Rick Allocca and his world of wines

Rick: Spirits Unlimited Middletown's “go-to-guy” for wines

Profile by: SOMDATTA SENGUPTA

Rick Allocca, the “go-to-guy” at Spirits Unlimited Middletown, is the most unassuming person you would ever come across at any liquor store. But ask him anything you want to know about wines, you will be amazed by his depth of knowledge, his willingness to work with you to help you discover your palate, and his very charming and pleasant manners that takes the edge off your wine-shopping hassles.
Then you are left to ask yourself, how come he is so humble and unassuming?

According to Stuart Keats, Manager of Liquor Operations at Spirits Unlimited Middletown, Rick exemplifies what each member of the store is about: Helping the customers find and enjoy the best wines and spirits.

Rick’s passion for wines comes from his family table. Growing up in an Italian family in Middletown, dinner was always served with wine, as far as he remembers.

“My family is huge on wines,” he said. “Wine is as common as water in my family. My father is a big fan of the cabernet. He got me interested in wines. My grandfather too is big on wines. So for me it was a natural thing to get to know about wines.”

Looking back on his first day at the job at Spirits Unlimited Middletown, Rick shares his encounter with his first love: vintage wines!

“On my first day, I bought a case of mixed wines, a lot of them I have never heard before and within a week they were all gone,” Rick said. Trying various wines, learning about them, where they come from was a habit they kept growing on him.

“I think the reason I am so passionate about wines is because it is a natural occurring thing,” he said. “It has health benefits, can be shared with friends and family almost like music. Also, because the art of making a good wine involves so many people, from the one who plants, to the one who tends to it and then the whole process of harvesting and turning it into something special…it’s a very involved process and requires the expertise of many people to deliver a perfect product at your family table.”

As such, you can imagine Rick intends to make wine a big part of his adult life. “It’s something that I wanted to keep in my life, want to grow upon, learn more, keep around me and my family,” he said.

It has already grown on him since he started to work at Spirits Unlimited Middletown. He used to like the sweet, easy tasting wines before whereas now he is into more complex wines, Rick said.

His dream — “I would like to have my own vineyard.”

“Making your wine is leaving your mark on this world,” Rick said. “My great-grandfather used to make wine, and the tradition discontinued from my grandfather, who owned a deli store in Red Bank but did not pass the wine-making knowledge to my father. My dad wishes he had learned it. So, I would like to start a new legacy and continue that tradition that was lost from grandpa.”

“It’s personal, Rick said, “To me wine is a very personal experience.”

If you have a question about wines, please write to Rick at rickswineworld@gmail.com.

In the Spotlight: Raymond Kimble

Raymond Kimble, Store Manager
Spirits Unlimited Middletown
(732) 957 9700

Profile by: SOMDATTA SENGUPTA

With a background in finance and budgeting and ample experience at bartending, Raymond Kimble has been associated with Spirits Unlimited Middletown since 2005.

“I was made aware of the opportunity to work here by a friend,” Kimble said. “Now, I will go nowhere else. I like being in the liquor business.”

He was in the Merchant Marines as a supply officer for 5 years and spent 10 years in finance during which he said he gained experience in ordering, budgeting and forecasting projections on sales.

Coming to Spirits Unlimited Middletown he applied his knowledge to test. He found he was good at it.

As the store manager at Spirits Unlimited Middletown, Kimble had just won the first place in Sparkle Day, a competition that judged the cleanliness and organizational layout of the stores.

He said the store is easy to shop as it has bigger aisles, the largest selection in the area, and is easy to get to. It is just off Route 35 North in Middletown, in a prime location with ample parking.

“The store,” Kimble said, “is clean, friendly, spacious, with experienced and helpful staff and the lowest price point in the market.”

“The volume of business that we do here is so huge that we are able to offer the deep discounts that we are known for,” Kimble said. “We offer labels for wine bottle favors, help with party planning and ordering, host wine tasting and special events at the store – all with an eye to satisfying the customer.”

As store manager, Kimble said he has learned more about wines and the business end of it. He is quick to share his expertise with others.

“I have been bartending since I was 18. I like keeping up with new items, knowing about popular choices and interacting with people,” Kimble said with a smile. “That’s what managing store is about. You see what customers need, you learn about their likes and dislikes, and you share your own knowledge with them so they come back again and again.”

Beer Buzz: Exit 4 and 11 — Homegrown and Smart

Spirits Unlimited, Middletown, brings you two local labels Exit 4 and Exit 11. Available in our Domestic Beer section, against the wall at the Middletown store.

