#It's like [you chose not to remember this part] adjacent in vibes??? Lovely!!!!

[johnboothus]

The Purple Corkscrew Ladies Steffini Bethea and Racquel McCreary Are Creating a Community Haven for Atlanta Wine Lovers

Steffini Bethea is the founder and owner of the Purple Corkscrew Wine Shop & Tasting Room in Avondale Estates, Ga. She’s also a former Democratic nominee for Georgia State Representative who left her political aspirations (along with a former career in pharmaceutical sales) behind to pursue her dream of building a career in wine. In the spring of 2012, she realized that dream when she opened the Purple Corkscrew.

One year later, during a visit to the wine store, Racquel McCreary, now wine manager of the Purple Corkscrew, recognized that Bethea was doing something unlike anyone else in the Atlanta area at the time. She believed in Bethea’s vision for the Purple Corkscrew and wanted to assist her in building a wine business greater than any other in the area. Bethea hired McCreary as wine manager in 2014, and both business and friendship have grown since then.

With the help of a dedicated team of wine professionals on staff, Bethea and McCreary have created a community haven for wine enthusiasts of all levels. The part wine store, part tasting room serves as a popular lounge space for the surrounding community, offering a place to discover a new bottle of wine while indulging in a glass of your favorite; a place to prepare a presentation, or read a book, or simply unwind after a long day at work.

Whether patrons have questions regarding charcuterie pairings, up-and-coming grower wine brands, or wine tariffs (both are in strong support of reversing the current tariffs on wine), Bethea and McCreary have a knowledgeable and informed answer. Follow along as Bethea and McCreary (a.k.a. the “Purple Corkscrew Ladies,” or simply “the Purple Ladies,” says McCreary) share top strategies for running a successful wine shop, their experiences as women in the wine business, and who their dream drinking partners would be.

1. Steffini, why did you decide to open a wine shop?

Years ago, my mom and I took a trip to Spain to explore and drink wine. During this trip, I fell in love with Tempranillo. That was the first varietal I had really experienced outside of the noble grapes. I loved it so I kept trying different varieties, seeking out more wines and tasting opportunities in order to grow and develop my palate. You know what? I really enjoyed it! Eventually, my husband sat me down and said, “Listen, if you’re going to drink this much wine, you have to figure out a way to make money doing this.” Well, I knew that I loved wine but I just wasn’t sure about which direction to take within the industry.

2. That’s quite a story. Did you have any previous experience in the wine industry?

I had a career in pharmaceutical sales but was laid off. After deciding that I wanted to open a wine bar, I got a job at a wine shop here in Atlanta. Soon after, I convinced the owner to let me run the wine bar. I worked hard, studied wine, and anything I didn’t know. … Well, let’s just say Google was my best friend. I did that for several months before I felt it was time to step out on my own. I don’t know if I was smart or stupid but I found a spot and just went for it. So just for laughs, I enjoy telling people, “I went from selling drugs to selling wine.”

3. Racquel, how did you step into your role as wine manager of the Purple Corkscrew?

I was a member of a local group named “The Sipping Sisters.” Every first Saturday of the month, we would meet somewhere new and immerse ourselves in wine. I found out about a new wine shop opening called the Purple Corkscrew and chose the location as our monthly meeting location. It was just a great and wonderful space to experience wine!

At that time, Steffini had both an on-premise wine lounge and a retail shop adjacent to one another. She just happened to be looking to hire someone to run the retail wine shop part-time while her business partner was on maternity leave. Over time, my role transitioned into a full- time managerial role and seven years later I’m still here.

4. What has been your experience running your business in the male-dominated wine industry as Black women?

RM: Luckily for us, in Atlanta, the retail wine and wine-bar business is fueled by women. As a matter of fact, being two of the few Black women in this business in metro Atlanta, we stand out. You may not remember our names but people always remember the “Purple Corkscrew Ladies” or simply “the Purple Ladies.” Whether we are talking to a winemaker, attending a trade show, meeting with a distributor or traveling the world, once people realize that our wine knowledge is solid, we suddenly become less of a novelty and more like kindred spirits in the wine arena.

SB: Being two of a few Black women in the retail wine industry has had its challenges. Sometimes we’d be the only Black people at the trade shows, and it would be so hard to get the attention of the winemakers, our wine reps would have to step in and make introductions … and it’s not like that for others in the room. We would face some of the same challenges when dealing with distributors. We’ve had distributors bring us what they thought we should have versus what we wanted. This year we’ve been offered allocations of wines that we were not offered previously. So basically, I think our greatest challenge has been getting people to take us seriously.

5. What is one of the greatest lessons you’ve learned when it comes to the relationship between a distributor and a retail wine business?

