About Us

About Us

About The Wine ConneXtion

The Wine ConneXtion offers customers a unique and innovative wine-purchasing experience at the First & Main Marketplace in North Andover, Massachusetts. The store offers "eXcellent wines at eXceptional prices" by providing the best wines in their categories with a no-fuss environment. With features like the Tasting Station, encouraging customers to taste and learn about the distinguishing features of wine before buying, the store marries innovative store design and technology with a long tradition of knowledge and experience. The result is our ability to select an assortment of quality wines at great prices and pass those savings onto our mainstream consumers and wine enthusiasts all over Massachusetts and beyond.

The Wine ConneXtion eXperience

What makes The Wine ConneXtion different from mainstream wine stores is their unique approach to serving their customers. Customers are encouraged to browse the large, open, cellar-style design where each wine has a descriptive narrative to educate the customer on everything from the characteristics of the wine to the best choices of foods to pair with the wine. Customers can also help themselves to one bottle or a case without having to ask the staff because all products are easily accessible. Plus, whatever the quantity, customers will always get the lowest prices on all types of purchases. And finally, one of the best Wine ConneXtion experiences is our self-serve Tasting Station. So pour yourself a sample and discover the many different wines the Wine ConneXtion offers.

Meet the Founders

An eXtraordinary Staff

The Wine ConneXtion staff is comprised of a team of experts who are passionate and knowledgeable about wine. Their savvy comes from 40 years of experience in the wine and liquor industry and results in the ability to identify and obtain premium wines at a great value that is then provided to our customers. Our family tradition of wine-selling has given us keen insight into finding the best sources of fine wines available and seeking innovative ways to reduce our operational costs. That value is always passed down to our customers.

Bio - Sam Messina

Sam Messina - Wine Director

Sam Messina found himself drawn to the world of wine at the age of 27 when his uncle shared with him a bottle of 1961 Beychevelle, a life-changing experience that ignited his love of wine. Sam took his love of the industry and used that to help grow his family's business, Messina's Liquors, from a beer, liquor and jug wine store, into a successful fine wine destination in the Merrimac Valley for over 25 years. As the manager of the store, Sam not only learned to further hone his skill and expertise in the wine industry, but became keenly aware of the needs and desires of his customers and found himself always shopping the market to find new and amazing wines that he knew his customers would love.

In addition to helping customers find the perfect wines for their needs on a daily basis, Sam's expertise is in pairing food with wine for both individual buyers and restaurants. He also has a passion for setting-up and selecting wines for personal wine cellars and has spent significant amounts of time educating consumers on wines, their attributes and the overall industry as a whole.

When the Messina family business closed in 2008, Sam wanted to continue to share his experience and, especially, his love of wine. Sam is not only passionate about finding great wines, but really gets a kick out of finding a great wine for an incredible value. Imagine a $6 bottle of wine that tastes like it's worth $25. If it's out there, Sam can find it!

The result of Sam's passion is the Wine ConneXtion—which brings the concept of fine wines at low prices to Massachusetts and creates an innovative and premier shopping destination for both everyday wine drinkers and collectors alike.

Bio - Tina Messina

Tina Messina - Business Manager

Like her brother Sam, Tina Messina has been in the family business for over 20 years. Her vision to transform the family-owned business, Messina's Liquors, into a “fine wine store selling wine at discount prices” came from visits to vineyards in California and the desire to bring that experience somehow to the local marketplace back east. The closing of Messina's Liquors allowed Tina's vision to come to fruition in the form of this innovative store concept, The Wine ConneXtion.

Tina's industry, marketing and retail knowledge has allowed her to develop this unique shopping environment which balances just enough customer service with self-service to reduce operating costs and to pass on those savings for great buys to all types of wine consumers. Her unique idea for selling and marketing wine means consumers still get great service but at significant cost savings than traditional wine stores.

Tina also is a principal for NA Realty Group which owns and operates First & Main Marketplace, home of The Wine ConneXtion.