• About
    About
  • Live
    Live
  • Work
    Work
  • Play
    Play
  • Dine
    Dine
  • Waterfront
    Waterfront
  • Get Around
    Get Around
  • Map
    Map
  • Press
    Press
  • Contact
    Contact
  • Free WiFi
    Free WiFi
Image Not Found On Media Library
  • About
    About
  • Live
    Live
  • Work
    Work
  • Play
    Play
  • Dine
    Dine
  • Waterfront
    Waterfront
  • Get Around
    Get Around
  • Map
    Map
  • Press
    Press
  • Contact
    Contact
  • Free WiFi
    Free WiFi
Let’s Get Social
Image Not Found On Media Library
Image Not Found On Media Library
Back to Press

Retail Review: Harbor Point Wines & Spirits

September 2, 2020

Harbor Point Wines & Spirits
130 Washington Blvd.
Stamford, CT
Square footage: 1,350
Years in operation: 2

 
By Sara Capozzi
Beverage Journal
August 31, 2020
Link to article

 

An early interest in wine led Theresa “Terry” Rogers to spend her 40-year career in different facets of the wine industry, beginning with working in marketing to promote up-and-coming European wine brands and ultimately leading to purchasing and running retail outlets of her own. Rogers began her newest endeavor by founding Harbor Point Wines & Spirits in Stamford two years ago.

As one of the first commissioned women salespersons in New York City and Westchester County, Rogers promoted wines from Italian importers such as Neil Empson and celebrated Piedmont winemaker Angelo Gaja. Her start in retail began in 1986 when she purchased her first store, Connecticut Wines & Liquors in Greenwich.

“I felt that because there were more wineries coming in from around the world that it was time to react to the consumer,” Rogers said. “It was basically a buyer’s market. The object was to teach the consumer. Whether you’re an importer, a winemaker or a distributor, the only way to attract the full attention of the consumer is to put the bottle in their hand and discuss it and create the consumer loyalty one by one.”

Next came time for Horseneck Wines & Liquors, which became known as the first store in lower Fairfield County to sell finer California wines, then still new to the market and less familiar to area consumers than European wines, she explained. Rogers ran the store with a strong focus on customer education and continued with the same philosophy, purchasing it in 1989.

Rogers sold Connecticut Wines & Liquors in 2005 and Horseneck in 2018, opening Harbor Point Wines & Spirits in July 2018, which is located in Stamford’s Harbor Point neighborhood – an affluent waterfront community popular with millennials and transplants from New York City. “They are willing to learn, they love classes on wines. We have a curated wine selection here that I have created. Nothing comes into this store unless I taste it and approve it.”

As a startup, it took about two years for the store to “get on its feet,” Rogers said. She expanded the business by “slowly but surely building the clientele, building the loyalty and being hands on every single day, watching [my] margins and watching the products that people really go for and then moving them into something new that they may enjoy,” she said.

The hard work has paid off as Harbor Point now possesses a strong following. “We are creating a whole community of people that are saying, ‘I’ve never been to a curated wine store. All of the stores that I go to carry all of the national brands and this is so refreshing and so refreshing to learn how to taste and how to develop our palette,’” Rogers said. Popular wine varietals include Super Tuscans, Sancerres and rosés.

A diverse wine selection sees bottles at all price points, ranging from $10 to $350. The store offers beer lovers a diverse selection, too, with more than 200 craft brews in stock, along with hard seltzers. Harbor Point also carries a fine selection of liquors, aperitifs, Scotches and rare bourbons, a selection that “covers the full gamut,” Rogers said.

Since the coronavirus outbreak in the spring, Harbor Point has brought its in-store education sessions online, connecting with customers through a weekly one-hour Zoom video class, featuring a different winery representative from around the world each session. The virtual education sessions have been popular with guests and are more economical for the store.

“The consumers basically are traveling to Argentina, California, to all the different wineries and being able to see pictures and virtual tours and the vineyard sites and learning what they wouldn’t be able to learn,” Rogers said. “They come to the store, they purchase a wine, then they Zoom in … for an hour they have a full question-and-answer period after the presentation, so it’s really fun for them.”

PREVIOUS POST
‘New York City Lite’: After Coronavirus, Will Business Flock to the Suburbs?
NEXT POST
Stamford’s Harbor Point Welcomes New Coffee Shop

Related News

Other posts that you should not miss

Environmental Milestone Reached at Harbor Point: Remediation Completed on 90 Acres of Former Brownfields

January 4, 2019

Building and Land Technology (BLT), developer of Harbor Point, has reached a major milestone in the development of one of the …

Read More →
4 MIN READ

Wine and Spirits Store Eyes Spring Debut in Harbor Point

March 14, 2018

The owner of downtown Greenwich’s Horseneck Wines & Liquors plans to open within the next couple of months a second establishment, …

Read More →
2 MIN READ

The Porchetta Burger: Bareburger Debuts Its James Beard Winner

July 28, 2017

“What’s wrong with this hamburger?” I asked my newly minted stepmother. This was back when I was disguised to myself as …

Read More →
4 MIN READ
LET’S CONNECT
For deals, specials and events in Harbor Point, text “HARBORPOINT” to 38470 and you will be added to the Harbor Point Newsletter.

Follow us on social media to stay connected.
NEWS
  • New Luxury Salon Set To Open In Stamford Despite Major Obstacles
  • Stamford’s Harbor Point Welcomes New Coffee Shop
  • Retail Review: Harbor Point Wines & Spirits
  • ‘New York City Lite’: After Coronavirus, Will Business Flock to the Suburbs?
  • Marketing Efforts Begin for ‘Final’ Harbor Point Development in Stamford
Come to Harbor Point to find apartments for rent in Stamford CT. Select a new studio, 1 bedroom, 2 bedroom or 3 bedroom Stamford Apartments for you and your pet. Finding a luxury apartment is easy with numerous apartments in unique Harbor Point buildings, ranging from historic lofts to a waterfront tower.
Retail Review: Harbor Point Wines & Spirits | Harbor Point