Review By: SOMDATTA SENGUPTA

One has to commend the Flying Fish Brewing Company for innovation.

This New Jersey based microbrewery located in Cherry Hill, has created the perfect product line that stands out and is unique to the place it is produced from.

Living in the Garden State since early 2000, I know how exits on the New Jersey Turnpike or the Garden State Parkway serve to identify your existence on the map and situates you in context of others.

It is also a great icebreaker as in: “Oh you are off Exit 4, I used to live by Exit 8A myself. Funny we should meet.”

Sometimes exits work even better than Google maps or your lifeline, as in your GPS. Say for example, you live in a town in New Jersey that someone has not heard off and during a conversation when people ask you where you are from, you tell them the name of your hometown. Their response: A blank expression.

It is in moments like these that exits come handy. When they keep staring at you blankly, the immediate solution is tell them nearest exit on the NJTP or the GSP from your home. “Ahh,” they will say, “so you are from Central Jersey.” And with that you are one of them, you are not from nowhere anymore. You are in.

Conversely, if you try saying you are from Central Jersey to someone who asks you where you live, then they will stare blankly at you again. My suggestion, stick to the exits.

Exits work in this state. Whether you use them for your daily commute or as points of socio-cultural contact or to pass through the state. As such to have come with an idea that is so integral to life and living in this state, is a feather in Flying Fish’s cap.

The Exit Series, in the company’s own words, is a multi-year collection of extremely limited release beers celebrating the great state of New Jersey and the Jersey Turnpike.

Each beer in the product line will focus on the unique aspect of an individual exit, whether it’s an ingredient, attitude or weird event, the company says.

Further, smart people as they are, Flying Fish has declared that “the releases won’t follow a pattern, instead, they’ll bounce around the state as the whim strikes us.”

Clever. This way they are off the hook if nothing spectacular strikes them between Exits 4 and 11. It also gives them more flexibility in developing and marketing their product line.

The series was introduced with Exit 4, a Belgian-style beer that is hoppy, bordering on bitter on my palate. According to the company, Exit 4 was the first release because it was “close to home, right up the street from the Flying Fish brewery.”

On tasting it, I was quizzing myself as to what aspects of South Jersey — the Cherry Hill/ Mount Laurel area came to mind as I sipped. My first thought: I love shopping in Marlton, the Camden Aquarium is good for a day trip locally, and most important, Exit 4 is on my way to Philly or D.C.

Other than that, there is nothing striking about the area that came to my mind. It was and always has been, an exit on my way.

Similarly, the Exit 4 beer, in my opinion, borders on commonality. It aims to please, not excite. The company stuck to what it knows and does best, as in “because we were one of the first craft brewers to embrace Belgian-style beers, we’ve chosen as our representative beer, a Belgian trippel finished with plenty of American hops.”

On its Web site, the company describes it as a hazy “golden beer with the aroma of citrus and hints of banana and clove. Its predominant Belgian malt flavors give way to a subdued bitterness in the finish. Bottle conditioned, this beer will develop as it ages.”

Fast forward to Exit 11, the next release two weeks back. The theme is a confluence of flavors. American hops, characteristics of a wheat ale, and on the lighter side this time. As founder Gene Muller frames it: It’s for the summer!

In his words: Exit 11 is the point on the Turnpike where the Garden State Parkway branches off and takes hundreds of thousands of travelers to the renowned Jersey Shore. Our Exit 11 Wheat Ale is a fresh, citrus-y summer beer perfect for beachgoers and those who only wish they were headed ‘downa shore.’

Exit 11 is an American-style wheat beer brewed with English ale yeast and three Pacific Northwest hops, Columbus, Palisade and Amarillo. It is brewed with 50% Belgian pale malt and 50% white wheat, and is an ideal summer thirst quencher, with its bouquet of tangerines and apricots. Exit 11 is available only during this one-time release, and only until it sells out across New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Delaware.

The next one in the series should be Exit 13A in my opinion. It is the largest hub of activity in the north with Elizabeth Seaport, the Newark Liberty International airport, the Turnpike, oil refineries, the looming skyline of Jersey City, Newark and New York City. It represents the rugged transition of the Garden State to that of an industrial power; the nerve center of the transportation sector of the tri-state area; and an indispensable and quite ugly section of the state that has potential to overwhelm and awe with equal force.

Unfortunately, Exit 13 A is not on the list at Flying Fish.

Are you ready to win?

Summer food and wines from Spirits Unlimited

Skills at the table

Cooking class from Food Circus Supermarkets