Breukelen Cellars: A Taste of Wine Country

Two Bed-Stuy natives have opened a wine shop with hopes of exposing local residents to exotic flavors and local art.

John D. Samuel and his business partner Andre opened Breukelen Cellars in March of this year. The shop carries red and white wines from Australia, South Africa, Argentina and Chile, but the store also has brands from California, Washington and Brooklyn.

“Part of this is giving people a chance to try different wines from different regions and different grapes,” Samuel said. “You’re not going to find Barefoot or Yellowtail here.”

Samuel said he and Andre, who are childhood friends, opened the shop for two reasons: One, they believed too many residents are spending money outside of Bed-Stuy. Samuel said he hopes businesses like Breukelen Cellars will persuade locals to shop in the neighborhood. The other reason was simple.

“The neighborhood needed a wine shop,” he said. “It was an opportunity and the community was underserved.”

The shop opened with no employees and 70 different wines. Today Breukelen Cellars has about 100 wines and, by adding two more each week, the owners hope to eventually carry 150. Samuel also employs two part-time cashiers. Since the opening, Samuel said business has been steady. About half of those customers come in asking for wine recommendations, he said.

The best way to help a customer select a wine, he said, is to first have the customer decide what occasion the wine is needed for, then the customer should determine if he or she prefers drier or sweeter, fruitier tastes.

“The typical rule is white wines pair best with white meat and red wines are for your darker meats,” Samuel said. “But let’s say if you have chicken with a heavy red sauce, then you could go with a red wine.”

It took Samuel and his business partner 18 months to open their wine shop. Most of that time was spent looking for a location. The two considered places in Williamsburg, Crown Heights, Red Hook and another corner of Bed-Stuy near Putnam and Grand Avenues. They settled on the current location, at 504 Nostrand Ave., because they liked the foot traffic created from the nearby A and C subway trains.

Breukelen Cellars hides between a shoe store and a now-defunct H&R Block branch, in a tiny glass-front store that once housed a cellular phone service. Samuel said he avoided opening a bigger store like Astor Wines & Spirits because he learned that customers often feel daunted when entering a large shop with countless numbers of wines.

The shop’s interior is dimly lit and adorned with paintings and photography from local artists. Every month Samuel swaps the art, which is for sale, for another local artist’s work.

“Having their art displayed is really about drawing from the culture that’s indigenous here,” he said. “Their work is what creates our culture.”

Aside from selling art and wine, Breukelen Cellars holds a twice-weekly wine tasting Thursdays and Fridays from 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm.

Charlotte Judd of Bed-Stuy and Ronnette Cox of East Flatbush attended a recent tasting. During the event, Samuel opened a bottle of Sangria from Spain, a 2010 bottle of Chardonnay from northern Italy and a sparkling white wine from Argentina called New Age.

“The Sangria was good, but that New Age stuff was so good,” Judd said. “I don’t know what it is. It’s something about it. It’s sweet. It’s smooth, and overall was very enjoyable drinking.”

“I really like this place,” Cox said just before leaving. “It’s bringing up the look of the neighborhood and I like their selection.”

Although the place isn’t selling hundreds of bottles per day, Samuel said the business is fairly successful. If the shop becomes even more successful, he said he would consider opening another location.

“But, we’ll see how Christmas goes first,” said Samuel.

Breukelen Cellars is located at 504 Nostrand Avenue. Store hours are 10:30 am to 9:00 pm.