The Tasting Panel magazine

March 2015

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58  /  the tasting panel  /  march 2015 WOMEN OF THE VINE T o say the nation's largest wine markets have an abundance of purveyors and products would be a major understatement. Cities and their metropolitan areas are studded with retail outlets—and a deluge of distributors, importers and suppliers descend on these off-premise accounts. They tote their wine bags brimming with fermented juice into retail stores, and they bring a tried-and-true plan of action. Mass-market retailers generally get the mass-produced wine; the single- location store or boutique wine shop usually sees the more premium brands and the small-case-production rarities. The Chicago market is slightly different. Yes, there are on-the-go wine shoppers just grabbing mid-priced Cabernet Sauvignon at the supermar- ket—steeling themselves against the gales of winter. But a number try to devote a bit of precious weekend time to the big-box wine store, or sometimes even settle in at the fluorescent-averse local wine shop. Going local has always been hip in Chicago: Drive-thru fast food plays second fiddle to the stand- in-line hot dog hut; the House of Blues is a distraction compared with the authenticity of cramped neighborhood jazz lounge. So what about a still-developing wine program at a major retailer known for medicine and scores of beauty products? Specifically, Walgreens—the ubiquitous pharmacy known more for a mortar-and-pestle marquee than a high-end Merlot or Pinot Noir? Some Chicagoans might be more than just a little wary—the origin of Walgreens on the city's blues-steeped South Side notwithstanding. But Janice Ojczyk, Category Specialist and Wine Buyer at Walgreens' corporate office in Chicago, is overseeing a shift in the attitudes of wine buyers in the Windy City. Walgreens has a history of providing a basic liquor department at its larger urban locations, though wine shoppers looking for something of enophilic grandeur largely ignored these proper- ties. But while boutique stores have their devotees, there is a huge market for getting a varied haul of prescrip- tions, mascara, shaving cream . . . plus wine, and all in seven minutes or less. "Most people who shop our stores are wine consumers, but they aren't necessarily aware that they can buy wine from us," says Ojczyk. "We evaluate our departments twice a year, and when I dug into the data, I was pleasantly surprised to see there was a need for Walgreens to carry higher-end wine. It allowed me to hand-select four to five premium wines each time we go through these revision processes and [create upper-echelon] sets. The data showed the demand for big brands like Santa Margherita, and boutique Janice Ojczyk selects one of the premium, chilled wines in the Walgreens lineup: Santa Margherita Pinot Grigio.

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