SB: In order to be taken seriously by distributors, you have to be excellent in sales. Our distributors and suppliers recognize our growth and knowledge and our strength in sales, which has translated into access to greater wine choices and allocations. This didn’t happen instantly. Women have to work harder than our counterparts, and as Black women, we have to work even harder still. It has taken years to gain the respect and consideration of distributors, but we are wine buyers and we know wine. People tend to take us much more seriously these days.

6. What tools or strategies have you found work well for you two in business?

SB: Knowing this business and continuously learning. Fostering positive relationships with suppliers, winemakers and our clients. Developing good relationships with the delivery drivers. They actually have helped us tremendously because through them we know what’s being delivered across town. We get information on new wines on the market, how many cases are being sold or allocated. Because of this we now know what to ask for and/or order for the store.

RM: I believe being hospitable and being able to read our customers are both our secret weapons. While we would love to sell the more expensive bottles of wine, it’s more important that we recommend a good wine that closely matches a customer’s needs. Also, organizing the store in an easy-to-shop format. Old World, New World, and Bubbles. This also makes it easier to explain the wine’s nuances to the customer as well.

7. Owning a wine shop is hard work and certainly not for the faint of heart. Can you name a few small yet often overlooked details that may contribute to a wine shop’s success?

RM: Impeccable stemware, a good playlist and a very friendly staff. Glassware should be of good quality, clean/dry, free of perfumed soaps, and polished to a brilliant finish. A playlist establishes a certain vibe in the shop and if curated correctly, encourages your clients to linger and shop longer. Lastly, hiring staff that enjoy helping people and are able to read a client’s mood.

SB: When hiring, Racquel always says, “We can teach you wine, but you have to be up to the challenge of offering exceptional customer service.” There is a famous quote that says, “People may not remember what you say but they will remember how you make them feel.” This is so true, especially in this business. We also pride ourselves on establishing a great ambiance through a curated playlist. We always receive lots of compliments about our curated playlist, too. A great playlist makes all of the difference in the world in the retail business. Also, impeccable stemware goes a long way.

8. Steffini, you’ve been very active in spreading the word about the effects of tariffs on American wine businesses. What were some of your strategies for educating wine professionals and consumers? Also, how have the tariffs affected your business?

The currently enforced, as well as the threat of future tariffs, forced me to play an active role in highlighting the issue with my elected government officials. I joined a coalition and we scheduled meetings with our senators and congressmen, stressing how dangerous these tariffs were to American businesses. We mainstreamed the information and created awareness for people in the wine world. As a result of the hard work of many people, we are looking forward to the tariffs not being an issue in the upcoming months. As far as the tariffs affecting our business, we did see an increase in wine prices. We also found some wines were difficult to get, but again, with the new administration in D.C., we are feeling very optimistic.

9. Who would you love to share a glass of wine with?

SB: I’d love to sit along the Seine River and share a bottle of wine with James Baldwin.

RM: I would love to share a bottle of wine with Langston Hughes. The rhythm of his words are akin to wine swirling in a glass.

10. What does the future hold for the Purple Corkscrew? Any big plans you’d like to share?

SB: We’ve got big plans and there are so many great things coming up for us. I don’t want to say too much right now, so you guys will just have to stay tuned. We’re feeling great about our future because our wildest dreams are coming true.

The article The ‘Purple Corkscrew Ladies’ Steffini Bethea and Racquel McCreary Are Creating a Community Haven for Atlanta Wine Lovers appeared first on VinePair.

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[kibahinatas]

DRV3 Liveblog [BLIND]: Prologue

THE STORY IS NOT OVER

Welp I just finished playing the prologue, and OH MAN. I have a LOT to say, so strap in guys, this is gonna be a long ride!

To start off, the settings I chose were Japanese Audio, Mean Logic, and Normal Action. And then the game began! I found it interesting how it started out with the montage of all the Dangan Ronpa games, including the anime! Will this really not be a part of the Hope’s Peak storyline at all? Hm...

Anyway, I think it will be best if I break things down into 4 main segments: STORY, GAMEPLAY, CHARACTERS, and PREDICTIONS. Let’s start with,

STORY

So our story begins with our sweet MC Kaede Akamatsu awakening in a locker, alongside fellow student Shuichi Saihara. They both have memories of being kidnapped but otherwise appear to be normal high schoolers in a strange classroom. They exit the classroom into the overgrown school and encounter these big robots (piloted by the Monokubs) and head to the gym where the other 14 normal high schoolers are.

