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Spirits of the Season Line Shelves at Chalet Premier
NORTH LIMA, Ohio -- Sometimes a holiday gift can be as simple as “one bourbon, one scotch and one beer” – and maybe a bottle of wine as well.
The holidays are busy for liquor stores such as Chalet Premier in North Lima, which is stocking its shelves to meet the needs of customers looking for gifts. A co-owner of the store, Bill D’Amico, says they order “everything we can get our hands on.” Sales have increased steadily in the 12 years he and his wife, Joyce, have owned the store with their business partners, John and Carol Potter.
“We were able to build a business in an area that’s growing with the help of a lot of people,” D’Amico says. “And we’ve grown it in all facets of this particular business. Our variety is, I think, second to none.”
Wine, D’Amico’s specialty, started at a low level in the local market, “and has grown into this huge segment of the industry,” he says. Wine sales are up over last year with California wines still the best sellers although wines from Spain and Argentina are increasing in popularity.
When a customer buys wine as a gift, D’Amico helps him select the best bottle based on what his loved one already drinks and how much he’s willing to spend. A special gift wine section features wines that can cost as much as $50 or more a bottle. Among the featured wines are Cakebread, Chateau Montelena and Duckhorn, wines featured in magazines and on television shows, he says. Customers usually ask for them by name.
“These are the wines that people will recognize as a wine that they wouldn’t buy for themselves,” D’Amico says. “But they’re sure happy they got it as a gift.”
Not all gift wines have to cost an arm and a leg, however. Pinot noir and Beaujolais nouveau are two popular holiday wines, and shoppers can find a good bottle of each for around $20.
Beaujolais nouveau, which comes out the third Thursday in November, is native to the Burgundy region of France. D’Amico has about 50 cases on order, and at $10.99 to $20 a bottle, he doesn’t expect it to last on the shelf much past Christmas season if it makes it that far.
“If you’ve never had a Beaujolais nouveau, it’s a friendly wine,” he says. “It’s a light red wine, easy to drink. It goes perfect with turkey or ham.”
D’Amico recommends pinot noir as a wine people can use as a stepping-stone to red wines. Meiomi from Santa Barbara, Calif., “is a crowd favorite here,” he says, and retails for $20 per bottle.
Chalet sells more wine during winter while beer sells better in the summer, D’Amico says. In a recent report, Time magazine found beer still leads overall sales of alcohol this year at 47.7%, with wine at 39.7% and liquor at 12.6%. While beer sales haven’t changed much year-over-year, the report finds that in 2011, craft beer sales increased 15% over 2010.
Since the mid-1980s, craft beer breweries have increased to 1,693 nationally. A study by the Nielsen Co. shows craft beer sales are up 5 million cases over 2011 through last Sept. 1, a 1.4% increase. Chalet has seen sales of the craft beers increase 10% to 15% over last year, says the store manager, Ryan Zocolo.
“People are stepping out of their comfort zones with their regular domestic beers,” Zocolo says. “People are surprised how much they would enjoy a beer if they just took a chance and tried one.”
When someone steps out of that comfort zone, there’s much to choose from – lagers, porters, stouts, India pale ales (IPA) and Belgian wheat beers, among others. A customer might feel daunted, Zocolo admits, but he has a strategy to help customers select the right product.
“You start with your lagers or pilsners, your lighter beers, and work your way up to the ales – a little bit thicker, a little bit heavier, a little more hops,” Zocolo says. “You work your way up gradually to your stouts and your porters. IPA is a tough one because you’ve really got to be what they call a ‘hop head’ to enjoy those.”
Hops are the ingredient in beer that give it a bitter tang. IPAs are heavily hopped and traditionally brewed with English malt, hops and yeast. Zocolo considers IPA the beer of choice for the more seasoned beer drinker, saying it’s the most represented variety in the store. Surprisingly, he says, the darker, thicker beers – stouts and porters – are friendlier to customers because they include flavors such as coffee and chocolate, “so, people can warm up to that a little bit quicker than the IPAs.”
For the holidays, Great Lakes’ Christmas ale is the most popular and most requested. Already Chalet has gone through its first shipment, Zocolo says. The Akron-based Thirsty Dog 12 Dogs of Christmas ale, and the Breckenridge Christmas ale are gaining popularity, with sales of the latter last year up 20% over 2010, he says. Zocolo expects the San Francisco-based Anchor Steam Christmas ale to also sell well this season.
“It’s one of Bill’s [D’Amico] favorites, and he’s not a big Christmas ale guy,” Zocolo says. “That was a big favorite last year that people were jumping onto.”
November and December account for one-fifth of Chalet’s overall sales, says Joyce D’Amico, and gift sets of liquor are some of the holiday season’s biggest sellers. D’Amico tends the liquor section of the store.
This year she’s ordered 16 gift set varieties, up to 12 sets for each variety. Sets comprise a bottle of liquor and a small gift, such as a flask or set of glasses. The most popular gift set this season is the Crown Royal Black, which has already sold out, she says.
“A lot of times, there’s only about a five-cent upcharge or a little bit of an upcharge,” D’Amico. “We sell as many as we get in.”
On Dec. 6, customers buying any Brown-Forman product will have a chance to personalize their bottles. From 4 to 7 p.m., a representative from Brown-Forman will engrave the backs of bottles for free. It’s only for Brown-Forman products, which include some varieties of Jack Daniels, Woodford Reserve and Gentleman Jack.
“It is absolutely beautiful,” she says. “If you are buying anything in the Jack [Daniels] line, besides the black label, this is a wonderful gift.”
Sales of scotch and bourbon have increased steadily at Chalet as more young adults move into that segment, D’Amico says. Scotch remains a popular gift during the holidays, particularly the Johnnie Walker, Glenlivet and Glenfiddich brands, but she says many people are switching from scotch to bourbon.
“More people are definitely getting into bourbon. Not only bourbon, but now rye too,” D’Amico says. “You can see that Maker’s Mark and distilleries that haven’t changed their recipes for a long time are actually expanding their portfolio with flavors or just different ways of barreling.”
Some bourbon is so rare that Chalet can’t get it on the shelf. One such bourbon is Pappy Van Winkle Family Reserve, which is highly sought this season. D’Amico recommends Jefferson’s Presidential Select 18-year-old bourbon for $98, which she says is comparable to Pappy Van Winkle and in stock.
“This may be limited at some time, but right now it is not,” D’Amico says. “My bourbon customers who are in the know love this.”
Editor's Note: This story first appeared in the MidNovember edition of The Business Journal. CLICK HERE to subscribe.
Copyright 2012 The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.