls in the store. Made me feel like I was in a winery in Italy or France. I also saw a few barrels in a back room. The backroom is used for the free wine classes. Tim also said not only do they taste wine but they also go over the different regions. They had a class about the different Scotch Styles, they go over the price range, the type of grapes, alcohol percentage and how old the bottles are. They also have cheese and crackers like we do in class. Tasting them, spitting out and describing them.

    As he was helping out a customer, I started to look around. The bottles didn’t over crowd each other, so it didn’t feel overwhelming. Each bottle had labels on it and each label had the location of the wine and a quick description. You would think they would organize the wine by region but they organized the wine by white or red wines. I was actually impressed because they had wines from places like Spain, Australia, Germany and much more! Another thing that impressed me was that they had a section called “Women in Wine Winemaking”, the different wines that were produced by women in the wine industry and their brief history. Did you guys know there was wine with no Sulfur? I was pretty shocked to find out. He said the purpose certain wineries don’t add sulfur is because they don’t want to destroy the ultimate expressions of the grape. These kinds of wines would be considered raw. I would think they cost like around $50 or above but they could actually start at $14.

    Overall, I really felt like they had the right idea in creating this store. Not just to sell wine but to inform them where these wines came from and who made them. Then I was helped out to pick my wine to take home, of course I paid for it. He asked me do I like my wine full bodies, do I like spices, fruitiness or citrus. I was recommended with Sempervirent, a 2018 Rose Wine from Southern France. It has under-ripe strawberries with white peach and something else.  

    I also went to Granada Wines and Spirit located on 117 Smith St, Brooklyn NY 11201. Caught my attention because it looked rustic from the outside, a store that was created in the 70’s. When I walked in the store the first thing I noticed it looked like a regular liquor store, all bottles stacked up against each other, I didn’t know where to look first. I introduced myself to a gentleman and informed him what my purpose was for visiting the store. Later to find out he was the owner of the store. I asked if he was the appropriate person to make an appointment with to ask questions about the different kinds of wines. Anthony, the liaison who is the appropriate  person to ask questions regarding the wine wasn’t in until 4pm that wednesday. The owner automatically just told me he’s only at the location on Wednesdays at 4pm and he also didn’t have an email, number or even a business card to make an appointment. I felt like he dismissed me since I wasn’t purchasing anything.