The Monokubs seem to be a bit disorganized, and realize they didn’t give the students their memory of being ultimates. After returning their ultimate memories, and a quick magical girl transformation by Kaede into the SHSL Pianist, we suddenly start over in the locker again, but now as ultimates and without the kidnapping memory, it would seem.

We then travel around the school with Shuichi and properly meet the other students. Some rooms and areas appear to be locked, and we also discover that we will each have our own “ultimate lab” to help cultivate our talents. After meeting everyone we are gathered in the gym to meet Monokuma and learn our true purpose for being here: a killing game.

THOUGHTS: Hm, where to begin! There’s a lot going on already in just the prologue. But I think the thing that stands out to me the most right now has to be the nature of the student’s amnesia. When the game first started with no one knowing about their talents was that just a mistake by the Monokubs or is something more going on? And it seems like our characters were actually kidnapped for real this time around!

The fact that the students “started over” after receiving their ultimate memories is probably the most interesting to me, though. Why make them do that instead of just staying where they were in the gym? Why was it so important to go back in the locker, or wherever everyone else awoke?

Also WHAT is going on with that flash of Kaede with her head hooked up to that..whatever it is. Are we in another SDR2 situation where our bodies are one place and our mind is another? I mean, I doubt they would do something so similar, but we did go through a magical girl transformation, and have our memory returned to us via a light...so I’m not ruling it out just yet. But, it could just be the amnesia device or whatever. We have yet to see just how Junko stole the 78th class’ memories, so who knows. Needless to say, I have a LOT of questions!

As far as the setting goes, I’m digging it so far. The overgrown school has a rather cool feel to it, and I like that we have an outside area as well with places to visit, including the dormitory. It’s like a nice balance between the totally trapped setting of DR1 and the more open island setting of SDR2.

GAMEPLAY

Although I have never played any of the preceding DR games myself, I am pretty familiar with how the gameplay usually goes, having watched multiple LPs. So, overall it seems to play much like how the others did, with some minor updates. Oh, and that “chase” scene with the Exisals...that caught me so off guard for a Dangan Ronpa game, haha. Aaaanyway...

The controls are basically the same, one update being how it looks when you see what you can investigate in a room. Instead of circling the objects, it highlights them while darkening everything else. It actually makes it much easier to see what’s around, tbh. There’s also the option to smack things, but so far I haven’t found anything that it works on. Not sure what the purpose of this will be. And if the game did tell, me I was probably a little confused and/or forgot, haha.

The main map looks and works a little differently than the ones before, as to be expected, but we also now have a mini map in the bottom right corner on screen whenever we’re walking around in open areas which I like. The main map also features little almost 3d looking pixel sprites of the characters to show where there are, which I thought was cute.

The soundtrack seems pretty solid so far as well. I’m really enjoying the new ‘beautiful’ song, “Beautiful Lie.” It’s a nice addition to the series that is almost like a mix between “Beautiful Dead” and “Beautiful Ruin” in terms of style. We also get some remixes of classics like the main DR theme and Monokuma’s theme. All nicely done. Basically, Masafumi Takada kills it once again.

We also get to see and hear Kaede when she speaks! Which is really cool. I like being able to see multiple characters at once on this new and improved interface. We’ve also gotten a lot of cut scenes so far which I’ve been enjoying. It really adds a lot to the experience and helps you really immerse yourself and better visualize what’s going on.

CHARACTERS

And now to my favorite part to talk about! Characters! Let’s talk about each character individually, in the order in which they appear in my Dossier, beginning with our protagonist.

KAEDE AKAMATSU, SHSL PIANIST: Our first female MC (sorry Komaru) has not disappointed so far! I’m really enjoying playing as her. I love playing characters with a lot of personality which she definitely has. She seems very positive and friendly, and maybe a little silly at times too. It’s interesting to me how she’s just met all of her classmates and already views them as friends. She really seems like the type to hope for the best in all things! How will she react when the killing starts, however...

RANTARO AMAMI, SHSL ???: Oh boy, our token “I don’t remember what my talent is” character. (Let’s call him Amami, I like the sound of that better haha) Already, I can tell the game is setting him up to be an important character with him seeming to know a little of what is going on here at the Academy. I’m not sure what to make of him yet, but he looks and sounds like a super bae, haha. Although, something about him just gives me a real Nagito vibe. His behavior, sprite poses, and that wavy hair...hm. I don’t know. With all that, I can’t shake the feeling he may be one of the first to die...

MIU IRUMA, SHSL INVENTOR: An inventor! What a handful this girl is, haha. She has such a fun and over the top personality, I like it. Me and my boyfriend were cracking up at all her vulgar comments and sudden changes in mood. I don’t have much else to add about her right now, but I’m looking forward to getting to know her more. Let’s hope she sticks around for a while.

