“There’s no other supermarket in Southern California that carries the selections and the varieties that we’re able to get in Pavilions.”
That’s how Wayne Heaton, VP and GM of the Pavilions banner, describes the stores’ wine and liquor offerings. He credits Phil Markert for stewarding those departments so well.
“We have a very special director of liquor,” Heaton said of Markert, who took on the role in January 2019 but has worked in the organization and in the wine and liquor categories since 1988. “He’s really built that business.”
The stores carry 2,500 wines from California and around the world, Markert said.
Nearly all the Pavilions stores – 28 of 31 – have glassed-in Wine Cellars on the sales floor. These hold “some of the premium items that our guests are looking for,” Heaton said.
Inside the cellar are “some high-end and heavy allocated tequilas, bourbons and some of the heavy allocated wines as well.” As well as First Growth Bordeaux and burgundy wines, Markert said Pavilions has 1,000 spirit offerings, to include limited allocated bourbons and whiskeys. In addition, “we have 25 tasting bars, virtual education and local winemaker dinners,” he said.
Markert holds the dinners a couple of times a month as part of the Pavilions Wine Club, which offers free membership. The dinners typically are held in areas like La Jolla, Newport Beach and Beverly Hills.
“We partner with local restaurants to promote the marriage of food and wine and educate the guests on what Pavilions has to offer beyond liquor,” Markert said. “Our wine club allows us to communicate directly with our guests on upcoming promotions, tastings and special buys.”
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To help customers navigate all the choices in the wine and liquor departments, each Pavilions store has a trained beverage steward, a liquor manager and concierges, Markert added.
He said some of the trends that have emerged in his departments recently include low-alcohol/non-alcohol wines, beer and spirits, soju (a spirit that originated in Korea), saké, imported white wines and ready-to-drink cocktails.
Offering the best and latest products is made easier with the relationships forged along the supply chain, Heaton added.
“We have those relationships built with suppliers and brokers that they want to do business with us,” he said.
Markert continues to be energized by the dynamic nature of the wine and liquor departments, ready to please “the changing consumer and positioning our departments for the future.”