Monmouth county wine buys

[chris the bartender]

I currently reside in Long Branch and have, as many of you know, a severe passion for winesand food. I want to know where do you chowhounders go for wines? Personnally I shop at a few different stores. Court liquors I go to for their manager Nick who has vast wine knowledge and they have a very good italian section. Crate liquors in Red Bank has a surprisingly good German Riesling selection, I am looking at you for that one bgut, the rest is just ok. Spring Lake bottle shop probably one of my favorites, great variety knowledgable staff, I usually leave with a mixed case. Wine concierge in Allenhurst another fav for sure, they only have a hundred or so bottles and all are hand selected, some very very interesting; they also sell a great selection of cheese here. Also Rumson Buy rite is a good stop they have a few staff members that are helpful and a few gems there. What about everyoe else? There are loads of BYO's in the area which we all comment on, and to me wine selection is just as important as food selection. So where do you go?

[ChiBones]

Ocean Wine and Spirits next to Wegman's on Route 35 does a good job of offering wine tastings and special dinners - it would be worth your time to check out their website and their newsletter - http://www.wineaccess.com/store/ocean...

I went to one of their dinners and it was very very well done.

[bgut1]

ChiBones - Ocean Wine is a nice store and I do like their weekend wine tastings. My only beef with them is that they mark up their wines at least a few dollars more than other wine shops such as Vingo. I like to look at Ocean and buy elsewhere (unless of course they have something I can't find at the others). Good Luck.

[EPark]

I second Sam's club as a great place to pick up some interesting wines at great prices. Sometimes there are some really good finds.

Ron-Jon in Wall (by the Shop Rite) does have some good ones as well, but I find it hard to shop in. It's often crowded and messy and the aisles are hard to get through. That being said, I do go fairly often because they also have a unique beer selection for the hubby.

[ChiBones]

The 2-buck-chuck at Trader Joe's is fantastic - award winning wines for $2.99 per bottle

[Angelina]

I tried that 2 buck chuck and I thought I was drinking vinegar..YUCK!! Maybe if I was already wasted, I would think it was a Jordan.......

[bfl13]

Buy Rite in Tinton Falls has amazing wines and super knowledgeable staff. Ask for Kevin if you like big boy California wines!!

[fershore]

Vingo has the best prices around. The selection at the Eatontown (next to Pathmark) and Red Bank locations is vast. The Long Branch location is small so the selection is as well, but I imagine they can order the same wines as the other locations.

You can place an order online at www.vingowine.com and pick it up at Eatontown. The wines available online are not the wines you see everyday. The prices online are cheaper than the store. For example, you can pick up Ferrari-Carano cabernet sauvignon for $18.99 online. It generally sells for $24+.

[Eric in NJ]

Actual web site has no "s" http://www.vingowine.com/

[fershore]

Thanks for catching that. I usually verify before posting.

[bgut1]

Hey Chris - I agree with fershore. I usually pickup my wines, especially the rieslings, at Vingo in Eatontown. Otherwise, if I'm looking for something in particular, I go to wine-searcher.com and try to the find the best pricing in the area; normally, the aforementioned Vingo, the Wine Library in Springlfield, or one of the Joe Canals in Camden County. One more to throw out there is the Bottle King in Middletown. While the selection is hit or miss, the pricing is the best. Good Luck.

[chris the bartender]

I love the wine library, but I always find myself buying way more than I anticipated

[bgut1]

I agree. A trip to the WL is like going to Costco. I can't leave without buying a trunk load of "stuff". I'm like a kid in a candy store. I'm usually okay as long as I stay away from the expensive stuff in the "high rollers" room on the second floor.

[aklein]

surprisingly good choices at jonathan-ron next to shop rite in wall on rt. 35... also the liquor store next to wegman's in ocean

[Babs16]

Mantoloking Road in Brick has a pretty decent liquor store. It may be a Buy Rite, not sure. I was there before the holidays and found a really nice Albarino

[JerzeyShore]

Try JRs in Brielle next to the health club - much larger and a more in depth selection than the store in Wall.

[chris the bartender]

I have to go there just for the fact that it is next to a health club.

[seal]

Gotta go with the huge megastores on this one. Sam's has a nice selection and always good prices. I have found very good icewine and rieslings there and even a few in the mid-expensive range. Also found some good Italian reds.

[HillJ]

Wine Shop of Holmdel; they offer a number of tasting events in the store
If you know what you like, Costco in Edison has great buys.

[Angelina]

I found this place on night we went for dinner in Westfield. I only WISH one would open down here by all of us.

www.coolvines.com

The staff was so knowledgeable, and helpful. I know they are opening one in Princeton, but that still does not help me. For now, I usually go to Wegmans in Manalapan.

[Eric in NJ]

I don't know how knowledgeable the staff is but Whole Foods on Rte 35 in Middletown has quite a selection. As does Spirits further north on 35.