I loved the concept of this store - a wine shop that lets you hang out and enjoy a glass or a bottle before, during or after picking out your bottles. The store is organized by region with the largest variety coming from Spain, Chile and Argentina. Clearly the management likes Spanish wines best. They give courses here and do events, though I've never been and can't really comment.
I have some issues with the execution. This is Brazil, so obviously it gets crazy hot. This store is all open air, so it seems your carefully created bottles are not being kept climate controlled. I guess this probably also happens when you transport wine in this country, but most wine shops here are kept at a more palatable temperature. They have only a few bottles kept in the fridge at the appropriate temperature for drinking, and none of them were white wine which is usually what I prefer for an afternoon sip.
They also offer glasses of wine, but they didn't seem to have marked the bottle with the open date nor did they use one of the corks that removes air from the bottle to keep from over oxidizing (typical problem here). Having given the shop a once over, I asked the clerk if they had any Spanish Tempranillo, nope and no suggestions for a similar bottle. I ended up with a Verdejo which I found myself no thanks to her.
They seriously need to step up their wine game here. I would not pay for classes from them though it could be a fun place to come with friends especially while waiting for a table at Naga or Nakka. The cheapest wine bottle I saw was R$72 but most were around R$150. Not cheap unless you are thinking in current exchange rate terms. The place is still under a year old so hopefully they improve their selection and step up their training. read more