The recent expansion at the Princeton Corkscrew Wine Shop has allowed them to sell more large-format wines.
By Pat Tanner
Recent Internet announcements from the Princeton Corkscrew Wine Shop on Hulfish Street have been accompanied by the tagline, “What’s New at the ‘Screw.” Well, there’s plenty new there, including a recent expansion that added 700 square feet to the showroom and has resulted in about 280 new facings on custom-made wine racks.
The added space, proprietor Laurent Chapuis said, allows for improved arrangement of wines by geography and more room for customers to wander comfortably among the racks. There will be just under 3,200 square feet of display area, which Chapuis said makes his shop one of the largest fine-wine rooms in the state.
The shop, which distinguishes itself by maintaining an ambient temperature of 57 degrees Fahrenheit at all times, has also expanded its selection of wines from Germany, Austria, Italy, and the U.S. West Coast. And now they have a small selection of Eastern European wines, Chapuis adds. “From Moldova, Slovenia, and Croatia – the historical cradle of wine production.”
Customers can expect many of the new wines to be within the $8- to $20-per bottle price range that the Corkscrew prides itself on — with the exception of wines from the West Coast. “These wines are expensive and there’s nothing I can do about that,” he admitted.
Chapuis said he still works on the principle of dealing with family estates, “only now I can have wines from all the farmers I’m working with under the same roof at the same time.”
More changes to the shop are in the works. Another reason for the added space was to be able to offer more wines in large-format bottles, especially magnums (1.5L) and double magnums (3L; also called jeroboams). These will be featured in a new custom display, still under construction offsite. It will be installed at the rear of the store directly across from the front door.
Chapuis has noticed an increased demand for large-format wines. Some customers seeking bigger bottles are serious wine collectors who know that historically only a winery’s best wines are bottled this way, and that they age longer and better than the very same wines in regulation 750-ml bottles. That is in part because less oxygen seeps past the cork relative to the volume of wine.
Other customers seek out large-format bottles for major life celebrations. “Maybe you have a grandkid born in 2016. You can buy a two-liter vintage 2016 in 2018, store it perfectly, and open it for, say, that child’s 21st birthday, wedding, or some other milestone,” Chapuis said. He and his wife, Gigi, have done exactly that for their three sons, who are now in college and high school.
The Corkscrew’s large-format wines will come mainly from classic regions of the U.S. (i.e., West Coast), Italy (Tuscany, Piedmont), and France (Burgundy, Bordeaux), as well as from Spain. Chapuis hopes to have the large-format section finished and stocked by September.
Other changes and upgrades are underway, all aimed at improving and speeding up the customer’s experience—enhancements Chapuis calls “social shopping.”
“We’ve found that the interaction with customers has to be faster and faster,” he said. “It’s no longer good enough to come into the shop, spend five minutes locating the wine, and then go up to the counter to pay for it.”
The Corkscrew’s entire inventory has been digitized. Floor staff carry tablets that allow them to not only access details about each wine and its availability, but also, for example, to call up the winery’s website right on the floor, alongside the customer, or to view which wines the customer purchased on his or her last visit.
A Princeton Corkscrew app is available for smart phone users. Custom software is being written to integrate the shop’s delivery and shipping services. Local customers can have orders delivered to their homes free of charge, or they can pick up prepaid orders at the store.
They’re also receiving more and more orders from Philadelphia, so they are trying to improve their FedEx shipping service. Chapuis estimates that 20 percent of his business is through Internet sales.
Historically the Princeton Corkscrew, which opened in January 1997, has doubled its sales every seven years. Right now it’s on track to double them again within five years. Since more customers are coming from outside Princeton than ever before, Chapuis has expanded his demographic and geographic advertising targets. And he is recruiting a new manager to link all social media endeavors. “She speaks French and English and she comes from the wine trade, so it’s perfect,” he said.
Part of her mandate is to enhance email announcements about the Corkscrew’s in-store wine tasting events. The next one is scheduled for Wednesday, Aug. 26 from 5 to 8:30 p.m. and will feature Erwin Tinhof of Weingut Tinhof, whom Chapuis calls “one of Austria’s best producers.”
Other changes include a modernized Corkscrew logo, which is featured on two new awnings above the shop’s front windows. A new sidewalk display board is under construction. It will be a five-foot tall, double-sided chalkboard in the shape of a wine bottle.
Some things about the shop remain the same. Chapuis carries no wines from Australia or New Zealand. “And I still don’t do South America, except for two producers that I have personal connections to,” he said. One is the Kingston Family Vineyards in Chile. The other is Fabre Montmayou. Chapuis’s friend, Herve Fabre, has been voted Winemaker of the Year by his peers in Argentina.
Laurent Chapuis attributes a lot of his store’s success to his staff, many of whom have been with him for more than five years, foremost among them general manager Stephnie Beaudry. Among his newer trainees is a former line cook at Per Se, Thomas Keller’s acclaimed New York restaurant, who grew tired of the grueling work hours. “His taste buds are spectacular!” Chapuis said with pride.
Although the space next to the Corkscrew at the corner of Hulfish and Chambers Streets has been unoccupied for some years now, Chapuis does not envision expanding any further.
“We’re a small business,” he said. “If I’m going to increase again, I’ll get warehouse space in someplace like Ewing and conduct winemaker tastings there.” On the other hand, he said with a laugh, someone has suggested that he take over the corner spot to open a beer store. What would the hypothetical shop be called? The Church Key, of course.
The Princeton Corkscrew Wine Shop, 49 Hulfish St., Princeton. On the Web: princetoncorkscrew.com. Phone: (609) 430-1200. Open Monday 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., Tuesday through Saturday 10 a.m. to 9 p.m., and Sunday noon to 7 p.m.
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