Florida-based Vinya Hospitality (or Vinya Wine), which launched in 2019, celebrates and showcases wine in a big way through all of its offerings.
Vinya includes: Vinya Table, a restaurant and retail space in Coral Gables; Vinya Wine & Market, a café and shop in Key Biscayne; VinyaWine.com for online wine shopping; and the wine-inspired Casa Mariano restaurant in Doral.
Allegra Angelo – an acclaimed sommelier and partner at Vinya Hospitality, with more than 20 years of industry experience – said the Vinya Wine brand is all about sharing the joy of food, wine, and spirits through passion and innovation.
“We like wine,” shared Angelo. “Beyond enjoying wine, though, we believe wine is the ultimate connector of people, stories, and experiences.”
Nicholas Garcia – also a partner at Vinya Hospitality, with deep roots in importing and distributing wine – explained that the Vinya brand is all about approachability when it comes to wine, so customers can discover what they love.
“We foster connections among wine enthusiasts and newcomers alike, meticulously curate their selection, encourage exploration, and create a welcoming and inclusive environment for all customers,” Garcia explained.
From Brick-and-Mortar to Digital: Creating a Total Wine Experience
For each of Vinya Hospitality’s brands, wine take centers stage. Whether patrons enjoy a bottle with some delicious cuisine at one of Vinya’s physical locations, shop shelves in-person, or buy a bottle online, it’s all about the wine journey.
Over at Vinya Table, the restaurant and retail space, the wine is rooted in classics with more than 600 wines available – including the standard producers, new garage-style bottles, and everything in between. They also offer an extensive wine-by-the-glass program with a sprinkle of quirky, fun, and super rare selections.
“We’re expanding our by-the-glass selection to 40 wines in August, with a newly curated retail area in the back with a large focus on the Iberian Peninsula,” noted Angelo.
The food menu at Vinya Table offers an extensive list of starters, cheeses, and charcuteries, as well as main course dishes, such as house-made spaghetti, duck margret, seafood cazuela, and more.
At the Vinya Wine & Market shop – with a surprise bar and kitchen – they offer a small by-the-glass list and cocktail menu, but most people grab a bottle from their collection of 1,000 wines and pay just a $20 corkage fee to drink it there. Overall, this venue presents an immersive and approachable wine-driven experience, encouraging customers to explore the world of wine without pretension.
“Our team meticulously evaluates and selects each bottle with our customers in mind,” Garcia said, speaking on Vinya Wine & Market. “We regularly host a variety of events, including grand tasting events, intimate private wine dinners, and educational classes that delve deep into specific regions, grape varieties, or winemakers.” And when guests aren't attending an event at the venue, they can peruse their extensive selection or enjoy a meal at their casual island-style bar.
Casa Mariano is Vinya Hospitality’s chef-driven concept, where the dishes rotate regularly, as does the wine. The venue is focused on Mediterranean wines led by Victor Tapia, a wine pro. “Victor Tapia does a great job in working in lockstep with the kitchen to keep the wine list and food menu in sync,” Garcia said.
At VinyaWine.com, the shop features an extensive variety of wines, including fine and rare wines and a monthly wine subscription. In addition, the hospitality group’s latest brand – Off-Site by Vinya – is taking Vinya’s mission on the road. It offers expertly curated wine pairing consultation with Vinya’s catering experience, bringing their on-premise experiences to new locations.
“Off-Site features a wine school, perfect for universities and offices, providing practical lessons on wine list ordering, food pairings, and wine tasting team-building exercises,” explained Garcia. “With Off-Site, Vinya expands its reach and continues to share their passion for wine in innovative ways.”
‘A Unique and Innovative Approach’ to Wine Hospitality
Garcia said Vinya Hospitality’s strong focus on wine came about because of a shared passion for wine. “It all started during our early days in our direct-to-consumer wine delivery business, when we realized there was a gap in the market for making fine wine more approachable and enjoyable for everyone – from connoisseurs to newcomers,” he recalled. “The next natural step for us was to expand into brick-and-mortar hospitality, where we could offer a more immersive experience for our guests. By providing a welcoming atmosphere, knowledgeable staff, and carefully curated wine selections, we aimed to share our passion and mission with as many people as possible.”
Garcia said there are several other hospitality groups and wine-focused businesses that offer some combination of the various wine services that Vinya offers, but it's rare to find one that seamlessly integrates all these aspects into a comprehensive omni-channel experience like this.
