What are your favorite wine shops in your area?

In Seattle:

Pete's on Eastlake - great NW selection, excellent prices & helpful wine
stewards
Esquin - very knowledgable, friendly staff; huge, excellent selection


In NYC, still trying to figure it out; have tried these so far:

Sherry Lehman (Manhattan) - friendly staff, good size selection, esp.
France
Astors (Manhattan)- bigger selection than most in NYC, also friendly staff
Red, White & Bubbly (Park Slope, Brklyn) - good neighborhood store
Big Nose, Full Body (Park Slope, Brklyn) - small selection but only 1
block from home, friendly staff, moderate price range
Vintage (Manhattan) - specializing in NY wines only, good NY
selection, relatively high prices

[Jenise]

Christy, agree with you about Pete's, they're great. Haven't shopped Esquin yet myself. In New York, have you tried Chambers St yet?

[James Roscoe]

Could we move this up to the regular wine forum? This is a great question. It's also very useful.

In suburban Maryland, the "best" shop by default is probably Corridor a Total Wine offshoot. They have a great staff even if they are poorly managed and don't really have the best variety.

In my wine desert of Prince George's Co., MD, the only shop worth a plug nickel is Rips in Bowie on RT. 301. They have a decent selection.

Fortunately the wine nirvana known as DC is close by. I will let others speak about the great stores there. Boltimore has some outstanding stores. I also have some good stores in Annapolis if no one else speaks up.

We have only been on the ground here for a year, are are still looking. We can get over to our favorite haunts in the Portland, ME area quicker than we could from Searsport.

The local New Hampshire scene is overpowerd by the New Hampshire Liquor Store system. They have improved by light years since we last lived in the state in the late 70s early 80s. Private stores are allowed, but find it very hard to compete. The one really nice exception we have found it Ceres Street Wine Merchants in Portsmouth.

Of the state stores we have visited we like the one in downtown Hookset best. This is followed by Portsmouth Traffic Circle and Wolfeboro. Those in Rochester, Lee, and Farmington (all nearby) are only sightly better than the supermarkets. There is an excellent website that tells you what is available in the state stores, which stores have it, how much it costs, and what the inventory level is. http://www.nh.gov/liquor/index.shtml

[Robin Garr]

In NYC, still trying to figure it out; have tried these so far:

Christy, as others have said, you really want to find your way to Chambers Street in NYC. For many of us on the forum who love offbeat, artisanal wines and don't want to pay inflated prices for them, Chambers Street is not merely the best wine shop in NYC, it's one of the best anywhere.

I'll fill in the thread with some nominations from Louisville, my home town, where we're unusually blessed with decent wine shops for a middle-size metro:

<b>Gemelli</b> - Fairly new, fairly small, but very well-run, with all wines hand-selected after tasting by the knowledgeable owners. Many North Berkeley imports and a wide variety of others. International, but strong on France and Italy.

<b>Old Town</b> - An old standard, looks like an urban bottle shop but bears closer inspection. Very wide variety, lots of wine-geek wines. Carries a strong selection from Kermit Lynch, John Given and (of less interest to me), Australians from Grateful Palate. Strong on French and US, fairly good on Italian.

<B>The Wine Market</B> - Owned by Old Town, a funky little urban shop that specializes in QPR, sale items, bin ends, etc. Unpredictable supply but always worth a browse.

<B>Liquor Barn</b> - Once the city's dominant wine shop under former management as <b>Party Source</b> and still a contender. Huge selection, several thousand labels, but recent management has imposed some changes in philosophy, with more high-end "pointy" wines and less exciting offbeat QPR stuff.

I also enjoy catching up with several others, including <b>The Wine Rack</b> (my neighborhood wine store!), <b>St. Matthews Wine Co.</b> and more; we've got a <b>Whole Foods</b> wine shop and <b>CostPlus World Market</b> that can be relied on for something to drink with dinner. But how many of you want this much information about Louisville, Ky.?

In the Buffalo Area, Premier (3 locations) is my favorite with a great selection of NY State and Ontario wines and a pretty good selection from the rest of the world, but sometimes I still can't really find what I'm looking for (eg Chinon). Another pretty good store is Supermarket Liquors in Niagara Falls. However, we also have at least 25-30 wineries within a 45 minute drive and I'd rather visit them.

In the OC there are too many to count but Wine Exchange has to be one of the best in the world. Otherwise I love to shop at the CDM Wine Gallery.

Jason

Chambers Street is not merely the best wine shop in NYC, it's one of the best anywhere.

Amen, amen Robin. I couldn't agree more. I should have added that we do buy most of our wines online, and Chambers Street is our number one resource. In second place is Pops in Long Island City.

Cheers, Carl

[Jenise]

Jason, no Hi Times?

In Fairfax County VA the 3 stores near my home I regularly frequent are:

The Wine Seller on Elden Street in Herndon. Not a huge selection but the staff are freindly, wonderfully responsive, and very helpful. Lots of tastings and wine events.

