Ella Community Pharmacy Team Finds Niche in the World of Wine
Photographer / Kelli White
Becca Graham, PharmD, a pharmacist at Ella Community Pharmacy, knows her wines.
Her wine reviews on Instagram (found at instagram.com/wineatthepharm) have become a hit with both Westfield and Sheridan customers of Ella Community Pharmacy.
“On our Wine at the Pharm reviews, I go by Dr. Becca,” Graham says. “We have Wine at the Pharm videos that are produced by Erik Angelotti, PharmD, and he goes by Dr. Erik. Erik and his wife, Lindsey Angelotti, PharmD, are the owners of the pharmacies, but I am in charge of running the Wine at the Pharm page.”
Graham says the Instagram page came about from the staff’s love of great wine. The page includes wine review videos, and is updated frequently with info on wine and bourbon tastings.
“Erik and Lindsey purchased the two pharmacies, Westfield Pharmacy and Sheridan-Elliott Pharmacy – now both Ella Community Pharmacy – in 2017,” Graham says. “Erik decided it would be a fun and exciting change to get our liquor license at the Westfield location. Erik, with the help of the alcohol distributors, picked the selection we keep in the store. We both enjoyed trying the wines we had in the store, learning all the flavors, and seeing what wines we were missing out on. We decided it would be awesome to share this experience with everyone else, so we started Wine at the Pharm.”
The team offers weekly wine reviews, and the wine they sample typically goes on sale for one month. They’ve been doing Wine At the Pharm reviews since February of 2020.
“Wine at the Pharm is really fun for Erik and I to do,” Graham says. “We enjoy tasting new wines, and sharing the flavor profile with everyone. It’s a really fun project for us to do that is different from the pharmacy world. It’s pretty cool to be a pharmacist and also run a wine tasting page as part of my job.”
Graham says she enjoys her job at Ella Community Pharmacy, noting that it offers a variety of services and products for customers.
“Since our first and most important job is the pharmacy, Ella Community Pharmacy offers your normal prescription filling, compliance packaging, delivery services for prescriptions, over-the-counter items and more, plus our beer, wine and liquor section,” she says. “As far as wines go, we have a wide selection of wines at a great price. One of our goals is to find great-tasting wines at an awesome price. We typically keep our wines under $20.”
Westfield Pharmacy originally opened in 1981, and the current owners purchased both stores in 2017, renaming them Ella Community Pharmacy.
Graham has also enjoyed how the Westfield and Sheridan communities have embraced the Wine at the Pharm online presence.
“I think the Westfield location customers have really enjoyed our videos, and we’ve had a lot of good feedback and participation in our videos, and in trying new wines,” Graham says. “We have created a couple bundles of wines, and we have donated to the Heart and Soul Free Clinic with each purchase of a wine bundle. It’s so awesome when customers come in and want to ask Dr. Becca or Dr. Erik about what wines we are trying, and ask for recommendations.”
Graham has several personal favorite wines.
“My personal favorite is the J.T. Steele Bourbon Barrel Red blend,” Graham says. “Also, anything from Lapis Luna wines is amazing, and their bottle designs are really cool. Erik’s personal favorite is Domaine Bousquet malbec. This year, we also have the J.P. Chenet wine advent calendar. I have already purchased mine, and I am super excited to try all the wines in it. We have a few in-store currently.”
Graham says customer favorites include the Auspicion cabernet sauvignon, 786 chardonnay, Happy Camper merlot, Barista pinotage and Lapis Luna zinfandel.
“Ella Community Pharmacy now has its own one-of-a-kind, single-barrel bourbon pick in-store,” Graham adds. “We actually sampled a few bourbons and picked this out – there were only 90 bottles to start, and they are selling quick.”
Ella Community Pharmacy is located at 103 South Union Street in Westfield. For additional details, call them at 317-896-9378. The Sheridan store is located at 508 East 10th Street, and can be reached at 317-758-4171.
