A young employee in a liquor store recently asked me how he might learn more about wine. I parroted the usual words of advice: read books, take classes, open bottles and find wine-curious friends. Then I had a better idea: I’d ask Brittney Abell, a wine buyer/category manager at Gary’s Wine and Marketplace in Madison, New Jersey, for some real-world advice. Unlike this journalist, Brittney is on the front lines when it comes to buying and selling wine.
I’d met Brittney a year or so ago and was as impressed by her knowledge as I was her passion for wine. Brittney practically bounced between bottles as she pointed out her favorites, one after another. In her role of category manager at Gary’s Brittney buys wines from a wide range of places - from Germany and Austria to Beaujolais, France and all South America – which means she has many favorite wines.
Brittney also spends time in the store helping customers choose bottles, and that’s where I found her one recent Saturday morning. Brittney was helping a customer named Roger who confessed he drank a narrow range of wines until Brittney widened his world. Roger held up the two bottles that Brittney had just selected for him: the 2021 Château Bourbon la Chapelle and the 2024 Mastroberardino Lacryma Christi del Vesuvio (the rosso). “I’ll be back next week,” Roger declared.
I explained to Brittney that a young man had approached me for guidance and I wondered if she had some advice I might share. Brittney’s suggestions echoed my own: find wine-passionate friends, open bottles, try wines. “Having a community is super important,” she said - although Brittney, unlike me, counts many wholesale wine sales reps as her friends.
Like me, Brittney reads lots of wine books but unlike me she also consumes a lot of social media too. She told me Instagram is an important source of information for her as well as her wine professional friends. A few of her favorites include @christy.frank.wine, @doreenmwinkler, @brianneday, @vomboden and @winewithjimmy, the account of wine educator Jimmy Smith who had been of great assistance to Brittney with her wine studies.
I knew some of the people Brittney cited but didn’t follow them on social media so I decided to have a look. I found pictures of beautiful places and bottles and in the case of Jimmy Smith, an educator who was as entertaining as he was informative.
Jimmy Smith reminded me of Brittney as I watched him bound from one place to another, one bottle to the next - as wildly enthusiastic as he was boldly clad. For an example of Jimmy’s style, check out his June 12th Instagram post from Chianti Classico in Tuscany. Flashily attired in an orange bow tie, patterned shirt and suspenders bedecked with badges, Jimmy exuded both impressive energy and sartorial dash.
I’ll be following Jimmy and a few of the others that Brittney recommended and will suggest to the young liquor store employee that he consider doing the same - along with reading wine books and opening bottles with like-minded friends.
In the meantime, no visit with Brittney would be complete without buying a bottle of wine that she recommends. Brittney had more than a few in mind that I should try but I chose the Markus Molitor Riesling Sekt Brut ($17), an ultra-dry German sparkling wine from a pioneer in his country’s sparkling wine production. Marked by notes of pear and spice, it was a very light, very attractive aperitif that I poured for some very appreciative friends. I might not have noticed the wine at all had it not been for Brittney. Like Roger, I will doubtless be back for more of Brittney’s wine selections and sound advice.
When Roger met Brittney his world of wine grew exponentially larger. Roger and Brittney with two of her most recent Roger-specific wine recommendations.
Hello Lettie, Whenever I'm doing an "In store Tasting" and not flogging my own wines, I'm always asked to suggest wines when the employees are busy with other customers. Having owned my own store, I usually have a number of questions geared to novices and experienced drinkers alike. First question "Is this a gift or a gift for you"? This usually makes the customer feel comfortable and they start to open up. Second question "Is this to go with food or by its self"? If they say "by its self" , I usually ask if the want someone to join them. I then ask if they want something to go with Netflix which always gets a smile. At that point they are open to suggestions. Oh and the last question I ALWAYS ask... Do you have a corkscrew? That can change the suggestion quickly.
Another good article. I then listened to your column. You have a nice voice for radio or narration!
Rick D