The Wine Cabinet in Northpoint shopping center in Reston. Large selection, good staff, tasting and wine classes. Prices a bit higher on sone items than the others but they stock most of the big names which can be hard to find elsewhere.

Total Wine, Route 50 in Greenbriar Shopping Center. Enormous selection but staff is sporatic at best. Regular tastings of as many a 10-12 wines at a time. Best if you already know what you want.

I'll let someone else do the DC stores.

Glenn

Jason, no Hi Times?

Hi Time is certainly world class and I have bought a lot of wine there. Good quality control but you have to be careful with there shipping area. It can be very hot.

I love the prices and selection at winex and the personal touch and unique selection of Wine Gallery.

J

[Jenise]

Jason, never knew about or went to the Gallery. Is it new? Loved Winex for prices and selection, but I adored the dark, cellar-y atmosphere at Hi Times for lusting and the occasional discovery of a perfectly stored past vintage they'd completely lost track of. Real treasures were entirely possible there. I was unaware of the shipping area issue....

Ditto on what everyone else has said about Chambers Street. In my neck of the woods (DC area):

** MacArthur has by far the best selection of interesting wines -- and reasonable prices during its fall and spring wine sales.

** Calvert-Woodley probably has the next best selection and perhaps a larger group of dirt-cheap wines that are actually drinkable (I'm thinking of some $5 Portuguese and Spanish wines), but they tend to lean toward Parker-points wines and I have found their service dismal -- so much so, I shop there a lot less than I used to.

** Cleveland Park Liquors is a much smaller, neighborhood wine shop that carries a lot of obscure and interesting wines, albeit at slightly higher prices; I tend not to make special trips there, but when I'm in the neighborhood, I always stop by to see what they've got and usually make some purchases.

** Morris Miller, famed for its inclusion in George Pelecanos' novels, is the closest store to where I live. They don't have a great selection and their prices are so-so at best (appalling on their high-end wines), but their wine buyer has always been very helpful in special ordering wines for me, they almost always have a 20 percent-off coupon one can use, and they're convenient.

** Rodmans, a drug store of sorts that became a kind of Trader Joe's before there was such a thing, has a somewhat eclectic collection of wines with a lot of Kermit Lynch imports.

I've also heard great things about Arrowine across the river in Virginia, but have yet to go there.

Jason, never knew about or went to the Gallery. Is it new?

New-ish compared to Winex or Hi Time. http://www.cdmwinegallery.com/

I do love Hi Time, especially if you are looking for something with some age on it. The wine could not be stored better.

Jason

I'll take local to mean NY /NJ for me.
Chambers St (NYC)- I'll echo others praise, great store.
Wine Library (NJ)- good prices overall, good service
Astor (NYC)- ditto. Greg dal Piaz has really strengthened Italian section.
Zachys (Scarsdale)- high regular prices, but sales can (sometimes) be real deals.Storage/provenance on older bottles is impeccable. Usually something worthwhile being poured on weekends, though it can be a zoo.
Grapes the Wine Company (Rye NY, not the sleazy place in CT called Grapes). Lots of interesting stuff. Regular prices may seen just a tad high, but with mixed discount very fair. And Daniel Posner is very service oriented. Gave me full credit on a bad '75 Palmer.
Post ( Syosset)- I've shopped there sporadically for years, now Alan Marshok is there. Good solid prices on Bordeaux on futures and new releases. Occasionally closeouts on Burgundy.
Sherry-Lehmann (NYC)- prices usually high, but occasionally very good on wines they take a big position on.
Rochambeau (Dobbs Ferry)- my truly local store. Some internet fiascoes aside, a solid store. Focus is changing to more New World ith Alan gone
Suburban (Yorktown)- prices are all over the place- some good, some bad. More US/Oz centric from what I've seen. Frequent big tastings.
Varmax (Portchester)- Moderate selection; with mixed case coupon, can
be a place for bargains.

Outside NY metro area I shop at Premier Cru, Wine Exchange and Woodland Hills in CA.
Benchmark, Cellaraiders, & Blicker-Pierce can be good for older stuff, though not really traditonal retailers.

In the Baltimore area, Beltway Fine Wines (the local outpost of the Total Wine empire) is hard to beat on prices and bulk purchases, especially with sales and ad coupons. Very helpful staff. Ironic that with its huge volume, the selection leaves a bit to be desired, as James noted with regard to a sister store down his way. Wells Liquors, mid-sized in comparison, has good selection, staff, and pricing--especially during their semi-annual buy-one-get-second-for-half-price sales. Weak Italian section, though.

The Wine Source stands out among the wine specialty stores, with great and frequent in-store tastings (e.g., the Musar tasting James recently attended) and off-premises food and wine events. Prices tend to be a bit higher than Beltway or Wells, but selection is much more interesting and service is quite good. The Wine Underground, The Old Vine, and Vineyard are other good retailers. Grand Cru, the Chesapeake Wine Company, and The Wine Market all deserve highly honorable mention as retailers with wine bars serving food as well.

