MELBOURNE — Manuel Rosales will tell you not to underestimate the quality of Hispanic wines.

“Argentina and Chile are making really fine wines,” said Rosales, owner of Wine Styles wine shop at The Avenue Viera.

“Spain used to not be considered a high-end wine country 20 years ago, but with the new economy, Spanish wine has become one of the best values. You can get an outstanding Spanish wine for $20 that would cost $40 in another country. We carry quite a lot of excellent Spanish wines.”

The Venezuelan native knows his wine, too. For years, Rosales traveled the globe as an engineer with United Technologies. The trips allowed him to satisfy his passion for good wines.

“I’ve always been into wine,” he said.

“When I would travel, I was always looking for interesting wines to try.”

His avocation became his vocation 2 1/2 years ago, when together with his Cuban wife, Maria, Rosales opened the well-known Wine Styles at The Avenue.

“We thought the area could use a store like this,” he said.

When he first opened, Rosales concentrated on selling specialty wines and beers by the bottle, but he recently remodeled the shop to include a wine bar where customers can sample fine wines by the glass.

“Our customers had been asking for this,” he said.

Wine Styles is part of a national franchise of 160 stores, each independently owned and operated.

Rosales carries 300 different wines from all over the world, but that’s just the tip of the iceberg.

“We have access to an inventory of over 8,000 wines,” he said.

“We do a lot of special orders.”

To make it easier for customers to select a wine, Rosales’ store displays wines by their characteristics, whether they be bold, mellow or fruity.

“We organize by style as opposed to by region or varietal,” he said.

The store’s wine club, which provides access to special tasting events and discounts on wine, is very popular with customers.

Rosales also schedules wine parties and special tastings on a regular basis.

“We do a lot of special events,” he said.

Friday wine tastings introduce customers to at least seven or eight wines.

Customer satisfaction is foremost for Rosales.

“Our staff is very knowledgeable and pride themselves in understanding the palate of our customers,” he said.

Wine Styles is located at 2250 Town Center Avenue, Suite 109, Viera. Phone is 639-3328. Website is www.winestyles.net/viera.

The store is open from 10 a.m. until 9 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays and from noon until 6 p.m. on Sundays.

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