Tasting Points opened in 2021 on the northern edge of The Woodlands by neighboring towns of Conroe and Magnolia.
I dipped into the store on a hot summer afternoon in June as I was in the area for a job interview. I’m not one to shop at nearby chain stores such as Spec’s, Total Wine and Twin Liquors, so I had Tasting Points my agenda for a first visit. Best wine selection in the area among independent/family run stores of their scale. I bought a bottle and gave my compliments for carrying wines from the BBR Imports book (aka French Country wines of Houston).
I learned today that since November 1st, they have been liquidating with massive discounts as tbey prepare to close their doors. It’s a shame, because it was a great shop for their area. Closures in this business environment are adding up. Retails wine sales have really fallen off over the past couple of years, a massive swing the other direction compared to prior robust sales influenced by pandemic conditions and earlier mitigation phases. They were above the competition in their wine vibe and largely different from big box/chain offerings. They weren’t competing directly on big names most know, so for me, it would have been a destination shop all the time.
Otherwise, Tasting Notes storefront was on the side of newer shopping center and did not face the major corridor, Farm to Market road 1488 (a road which has seen expansion to meet explosive population growth in The Woodland-Conroe area). You would likely never notice it driving by, so maybe they had trouble building an organic customer base of residents and capture commuter traffic.
One last thing, I did get the job to run and curate a new bottle shop in the area. I left after a week of red flags (and I have not been paid 5 months later). Shop owner was loaded with money but entirely new to retail wine & spirits. They made it nearly impossible for me to do the job day to day. I left that mess 3 days before business launch. I hope the new shop did not contribute to impending closure of nearby Tasting Points.