Shinsegae Group's 'Wine Club' Visit
Specialized Stores for France and Napa Valley
69 Million KRW Ultra-Premium Wine Draws Attention
Purchase After Tasting... Experience Space Included
'White is paper, black is letters.' If you do not enjoy alcohol, this place might give you that first impression. Located on the basement level 1 of Starfield Hanam, this place called 'Wine Club' spans approximately 1650㎡ (500 pyeong) and houses about 7,000 types of wine. It can be unfamiliar even to drinkers who usually prefer soju or beer. Wines here range from tens of thousands to millions of Korean won per bottle. This place, which might feel like a 'different world,' is described by Myung Yongjin, an Emart liquor buyer, as "a playground for those who love wine."
The entrance of 'Wine Club' on the B1 floor of Starfield Hanam, covering an area of approximately 1650㎡. This place boasts about 7,000 varieties of wine. Photo by Seongpil Jo gatozz@
On the 12th, I met buyer Myung at the store, who introduced the Wine Club as "a store specialized in France, Napa Valley, and wine cellars." Buyer Myung is the person who planned this Shinsegae Group wine specialty store, 'Wine Club,' several years ago. He said, "Usually, stores are composed of already imported products, but our 'Wine Club' works with importers and wineries to handle modularized wines."
The store features spaces that reflect the unique character of the Wine Club. A representative example is the champagne display located to the right of the store entrance. This display holds about 360 types of champagne produced in regions such as the Champagne region of France. The display is 16 meters long, the largest scale in Korea. Buyer Myung said, "We have categorized all champagnes, including the ones we usually know like 'Brut,' 'Grand Cru,' 'Blending,' 'Blanc de Blancs,' 'Ros?,' and 'Armand'." The French luxury champagne icon 'Salon' was initially stocked but is currently sold out.
Opposite the champagne display are French wines from Bordeaux, Languedoc, and other regions, arranged by production area. There are about 800 Burgundy products, which are hard to find domestically due to prices soaring up to ten times in France. Buyer Myung said, "To secure various Burgundy products, I visited the largest local wholesaler 'N?gociant' in France several times and it took a long time to persuade them."
A wine club spanning approximately 1,650㎡ is set up on the basement first floor of Starfield Hanam. Upon entering the entrance, French wines from regions such as Bordeaux and Languedoc are displayed separately by their production areas. Photo by Seongpil Jo gatozz@
In one corner of the Wine Club is the 'Cellar' room, which exclusively selects premium wines. The room, enclosed by glass walls, maintains an optimal temperature of 15 to 16 degrees Celsius to stabilize the wines. The most expensive wine in the Wine Club, 'DRC Roman?e-Conti Grand Cru 2017,' is also housed here. The price of 'DRC Roman?e-Conti Grand Cru 2017' is 69 million Korean won, and there is only one bottle in the Wine Club. Buyer Myung hinted, "Customers who purchase such wines are 'another class' and do not care about the price."
Exiting the 'Cellar' room and turning right leads to the 'Napa Valley' zone. Centered on California wines favored by Koreans, it features brand wines from 16 sub-regions of Napa, including Sonoma County and Alexander Valley. Representative Napa Valley wines such as Joseph Phelps Insignia Cabernet Sauvignon, Textbook Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Chardonnay can be found here. Buyer Myung said, "General stores carry about 100 Napa Valley products, but here we have about 360 types prepared," adding, "We plan to change brands every three months."
Besides France and the U.S., the Wine Club offers wines from 17 other countries. This is an 'outlet-style wine zone' composed of the most consumed varieties domestically. The display is arranged by Old World and New World wines. Among them are many Hungarian wines, which are hard to find in Korea. Buyer Myung explained, "This 'outlet-style wine zone' is priced at Emart levels to lower the entry barrier for consumers."
Myeong Yong-jin, a liquor buyer at E-Mart, is explaining the products handled at the 'Wine Lab' inside the Wine Club store, which is approximately 1,650㎡ in size on the B1 floor of Starfield Hanam. Photo by Seongpil Cho gatozz@
The 'Wine Lab' located at the innermost part of the Wine Club is an experiential space. It is decorated on both sides with 36 aroma scent kits to enhance understanding of wine flavors. Buyer Myung said, "It was created to allow intuitive experience of wine aromas," and explained, "It was developed by incorporating things I saw during overseas business trips." Wine expert lectures will be held in this space in the future. Starting with the wine maker's visit event this week, full-scale operations will begin. All lectures will be free of charge.
The 'Tasting Zone' located in the center of the store is a space where you can purchase and taste 56 types of wine by the glass (30?50mL). You can sample all 56 types, including high-priced wines like Ch?teau Mouton Rothschild, which costs 60,000 Korean won for 30mL. Buyer Myung said, "We introduced this space to help customers taste wine first and then proceed to purchase if they like it," adding, "The selection ranges from event wines to premium wines."
The Wine Club is the last wine specialty offline store to open among the three major distributors, following Lotte Group's 'Bottle Bunker' and Hyundai Department Store Group's 'Wine List.' As a latecomer, it is evaluated to have maximized its differentiation. An Emart official said, "The Wine Club is a complete store that offers not only hard-to-find products in Korea but also products at affordable prices," and added, "We have introduced various experiential contents such as the Wine Lab where wine lectures are held and the Tasting Zone."
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