PHOTOGRAPHY BY ANNE HAMERSKY Wine buyer Ben Pearson (left) and store manager Jason Schneider at Bottle Barn in Santa Rosa, CA.
Selling Value
W
hen you first walk into Bottle Barn, the phrase you may initially think of is “no-frills.” The warehouse- like environment is played out in what appears at first glance to be a loosely organized concept. Moreover, lots of product is floor-stacked around the store’s ample sell- ing space and much of the shelving is industrial. Even some of the huge wine selection is case-stacked, though there are aisles of wooden bins and racks also filling the store.
But look a bit closer and you will see First Growth Bordeaux, top-rated Burgundies, great Barolos, wines from Spain, Australia, Germany, Austria, and South Africa.
Then there are the wide array of spirits: for exam- 22 • Beverage Dynamics • www.beveragedynamics.com • July/August 2011
Great discounts, a huge selection and a helpful staff make Bottle Barn, in Santa Rosa, CA, a destination store for those in the heart of Sonoma wine country.
By Dan Berger
ple, the range of cognacs, from major brands like Courvoisier and Hennessy to numerous smaller houses; an extensive selection of varied single malt Scotches, and scores of craft brews from some of the hardest-to-find brewers in the country and from around the world. Indeed, those who shop here know that Bottle Barn is a superb fine wine, beer and spirits shop that offers some of the finest brands and specialty items you can imagine. Despite this extensive inventory, wine remains about 70% of the store’s stock and even though the front of the place carries bins with $4.99 wines of quality (some of which once sold for $15), you can get the best of the best: “We get a full allocation of DRC,” said wine buyer Ben Pearson, of Domaine de la Romanee-Conti.
