Wednesday Wines is put back together. We had a hard weekend of work to get it all done, but what a difference it makes. I'm still not sure how it all worked, but we have more wine and just as much product as we did before, but the shop looks huge. Someone walking by today said that it looks as though we added another room to the shop. It is strange how moving a few things around, and taking out a small half wall helps to open a space up and make it actually feel larger. Having the wine counter at the back of the shop really helps the flow. There are several seating areas and it's a lot clearer now what we would like you to do--come in, sit down, and have a glass of wine! The grand re-opening is this Thursday, but we're open now, so come in and have a sneak peak.
The wine rack to the right is a combination of several that were previously scattered around the store. The look so good all joined together in one place. Now they hold all of our Oregon wines. I also wanted to be able to display wines horizontally, and it took me a long time to come up with the simple rack you see here. Basically, I just took different pieces of wood and started putting them together. I'd cut one down, and set it in place, and then cut another one. I like how the lines are clean and simple and seem to flow smoothly. It can take me forever to come up with a solution such as this one, but it's really satisfying when it turns out well.
The wine rack to the right is a combination of several that were previously scattered around the store. The look so good all joined together in one place. Now they hold all of our Oregon wines. I also wanted to be able to display wines horizontally, and it took me a long time to come up with the simple rack you see here. Basically, I just took different pieces of wood and started putting them together. I'd cut one down, and set it in place, and then cut another one. I like how the lines are clean and simple and seem to flow smoothly. It can take me forever to come up with a solution such as this one, but it's really satisfying when it turns out well.It was also fun to look back on a year's worth of sales to see which wines we have sold the most. Those are the wines that we now have featured on the cart in the front of the store. Some were obvious, like: Friends Red, Montinore Riesling and Three Degrees Pinot Noir from Maysara Winery. Some were a bit of a surprise like Remy's Red and Friends Red, and Apothic Red from California. It will be nice to have a couple of cases of these wines ready to go out the door as people need them.
That's my little cart to the left. Kathy has already done a fine job of filling it up and decorating it! I hope you'll be able to join us this weekend to celebrate the remodel of the shop. When you walk in the door, it should be pretty obvious what to do. Take a look at Abbie & Olivers as well. We forced Andrea to turn her cheese counter around, and her room now looks more spacious and welcoming. I'm really happy with how it all turned out. It is satisfying to work hard at something (especially physical labor) and to have that work make a big difference in the atmosphere of a place where you want your friends to come and sit and relax for a bit. We even have music on Thursday night, so come on down!