Dear New Yorkers, Won't you take a minute to tell us where you buy your wine? Jenny, our wine correspondent, tries to select a wine each week that will be relatively easy for us all to find in the city, but knowing where you all actually shop will help. And if your favorite shop isn't on the list, tell us about it in the comments. Outer bourough merchants and small boutique shops, all welcome.
ZACHYS or Winebid.com
West Side Wines - upper west side
I rarely buy wine, but when I do it tends to be very local. I don't know the name of the place on Amsterdam and 96th, but there. And I know nothing about wine, but I've never had a Merlot that I didn't like, so I just go for that.
HARLEM VINTAGE on Fredrick Douglass Blvd (8th ave) and 121th Street.
MADISON AVENUE WINES on Madison and 118th.
Vine Wine on Jackson Ave. in Long Island City is my #1 favorite wine shop, and Uva Wines on Bedford Ave. is a close second! Both have a small-ish but thoughtfully chosen selection of wines, and knowledgeable, friendly, helpful staff.
I really love Uva Wines at the Bedford Avenue Mini-mall in Williamsburg. It boasts all of the neighborhood's good qualities--indie spirit and indie prices; a plainspoken, creative staff--with none of the neighborhood's attitudinal problems. most wines are very reasonably priced since they know their clientele, and i've started to learn a lot more about wine with the employee's help.
Martin Bros on the corner of 107th and Bway (which happens to be my corner!)
Good west side back up: Gotham Wines @ Bway & 94th.
And Astor's "Top ten under ten" is an amazing deal -- wish I had a doorman!!!
i love discovery wines on avenue a
the woman that owns the store is a hoot, and offers generous pours at their awesome weekend tastings.
sometimes, they'll have 10 or more wines to taste
and they keep my "bunny" wine in stock for me (and they don't laugh at me when i ask for the bunny wine)
oh, and i shop at astor too, b/c their selection just can't be beat
love Astor Wines of course
and
The Broadway Warehouse place at Astor Pl, because there is a guy there who makes incredibly good recommendations. It helps to speak to him in French, or invite yourself into a conversation he is having with a French speaking patron.
in BROOKLYN
Sterling Grapes
on Fifth Ave in Park Slope across from Key Food
Sip Fine Wine Inc
(it's new. small curated selection. I'm excited)
67 5 Av at St Marks
Brooklyn, NY 11217
(718) 638-6105
Big Nose Full Body
(also a boutique wine store)
382 7th Avenue (btwn. 11th & 12th Sts)
www.bignosefullbody.com
also popular around here, but less so with me
Red White and Bubbly
Fifth Ave (Union and President)
Slope Cellars, Seventh Ave at 15th St
Shawn's Wine, Seventh Ave at Garfield
yeah, I love me a wine store . . .
Crossroads on 14th and 6th, Manleys on Hudson near Jane.
67 Wine & Liquor on 67th and Columbus. I don't even live on the Upper West Side, but they have a good website and selection-- and delivery is cheap.
I live way out in the boonies of Brooklyn, so it's just some local mom and pop liquor store whose name escapes me.
at best cellars on the UES, also can be found on fresh direct website
Yes, vine wine in LIC... I'll second that. Great oasis with an eclectic selection and informative tastings every week.
City Wine @ 60th & 2nd for day-to-day stuff. Sherry-Lehmann for the special occasion bottles.
ZAP Wine and Liquor on Court Street in Brooklyn Heights. Not a boutique shop but the coolest and most knowledgable staff and a solid selection from cheap to schmancy. We don't even live near there anymore and it's still our go to.
Fermented Grapes in Prospect Heights. Great selection and very knowledgable workers! I haven't been disappointed yet.
I just go downstairs to my local shop, London Terrace Wines & Liquors, 9th Ave. bet. 23rd & 24th Streets.
Best Cellars on Lex at 87th. Great wines, good prices. Favorite shop even though I've long moved out of the neighborhood.
PJ's Warehouse on 204 and Broadway in Inwood. Great selection and prices.
"Nancy's" on Columbus Avenue between 74th and 75th. No need to learn about wine if you're not that interested- just tell them how much you want to spend and what you plan to eat with the wine. Whatever they choose is always good.
I love Discovery wines. I'm with ann on that. And the scanners are a guilty pleasure!
stacy... i'm curious, what do you like about crossroads?
i work right near there, and pass it by on my way to the f train to go home
is it worth a detour?
i've always assumed its just another run-of-the-mill overpriced wine shop
i hope i'm missing something, because i love adding a new resource to my mental rolodex!!
red white & bubbly on 5th ave. in park slope, and i've been mostly happy with the few purchases i've made from freshdirect/best cellars.
Smith & Vine in Carroll Gardens. The store is fairly small but there's a large table in the middle where everything is well-chosen and under 10 bucks! They're also pretty good at recommending what wine to get to go with what your eating, whether you're off to a dinner party or to one of the nearby BYOB restaurants, like Zaytoons or 'Em.
I buy my wines from LeNells in Red Hook.
She's always got something unique and very well priced. And of course convenient as I live down the street.
My last fave was Sula and Indian wine.
http://www.lenells.com
Discovery Wines on Ave A at Houston. Helpful staff, generous tastings, a number of reasonably priced wines, and spiffy scanners.
Uva!
Appellation Wine & Spirits
156 Tenth Avenue between 19th and 20th Streets
Chelsea Wine Vault in the Chelsea Market
75 Ninth Avenue between 15th and 16th Streets
Ann: Crossroads is awesome! Willy has owned the store for the past forty years and it is full of gems. The shelves are cramped and dusty and filled with all sorts of good wines, one of the few places in New York where you can find older vintage wine, in good condition, for a reasonable price. Plus he is a very shrewd buyer (I am talking from personal experience) and really knows his stuff.
woohoo! thanks jenny!
i'm a wee bit embarassed that a great place to pad my cellar has been right under my nose for a year now!
but at least now i know!
Don't be silly, there are so many dumpy wine stores in this city, it's hard to know what's good. Crossroads, however, is a peach! Try to talk to Willy about recommendations, don't let the gruff exterior fool you, I think it's all part of the act.
after doing a tour of about 20 wine shops in the City, we found The Wine Library at 586 Morris Avenue, Springfield, NJ 07081, 888-980-WINE (9463) www.winelibrary.com
they have a huge selection, great shiraz, montepulciano, and sangiovese, and the CHEAPEST prices I have seen in all of NJ/NY. The place is styled like a library with bookshelves wall to wall and aisles of wine. their spirits are about 50% cheaper than Manhattan prices too.
how to get out there? a reservation with zipcar.com, a couple of friends, and mapquest...
Sip Fine Wine
67 5th Avenue
Finally, a wine shop that gets it right: no yellowtail or other mass produced wines. Only bottles that reflect the good sense (and taste) of the guy who owns the place.
I used to buy my wines at local liquor store either close to my place (upper east side) or close to the place I would go for dinner (depending on my friends adress and area because you don't want to take the chance break it in the subway, which had happenned to me a couple of times...).
Now I am buying online at http://www.mywinesdirect.com because the selection is very nice, their membership is free (and you get to go to tastings !)and the shipping is always free.
The downside is you have to buy six bottles (choose from theme prepared packs or create your own mix) at a time, but when you think of it you are saving money and time (so you always have wine to enjoy and share !) and it's save you the hassle of going to the store (delivered direct to your door FREE).