KOKICHI OMA, SHSL SUPREME LEADER: This kid!! I’m not sure which translation is more accurate, President or Supreme Leader, but I definitely prefer the latter. He’s such a cutie but also..kind of evil? I love it. He’s the leader of a massive “secret evil organization” that may or may not exist (depending on whether he’s telling the truth or not,) which is so vague! What kind of organization? Hm. Anyway, I’m curious to see how he will get along with the others. Already we’ve seen him tormenting Kibo and Himiko to an extent, while also seeming excited about the killing game. Is he really pure evil? I’m super curious to know more.

K1-B0, SHSL ROBOT: Aka Kibo (or ‘Keebo’ as it’s spelled in my game), aka Robohoge, the guy we all thought would be the protagonist once upon a time. And, one of the characters whose talents I somewhat predicted. I thought he would be a cyborg - part human, part robot - but it seems that he’s all robot! Just like Amami filling a token role, Kibo is our token AI. I haven’t seen enough of him yet to really form a solid opinion on him, but I’m curious as to whether or not his creator, a Professor Idabashi, has any relevance.

GONTA GOKUHARA, SHSL ENTOMOLOGIST: Entomologist...bug catcher, I mean that’s the same thing, right? Right? Haha..anyway what a big precious boy. Literally raised by wolves, Gonta is basically Tarzan..if Tarzan was really into bugs. Like, really, REALLY just loved bugs. He comes across as a bit simple, but I think it’s mostly due to his poor grasp of language. I honestly don’t see him having any big secrets or hidden sides to him, and he seems rather trusting. As long as you love bugs, of course. So it makes me concerned he may be an easy target later on, regardless of his size.

SHUICHI SAIHARA, SHSL DETECTIVE: Our main boy so far, he’s accompanied Kaede throughout her exploration of the school, after waking up in the adjacent locker. When he revealed his talent, I literally yelled “You can’t be the Ultimate Detective! Kyoko Kirigiri is the Ultimate Detective!” And tbh, I’m not completely convinced he is, but not for that reason. Not only does he not really seem like much of a detective at all (seriously, just compare his actions with those of Kyoko,) but the way he earned his title is suspect. Shuichi himself believes the case he solved was due to luck, and not his actual detective skills. This makes me think that perhaps he is not the SHSL Detective, but actually the SHSL Good Luck! Anyway, I like him so far. He seems a little shy, and seems to have some sort of complex with his hat. Overall a good kid. I’d be his friend.

TSUMIGI SHIROGANE, SHSL COSPLAYER: And suddenly Dangan Ronpa fans around the world screamed, as their OC’s talent was snatched up by a canon character, lol. Tsumigi, not to be confused with Mikan Tsumiki, is certainly an interesting girl. Kaede and Shuichi poking her cheeks with no response? Amazing, lol. She’s also a huge nerd, but not in the hilariously cringey way that Yamada was, so it should be fun to hear all the references and relateable things she’ll have to say. I hope we get to actually see some of her cosplays!

KOREKIYO SHINGUJI, SHSL ANTHROPOLOGIST: Or ‘Kiyo’ as he’s called in the localized version. Honestly, I can’t say I’m a big fan of this guy right now. He’s a little..off-putting. His talent also came as a surprise to me, with such a creepy appearance. Then again, I guess it matches his creepy personality, lol. But I don’t want to write him off just yet, I’m sure he has...some redeeming qualities...

TENKO CHABASHIRA, SHSL AIKIDO MASTER: Oh Tenko, winner of the Best Sprite award with that stunning face she made when Kaede called her cute, haha. Her dislike of men is reminiscent of Mahiru a bit, but much more extreme. She seems like a fun character and I like her so far. Also, super gay.

KIRUMI TOJO, SHSL MAID: What is this, like the 3rd time we’ve had an ultimate maid? Haha, seems like it anyway. Anyway, I don’t really have a lot to say about her right now. Out of all the characters, she’s probably made the smallest impression on me so far. It sounds like she does a bit more than traditional maid work though - which to me would be like cleaning duties. I feel like ‘Servant’ may fit her better, and maybe it’s just a translation thing, but oh well. Maid it is I suppose.

MAKI HARUKAWA, SHSL CHILD CAREGIVER: Discovering Maki’s talent was probably one of the more WTF moments I had in the prologue, haha. It really does not fit her at all. I almost wonder if she’s lying about what her talent is...hmm...Personality wise she seems a little cold, and maybe a bit mysterious. She was featured very prominently in the very early promos of the game, which makes her seem important, but it could have just been to mislead us I suppose. She also mentioned being raised in an orphanage, which I’m sure had a big impact on the kind of person she became.

