Lipa Gross Brings Napa Valley to Boro Park in His New Wine Store
By Yehudit Garmaise
Lipa Gross has
bottled the colorful hills and the verdant vineyards of Napa Valley, and
Oxnard, California, and brought them Boro Park in his store, Wine Valley, which
is located at 4123 13th Ave.
After owning and
running Teaneck Wine Cellar and FillerUp Kosher Wine in Teaneck, NJ, for 25
years, Gross decided he did not want to do the long commute to and from Boro
Park anymore, and he decided to buy a wine store in his own neighborhood.
Gross knew he could
bring something different to the residents of Boro Park after he, along with
other wine store owners was invited, two summers ago, by the Herzog wine
family to tour Northern California’s Napa Valley: a trip that turned out to be
inspiring for the longtime purveyor of kosher wines.
“California has
amazing, absolutely beautiful wine country, where you drive miles and you see
endless vineyards, hills, and valleys, up and down for miles,” said Gross, who
was so impressed by the grapes and the wine in the Oak Knoll region in Napa
Valley that he bought his own private barrel of red wine, and created his own
private label, which he named “Napa View.”
Gross said Napa
View, for which he designed a label that depicts the valleys and hills of the
Wine Country in California, was a "successful, beautiful, and delicious
wine” that was so popular he sold out of it right away.
“I only have few
bottles left from the original run, but I will have more bottles of Napa View
soon,” said Gross, who often travels to the Herzog Kosher Winery in Oxnard,
Cal,. to taste wines, buy the barrels of the wines he likes, and create his own
private labels.
Also coming soon
to Wine Valley are bottles of wine that were made from exclusive wine barrels
that came from the beautiful Chiles Valley, which is in Napa Valley.
Gross explained
that while kosher wine is of course made by Jewish people at kosher wineries,
vineyards don’t have to be kosher, as they “are just grapes,” which he said
look beautiful in the summertime.
His favorite part
of selling wine, Gross said, is helping customers to pick out the wines and
liquors that will best suit their individual tastes.
Selling wine, he
explained, is different from selling groceries or baked goods where people
usually come in knowing exactly what they want.
“I specialize in
personalized service,” said Gross, who said he will be holding his Grand
Opening very soon. “There are so many different wines, every wine is different,
and every customer is different.
“There is a lot of
chochmas Hashem that goes into wine before it gets into the bottle. Every
single bottle of wine has a different structure, a different style, and every
customer likes something else.”
Whether people
are new to buying wine, or not, Gross loves to help customers to determine what
they might like.
“Customers go home
and drink the wine and discuss it at their Shabbos tables,” Gross said. “Then,
customers come back and tell me, ‘The wine you recommended was very good--It
was a big success,’ and that gives me a lot of nachas and a thrill.
“If customers like
what I recommended, then my next recommendation will be a wine with similar
style to the first one.”
However, if
customers come back and were not happy with their wine for whatever reason,
Gross helps customers to describe with they like and what they do not like.
“For people who
weren’t happy with their wine, I asked them, ‘What didn’t you like about the
wine? What bothers you?’
“Anyone who
doesn’t know what kind of wine or liquor he wants to try, I am not new to the
wine business, so I know wine. People can trust my palette, and I can help them
to figure what they like.”
In addition to
helping customers find the right wines for their Shabbos and Yom Tov tables
Gross also enjoys helping customers when they make events and simchas.
“I can make
recommendations from my very nice selection as to what wine and liquor will go
well with whatever food is being served,” Gross said. “I get connected to each
customer, and I make recommendations according to each palette.”