Photo courtesy 2A Wine Merchants
2A Wine Merchants
Restaurant industry veterans Rob Levin and Tony Bisciglia were in the process of opening their restaurant when the COVID-19 shutdowns began in March 2020. Levin had a premonition that the aftershock of COVID-19 would be more detrimental to the food and beverage world than the pandemic itself, resulting in staffing shortages and distribution disruptions.
Levin was indeed correct. Instead of sticking with the original plans to open a restaurant, the partners pivoted toward a retail program with an in-house tasting bar, with a focus on ambiance and hospitality. Their venture, 2A Wine Merchants (577 E. Erie St.), is a friendly, hospitable place where people can explore the world of wine.
A tasting bar offers wine by the bottle, glass or flight. The retail shop, known as the “wine library,” has a broad selection of Old World and New World varietals. Three Sixty, the local design build firm behind the aesthetics of places such as Hacienda Beer Company and DanDan, designed 2A’s space, which has a modern rustic feel splashed with retro style. Rev Pop, Inc. handled the branding and design.
“We wanted the retail shop to feel like a restaurant or hotel lobby, and they nailed it, nailed it, nailed it.” Levin praised.
Unique Wines for All Tastes
Levin produced beverage programs for several premier restaurant groups. Bisciglia is a Certified Sommelier with the Court of Master Sommeliers. He holds level 3 certification through the American Wine School’s Wine & Spirit Education Trust. The name 2A represents their “second act.”
The bar showcases 2A’s tasting platform and features eight wines from Old World and New World regions. In wine speak, Old World refers to wines made in France, Italy and Spain, the home bases of wine production. New World is almost everyone else: think Argentina, South Africa, New Zealand or the United States.
People can taste wines by the glass or by a flight that includes all four wines from a featured region. The four three-ounce pours cost $18-20. Northern Spain and Argentina are the featured regions throughout October. Selections from Argentina include a sparkling rosé made from the malbec grape. “You don’t see a lot of rosé sparkling wines made with that grape,” affirms Levin.
Also featured is a pinot noir from the Patagonia region, and an albariño wine from Spain’s Rías Baixas region, an area known for producing albariño. “We’re also showcasing winemaker Raul Perez, who makes crazy, fun, wild grape wines including mencia (a grape variety native to the western part of the Iberian Peninsula),” Levin says. “It’s a super juice, with good, strong tannins that pairs well with food.”
Levin says they use several factors when selecting wine to showcase at 2A. They’ll talk to their partners to bring in certain varietals they might currently lack. They strive to bring in great wines at affordable price points. The wines also must have stories behind the bottle and come from producers trying something unique, or from a multi-generation family of wine makers.
Of more than 300 bottle offerings in the retail space, Levin says 75 to 80% of those cost less than $50. Of those wines, another 40% are $35 or less. They also sell cheese, crackers and snacks.
People are getting more experimental with wine, Levin observes. Milwaukee has a great wine scene, despite being known as a beer-loving city. He encourages more bar and restaurant owners to help people overcome elitist stigmas around wine and make it more accessible so people will let their guards down and take risks to spend money on a bottle of good wine they’ll really like.
“Our platform is to get people to try things and have that “ah-ha” moment when they realize that wine has so many possibilities—and to do it in a way that’s comfortable, with no pretension,” Levin concludes. “We just want you to pop corks and enjoy more juice.”
For more information, visit 2awinemerchants.com.