RYOMA HOSHI, SHSL TENNIS PRO: Ryoma...I...well let’s just say I wasn’t too far off in my last post when I said he might use his tennis racket to threaten people, haha. But damn, THAT VOICE. He is just 3′4″ and 88 lbs of MAN. Well, minus that face, lol. Once you look past his appearance though, he seems intriguing. He’s basically our token “bad boy”/criminal, but his talent doesn’t match up at all. I wonder what kind of past he had, and what led him to take down that mafia or whatever it was.

KAITO MOMOTA, SHSL ASTRONAUT: Kaito, secretly the SHSL Vocaloid, haha. He gives off the vibe of being our token “scaredy cat.” Which I didn’t expect from him at all, given how cocky he always looked in the early promos. But maybe I’m wrong, I have only really witnessed his introduction scene thus far. Anyway, a good space boy. I hope he makes it there one day.

HIMIKO YUMENO, SHSL MAGICIAN: At last! I can rest assured that my Witch OC is safe...for now...although they do have weirdly similar personalities, lol. Anyway I really like Himiko so far. She’s so cute with her deadpan personality and basic-ass repertoire of magic tricks. I can just see her being the Magician’s Alliance alongside Gob in Arrested Development, haha. But she is an ultimate after all so maybe she has a little something more up her sleeve...

ANGIE YONAGA, SHSL ARTIST: A real cutie-patootie who’s also...super religious? I love her character design so much, and we are also the same height! Although she must be hella skinny to only weigh 90 lbs (I weigh about 110/115 and am pretty petite myself.) Anyway the religious thing is very unexpected but adds a lot of interest to her, other than just being the cutesy girl. And with the way she talks about Atua wanting blood sacrifices, and her being used as his instrument, this could certainly come into play later on...

MONOKUBS: Okay, since I don’t actually have their names in front of me (none of them are in the Dossier for whatever reason) I can’t remember what the red one is called, haha. But overall they seem like they will be quite entertaining to watch. My boyfriend seemed to really enjoy the parts where the game would just cut to Monodam saying absolutely nothing, lol. Monophannie reminds me of Monomi a lot, but I’m sure they are really quite different.

PREDICTIONS

Well I’ve already mentioned some of my ideas, so to try and wrap this up I’ll just talk about the ones I haven’t covered yet.

The biggest one right now has to do with what seemed like a throwaway line by Monokuma. I don’t remember exactly what it was, but it was something along the lines of ‘stories about the second generation are never successful, but with the Monokubs it’s possible.’ I butchered it, but you get the idea. So this spawned an idea in my head.

We know that is not part of the Hope’s Peak storyline, meaning it either takes place in an AU, or in the future sometime after the events of DR3. If it is in the future, could these students be descendants of previous characters? Thus, “the second generation.” Remember, the game told is in the beginning “the story is not over.” Is that what it could mean?

It seems like such a cliche idea, but coming from the franchise that used twists like Twin Switch and it was all a Lotus-Eater Machine, I wouldn’t put it past the developers to this AND do it well. I’m not sure if they would have ALL the characters be 2nd gen, but either way I have a few likely candidates for this theory. I already mentioned about the similarities I feel between Amami and Nagito, so let’s talk about the others.

Kokichi is probably the biggest one for me. Not only could I see him being related to Gundam and Sonia, I could straight up see him being their son! What else would the child of a ruling princess and the “supreme overlord of ice” be but the SHSL Supreme Leader? Leading an evil organization would make sense too given Gundam’s outlandish fantasies of evil and Sonia’s interest in serial killers and the occult. He also wears a scarf, and according to the dossier, “revels in blurring the lines that separate fact from fiction.” Sound like anyone we know? ;)

Gonta is a possible candidate as well. Given his upbringing, this is really just based on his appearance. But he could be related to Akane and Nekomaru. A big buff dude with wild brown hair? I don’t know...

Kaito I’m torn on. His eccentric purple theme and desire to travel to space remind me of Kazuichi. But then his clothing and to a degree his facial hair make me think of Hagakure. But uh, I may be reaching just a bit here.

Anyway, while that theory is definitely reaching a little as a whole, I also noticed there seems to be a theme of Lies going on here. The song “Beautiful Lie,” the game case referring to Lie Bullets, characters that may or may not being lying about who they are (not like pretending to be someone else, but more like withholding information or providing false information about themselves.) I don’t know who or what to trust!

But this post is getting way too long, so I think I will wrap up and end by saying that I am very excited to play more of the game and uncover all the mysteries I’m sure it has to offer.

I wonder what chapter one will hold in store...