“Many businesses tend to focus on one or two of these aspects,” Garcia said, “while others might not have fully integrated their digital and in-person experiences. By combining online wine shopping, wine subscriptions, and in-person wine menus, Vinya has demonstrated a unique and innovative approach to cater to different customer preferences and enhance the overall wine experience. The commitment to merging both digital and in-person channels can indeed be challenging, but also rewarding for providing customers with a cohesive and engaging wine journey.”
Advice on How to Create the Perfect Wine Menu or Program
When it comes to creating a really great wine menu or wine program, Garcia revealed that customers want variety and value; while Angelo advised venues to offer variety pertaining to grapes, styles, and prices.
“Don’t change your list too frequently, build a core program, and rotate a selection of wines,” suggested Angelo, who earned an Advanced Sommelier Certificate from the Court of Master Sommeliers Americas in 2012, among numerous other achievements. “Run smart margins and play the percentage scales based on product behavior. Work deals on the back end, instead of just raising prices. Develop long-term relationships with preferred suppliers. Think about how you write your list. What verbiage can you use to really explain the product? Explore different words, fonts, typefaces, and layouts [with the wine list]. Don’t copy a program – be original.”
Angelo said a restaurant or bar should create a back and front list of wines on one piece of paper with 15 to 30 wines by the glass and by the bottle. Then have a small area where people can shop or pick out other bottles, if they prefer something higher-end or more esoteric.
And if a restaurant or bar wants to create a wine menu without an extensive selection, focus on the descriptors of each wine on the list, according to Garcia. “Make it so that you give each option a compelling reason to take a chance on a region or varietal unfamiliar to your guest.”
In the end, Garcia said that restaurants and bars need to know that what they’re selling is not just the bottle on the table – it’s an experience and the wine culture. “Cultivating a wine-centric culture must be shared from the top down in order to translate to the customer,” he said.
Angelo pointed out that a lot of wine programs or menus reference wines by producer, then place or grape. “These wine lists become just a list of producer names, line after line, impossible to read and understand for the general wine drinker,” she said. “A good start is to lead with style or grape and give an efficient blurb of each wine. For example: Blanco de Tempranillo by Pago del Vicario, almost like a Chardonnay, full body, va va va voom!”
Garcia encouraged other hospitality groups and bar and restaurant owners/operators to let customers in on the “secret” of wine by making it easy to understand and by using terms that make sense to the common person.
While both Garcia and Angelo believe in the phrase “What grows together, goes together” when it comes to wine, food, and pairings, they also believe it’s okay to think outside the box when creating a great wine/cuisine program.
“Great wine goes with great food,” Angelo said. “Not everything has to be matchy-matchy. Why does an Italian restaurant have to feature an Italian wine list? Why do I have to go to a Lebanese restaurant to get a Lebanese glass of wine? Food has no limits.”
A Look at Sommeliers and When a Venue Needs One
Angelo said the biggest mistake a restaurant or bar can make when creating a wine menu or wine program is not hiring a full-time employee who’s proficient in wine and the business side of wine.
“Hire a full-time, wine-focused employee, regardless of certifications and résumé,” advised Angelo. “You need someone who is efficient, passionate, kind, very good with numbers, and believes in the brand. It’s not a ‘plug and play’ formula. Find your wine leader. Don’t hire a consultant.”
Garcia agrees that not having someone proficient in wine can be a mistake for a venue. He said that any restaurant that has a cultivated, wine-centric culture and patronage should consider a sommelier or wine expert on staff.
Angelo concluded: “I think a person proficient in wine knowledge and hospitality is fine for a small wine list, under 50 labels. However, once you get into managing larger inventories, above $50,000, I would recommend a sommelier.”
To learn more about Vinya Hospitality (a.k.a Vinya Wine) and its digital and brick-and-mortar wine offerings, visit VinyaWine.com.
Aaron Kiel, based in Raleigh, N.C., has worked in the beverage, tea and coffee industries for nearly two decades, as well as hospitality and technology. He’s a journalist and writer/reporter at heart, but he also wears a PR hat through his consultancy, ak PR Group. He works as the editor of World Tea News with Questex’s Bar & Restaurant Group, as well as a contributing writer for Bar & Restaurant News. He also sits on the advisory board for the annual World Tea Expo in Las Vegas, which is co-located with Bar & Restaurant Expo.
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