A VAST ARRAY OF WINES & MORE
Total Wines opens on the West Side and plans a second store in Uptown
Wines from France, Italy, Spain, California, Australia and many other well-known growing regions line the shelves, the walls, the chilled areas — and that’s not all at Total Wine & More.
The newly opened store at 10420 Coors Bypass NW lives up to its name, with more than 20,000 square feet of floor space devoted to thousands of wines, beers and spirits from all over the world.
The West Side location near Cottonwood Mall is the 89th store for the Delaware-based chain and the first in New Mexico. A second store is in the works for the Uptown area of Albuquerque.
“We are not the corner liquor store,” Edward Cooper, vice president of public affairs and community relations, said in a phone interview.
Store aisles feature wines by style with labels like “Bubbly and festive” or “Big and Robust,” or place of origin, including New Mexico. Selections range from lowcost party wines at around $2 per bottle to connoisseur vintages like a Chateau Lafite Rothschild 2006 with a $1,000-plus price tag.
Beer lovers can indulge themselves too with a choice of domestic and imported mass-market beers, and craft brews produced by small enterprises like Marble Brewery and La Cumbre Brewing Co. in Albuquerque.
Customers can sample wines and beers at in-store tasting stands. A classroom at the back of the store will provide opportunities to learn more about individual producers and production methods, said Bill Tice, the Total Wine district manager who gave the Journal a tour of the store.
Even non-drinkers will find something to their taste at Total Wine. The store carries an extensive selection of gourmet snacks, glassware and gift items. There is also a walk-in humidor with an extensive range of cigars.
The new store will have about 40 employees, most of them full-time jobs, Cooper said. All employees undergo comprehensive training to ensure they are knowledgeable about store products, he said.