Welcome to ourPress section, where we'll list all Skyview's thoughtful encounters with the Media and the Press. This might look like a blog, but truth be told, all the articles below are quotedverbatim by the Press themselves. Enjoy!
Interview
with Proprietor Gary
Wartels by: Rhonda
Weiss
Skyview Wines has
come on board with the Kosher Wine Society to bring discounts to Kosher
Wine
Society members. Each month Skyview Wines will offer special deals
selected
from its unmatched inventory of the finest kosher wines and spirits.
Visit the
Kosher Wine Society website for updates on Skyview Wines discounts and
be sure
to check the Kosher Wine Society monthly Newsletter for up-to-date
Skyview
coupons.
This
year Skyview Discount Wines & Spirits earned a top Zagat rating of
26
points. That's one point for each of its twenty-six years as "the most
trusted
name in kosher wine." Famous for consistently offering top value at the
lowest
possible prices, customers across the United States and overseas have
long
looked to Skyview's expertise for the best in kosher wine and scotches.
At its
location in Riverdale, New York, 3000 square feet of retail space houses
an
extensive selection of fine kosher and non-kosher wines and spirits from
around
the globe, with some 600 kosher wines regularly in stock.
Three
and a half years ago, Skyview wines was placed on the market for sale
and
acquired by its new proprietor, Gary
Wartels.
Gary's
former life was centered on politics and the non-profit community. He
graduated
in 1989 with a Masters in Public Administration from the Wagner School
at NYU
and went to work for Mayors Koch, Dinkins and Giuliani, and Governor
Cuomo.
Expanding into the non-profit sector, Gary ran his own successful
consulting
firm for ten years with high-profile clients including Met Council for
Jewish
Poverty, JCC of the Upper West Side and UJA Federation of New York. In
2001 he
was working with the United Way of New York City when the events of
September
11th occurred. Gary became deeply involved in United Way's "September
11th
Fund," dedicating an intense five years to the fundraising and grants
process.
And then it was time for a change.
While
consulting on a capital campaign for the Riverdale Neighborhood House,
Gary
heard that Skyview Wines was available for purchase. So he sold his
consulting
practice and began to build his new life's work on Skyview's already
solid
reputation. His choice was guided by his love of wine and by a wish to
get back
to his Jewish roots: "I wanted to own a store like so many of our
grandparents
did."
Since
taking over Gary has reorganized the store, added new signage and
expanded the
kosher wine selection. He says that kosher wines have improved in
quality to the
point where they now stand with the finest of non-kosher wines.
Customers
looking for kosher wine no longer need to sacrifice quality or variety.
Skyview's huge selection includes wines at all price points from
excellent
quality wines priced under $18 to French Bordeaux priced at $250 per
bottle.
Skyview
Wines now proudly carries one of the largest selections of Israeli wines
in the
United States. Gary says that Israel has become a top wine-producing
country and
that winemakers trained at top wineries and top schools such as UC
Davis, and
the University of Adelaide in Australia have come to work at Israeli
wineries.
An increasing number of small boutique wineries are creating a
phenomenal range
of highly distinctive wines, and significant investments have been made
in
Israeli wineries. Responding to the quality produced by the small
boutique
wineries, large, long-established winemakers such as Carmel, Herzog
Royal Wines
and others have really pushed to make kosher wines
better.
Gary
has not left his past career of fundraising and community service
behind, but
has integrated it into the life of Skyview Wines. Recently Skyview
sponsored a
youth basketball team at the YMCA right around the corner from the
store.
An
interview with Mr. Wartels appears in the Jewish Week's Kosher Wine
Guide,
published this past March. Skyview Wines was one of the sponsors of the
Jewish
Week's wine tasting - the only retailer to do
so.
Skyview
sponsors wine-tasting/wine-sale fundraisers to assist synagogues, Jewish
organizations and non-profit groups, contributing a significant
percentage of
sales to the beneficiary of the fundraiser. Returning in a different
capacity
to one of his former consulting clients, Mr. Wartels creates wine
tasting events
at the UJA Federation of New York and currently is helping to sponsor
the
Federation's Wine and Spirits Dinner to be held on June
24th.
Skyview
invites the public to enjoy regular in-store wine tastings, free of
charge.
Kosher wine tastings are frequently held on Thursday and Friday
afternoons and
Sunday afternoons or early evenings. Call or check our website for
upcoming
events.
Free
delivery of minimum purchases is available by way of Skyview's own van.
Delivery
to Manhattan calls for a minimum order of $125.00, while in Queens, Long
Island,
and Brooklyn the minimum order is $350.00. For delivery to Westchester
the
minimum is $125.00. Look for specials advertised in The Jewish Week and
Jewish
Press. Sign up on the Skyview website to receive notices of special
web-only
promotions.
On
Sunday June 13th, 2010 from 1:00 to 4:00 PM, Skyview Wines will be
hosting
Glenrothes whiskey ambassador Ross Hendry. Stop by the store and taste
The
Glenrothes award-winning Speyside Single Malt
Scotch.
Regular
store hours are Monday - Friday 9:30 am to 9:00 pm., Sundays, Noon to
6:00 pm.
Skyview Wines & Spirits is located at the Skyview Shopping Center,
at
Riverdale Avenue and 259th Street.
For more information,
please contact Skyview toll free at 888-SKY-VINO (759-8466). To visit
the
Skyview website: CLICK
HERE.
Last week, I made my annual spring pilgrimage to an unlikely Mecca in a remote corner of the city: Skyview Wine & Spirits, hidden away in a dreary shopping strip just south of where the northwest Bronx melds into Yonkers. Offering more than 450 kosher for Passover selections from a dozen countries, this is, perhaps, the country's most complete kosher wine shop. Skyview is also an epicenter of early Passover energy. In the month before the holiday, owner Gary Wartels told me, his shop will send out more than 5,000 cases of Passover-friendly wine to customers in every state where mail orders are legal.
Who better to ask about great wines for Passover than people who buy wine for a living? At the Israwinexpo 2008 in Tel Aviv, I tasted kosher wine with a diverse group of buyers for American-based retailers, including HEB Kosher Store, Best Cellars, A&P Liquor, BevMax and Skyview.
Israel is emerging as a high-quality wine producer. The volcanic terrain of the Golan Heights lends a spiciness to its wines. The Judean Hills near Jerusalem bring a distinct herbaceous quality, as if thousands of years of bay, sage and desert plants seeped into the vines. The Upper Galilee — a rugged, rocky region along the Lebanese border — is considered the best wine-producing area.
by Dorothy J. Gaiter and John Brecher April 4, 2008 We bought, from retail shelves, about 50 wines each labeled by those varietal names. They came from all over the world, from Australia, Chile and many other countries, including Moldova. While we always include wines from Israel, we were pleased this year to find more examples from its growing number of boutique wineries. These small-production wines can still be hard to find at the corner store, but they are increasingly available at specialty stores and online at sites such as kosherwine.com and skyviewwine.com and many others.
Who better to ask about great wines for Passover than people who buy wine for a living? At the Israwinexpo 2008 in Tel Aviv, I tasted kosher wine with a diverse group of buyers for American-based retailers, including HEB Kosher Store, Best Cellars, A&P Liquor, BevMax and Skyview.