Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/580744
{ SOMMjournal.com } 1 1 1 Barbara Hermann, Wine Buyer, Binny's Beverage Depot Barbara Hermann started working retail at Chicago's Gold Standard Liquors in 1981. The store's roots date back to 1948 when Harold Binstein opened shop in a Wrigleyville storefront. By 1985, Hermann became the wine buyer as the company grew to nine stores. Michael Binstein, Harold's son, took the helm in 1995 and caught the wave of discount wine retailers. He rebranded and expanded, re-naming the chain Binny's Beverage Depot, bringing Hermann along as the sole Director of Wine, responsible for all wine purchases. At this point, she oversees the purchasing, and all the office details that go along with it, for 31 stores, with just two wine buyers to help. Hermann, who has been a wine lover since her college years, finds the most intriguing part of her job is the opportunity to taste broadly. "It's like a whirlwind. I get a chance to taste every- thing over time, like wines from Croatia, Hungary and Portugal," Hermann says. "You just never know who is going to walk in the door." She also never knows what might pop at a given time. "I can tell in a few months if it's going to stick or we need to close it out," she says. And then, on to the next wine. Barbara Hermann uses a twin-prong "ah-so" opener to uncork the 15-year- old Bordeaux.