In a recent conversation thread posted online, Cultivate Wines asked customers what they thought of the future of the wine business.
For Stew Leonard Jr., Jerry Martellaro and even daughter Blake Leonard ”“ one of Cultivate Wines”™ newest employees ”“ the future appears very bright indeed.
Wine Enthusiast Magazine named Stew Leonard”™s Wines as its retailer of the year, recognizing the Stew Leonard”™s affiliate”™s focus on wine education and annual sales of $100 million after just over a decade in business.
“It was a double take,” said Stew Leonard Jr., asked for his reaction to winning the award. “I”™m also very proud. Everyone works hard.”
In addition to Yonkers, Stew Leonard”™s Wines has eight stores in New York, Connecticut and New Jersey.
“Stew Leonard”™s is a great choice for our retailer of the year,” Adam M. Strum, editor and publisher of Wine Enthusiast Magazine, said in a statement. “Their legendary customer service and great pricing, combined with a great selection of wines, creates a friendly, affordable entry point into wine for customers not really comfortable with such purchases. And there”™s plenty for the more experienced wine lover as well.”
It was not the first time the magazine has presented its merchant award to a chain ”“ in 2009, A&P”™s Best Cellars took the prize, with locations including stores in Fairfield County, Conn., and Whole Foods was recognized in 2007. Still, for a company best known as “the world”™s largest dairy store,” it marked a major validation for Stew Leonard”™s foray into wine ”“ and which in turn led Blake Leonard to become the first member of the Leonard family”™s third generation to take an external job that could potentially groom her for a managerial position at Stew Leonard”™s.
Asked if a connoisseur might prove more knowledgeable in some areas to the rank-and-file staff at Stew Leonard Wines, company Vice President Jerry Martellaro acknowledged that could be the case, but added anyone can come away having learned a thing or two, including experts.
“It would be a good repartee,” Martellaro said. “We have a couple people on staff who can tell you what the soil content is ”¦ It”™s more like, ”˜This would be great with a steak.”™”
As the case with Stew Leonard”™s Market, however, the company”™s wine stores focus just as much on telling the back-stories of its suppliers.
“You can put five different chardonnays or five pinot grigios on a shelf, but what sets them apart?” Martellaro said.
Stew Leonard Jr. said the stores”™ staffers taste shipments before stocking them and that for his part, learning about the wine business has taken a bit of moonlighting.
“I go from the food guy to the wine guy at 6 p.m.,” he said. “It”™s like the werewolf.”
U.S. wine consumption increased 2.1 percent last year, according to estimates by Beverage Information Group, a Norwalk-based market research company that publishes an annual Wine Handbook. Beverage Information Group said domestic wineries fared particularly well due to a weak dollar squelching wine imports.
Stew Leonard”™s Wine has no immediate plans to capitalize on its newfound fame by opening additional stores, Martellaro said, but it remains a possibility down the road.
In the meantime, Stew Leonard says he won”™t spare his daughter a little competitive razzing at Thanksgiving on the wine front ”“ perhaps over a Malbec, Leonard”™s wine kick at the moment.
“Yeah of course,” he said. “But remember that the only thing I ”˜get”™ at a restaurant when it comes to wine is the bill.”