In the beach town of Ocean City, Maryland, most retailers have predictably weak and expensive selections. Which makes the two excellent exceptions--Late Nite Liquors and The Green Room--all the more special. Avalon Market is okay, but not at the level of the other two.

There are so so many in Northern California. Here is my list of favorites:

Nugget Grocery-a local small (7 stores, I believe) supermarket chain-has an awesome wine department with weekly tastings. Nugget is what turned me onto the whole wine thing, so while not a local "shop," I must include them.

Tuco's Wine Bar in Davis, CA. Awesome wine bar/wine shop with a limited, high end, but very nice collection of wines that represent the owner's ever evolving taste. Great (if pricey) tasting flights, lovely cheese plates, good food.

Back Room Wines, Napa. An awesome downtown Napa shop. First time I ever tried Riesling was at their Friday night tasting. Great emphasis on Rhone and culty Napa reds and white. (Although he served a great Burgundy, too).

Plumpjack. They carry my favorite Chainti, Pallazino il Podere Grosso Sanese, so can't forget them!

Wine and Spirit World-my local (Vacaville) liquor store. Iffy storage, but they have some really nice California Cabs (Rubicon!)

K&L Wines. Like a wine department store/candy store. Awesome!

Saint Helena Wine Company-nice tastings. Good selection of small production Napa wines.

There are others I like, too. But, this selection has stressed my budget enough

I can't wait to check out Chambers Street (I'm going to go tomorrow). I'm also headed to Kitchen Arts & Letters (a cookbook store). There's something nice about not having started working yet...

K&L (Redwood City) which is a very dangerous place. I always procure and spend far more than I originally intended.

Also go to Beltramo's in Menlo Park, and The Wine Club which is close to my office in San Jose.

Spending a lot of time in Portland lately, and have been going to Liner & Elsen there (would those in the know have any other recommendations?)

cheers,
al

Don't forget Schneider's on the Hill - the best wine shop in DC! (3rd and Mass Ave, NE, I believe). It is the place that turned me on to vino in the mid '80s by pulling a bottle off the shelf, taking me into the back room and having at it. Great staff, brothers Jon and Rick are at the top of their game all the time. If you don't see what you want they have it in controlled storage. As super as the wine selection is, I think their customer service places them at the front of the line for DC wine shops! http://www.cellar.com

In our area, I'll echo what Brian said about Nugget Market. They take their wine very seriously. And any poor wine geek who ends up marooned in Sacto owes it to him- or herself to check out Corti Brothers. Not a huge selection, but it is one of the most interesting group of wines you'll find under one tent. They have stuff there that you most certainly will not find anywhere else in the world.

Of course, in the Bay Area, you have K&L, Beltramo's, Kermit Lynch, Wine Club, etc......


Mike

My "Top-Ten" Seattle favs:

1. Steve's Leschi Food Mart - Great selection, best prices in town. Besides wine, try some of his homemade Italian sweet sausage while you're there! "Steve for President"

2. Fred Meyer(!) Ballard - Marty Hamel continues to "deliver-the-goods"...one of the few to consistently carry hometown favorite, ANIMALE. Marty's operation is one of the few redemptive characteristics of Kroger food monolith.

3. Shoreline Central Market - Shoreline store does a great job, nice dept! My consistent location for sleeper White Burgundies!

4. Pete's Eastlake - Excellent selection, customer service, world's tiniest aisles! Ogling the bottles while dodging fellow shoppers makes it feel llike a submarine!

5. West Seattle Cellars - wonderful shop in a small space. "Bear" is the man!

6. Ballard Central Market - Can you believe we have wine depts. like this in local super markets???!! Deep Zin section.

7. Esquin - the original, Seattle standard-setter....giant selection. Recent remodel has re-energized the space. Be sure to look for the post-"Good Friday Earthquake" photos!

8. Metropolitan Markets(Admiral & Bryant) - Great stores-in-stores, compact yet quality operation(s).

9. Wine Outlet - Unique concept, closeout-driven, but prospecting can yield real gems! Look for the shelf with Richard's "onesies" from estates/collections.

10. European Vine Selections - If you haven't visited this funky/quirky, Capitol Hill shop, you owe it to yourself....hand lettered notecards describing the wines are fun & kooky. Could use better lighting, but bunker-like layout might not benefit from increased illumination! Excellent, niche French/Euro-focused store with friendly front-end staff.


Enjoy!

Mark

"Wine: Grape Juice with a Trap-Door"

NYC Metro area

Stew Leonard’s in Farmingdale

Pops in Island Park

Frank’s in Central Islip

Crazy Billy’s in Deer Park


Salute

In the Lafayette, LA area, we have two decent shops:

Phillipe's - Phillipe is from south France and has a decent selection of French wines. I've found him to be very helpful in making selections for food pairings.

Marcello's - A large delection of US wines and some good selections from Europe. Best thing here is they always have about a dozen wines displayed that are mix and match 3 for $10 wher I've found some at least drinkable bottles.