Best Wine Shops in the US

[jasmurph]

When I travel I often find myself wondering if there's a good wine shop in, say, Memphis. I thought it might be helpful to get a thread going on your 2 or 3 candidates for the best wine shops you've been to in the US, either in your hometown or away from home.

I offer up Kermit Lynch in Berkeley and PJ Wine in NYC.

[ceekskat]

K&L Wine Merchants - Redwood City (HQ), San Francisco, & Hollywood, CA- Nice selection from wineries around the world with great service & prices too.

http://www.klwines.com/

Beltramo's - Menlo Park, CA. Big family owned store with great selection of wine & spirits. DH says their liquor prices are hard to beat!

http://beltramos.com/index.htm

I live within 3 miles of both of these stores - feel like a kid in a candy store everytime I go:-)

[Bill Hunt]

You beat me to K&L, but I can add Davidson's, Denver, CO (actually probably listed as Highland's Ranch, but it's south Denver).

Hunt

[EDIT] Ferry Plaza Wine Merchant, San Francisco at the Embarkadero is a good shop. Not as large, but interesting selections. I always pick up a couple of mixed cases of wines I do not see every day. Still, in the SF-area, K&L gets my vote.

[Husky]

I'm a big Kermit Lynch fan and when traveling in southern California, also like Woodland Hills Wine Merchant in the valley and Hi-Times in Orange County. A great little shop in SF is Biondivino.

[whiner]

I will second K&L, Woodland Hills, and Biondivino. Those three stores make up the vast majority of my wine buying.

It is hard to call Premier Cru a "great" wine store, but it does sometimes have amazing deals. www.premiercru.net

By the way, Woodland Hills: www.whwc.com
Biondivino: http://www.biondivino.com/

[moh]

I have always had great experiences in Union Square Wines and Spirits near Union Square in NYC. Excellent selection, interesting wines. I feel like they make an effort to stock great bottles at every price point. They have excellent staff to make recommendations and help you decide what to buy. They are very helpful, friendly, enthusiastic and well-informed. They have a reward system: each dollar you spend turns into points which can be redeemed as tastes of wines they have in stock. Their selection of tasting wines is large (about 30 or so bottles if I recall, they have one of those taste dispensing machines with multiple bottles). Plus they have a big screen tv, so if you go on a Sunday afternoon during football season, you can watch the game and drink wine. But be careful if you aren't rooting for the Giants.... I always leave this shop with multiple bottles, and they are always interesting wines, and often outstanding wines.

[anewton]

I'm sure it is not one of the best in the country, but a surprisingly good wine store I encountered on recent travels was the Boise Wine Co-op in none other than Boise, Idaho. It was a decent-sized store with a particularly strong selection of Pacific Northwest wines (i.e. many of the Ken Wrights, Penner-Ash, Archery Summit, Domaine Serene, etc...) It also had a good selection of French and Italian wines, a surprisingly broad Austrian section, and a so-so selection of Californian wines.

However, one of the neatest things about the Boise Wine Co-op was its climate controlled "library room" with various back vintages of Harlan Estate, Bond, Caymus SS, first and second growth Bordeaux, Burgundy, etc...

The staff told me it had the biggest selection of any Pacific Northwest wine store outside of Seattle. (Don't know if this was true, but in any case, it is a cool store to wander around).

Oh, and if anybody ever visits Vancouver, make sure to visit the flagship store of the BC Liquor Board, on 39th and Cambie. It is a grocery store sized liquor store that not only boasts a large selection of wines from around the world, it also has a food demonstration area where there are food/wine pairings offered as you browse the aisles. (Also has a killer selection of scotches, rums, tequilas, etc...)

[zin1953]

I'm not sure it's possible to actually name the "best." For me, it depends upon what I'm looking for. In this, it's no different than how I shop for food . . . go here for my meats, there for fish; the farmer's market for fruits and vegetables, and over here for my cheese . . . .

Kermit Lynch is a great individual, and has done more for the quality of imported wine than almost anyone I know. And I think Kermit's is a great store -- I often shop at his store, it being just down the hill from my house. But is it one of the best stores in the US? How do you figure? The store carries NO wine from California, Oregon, or Washington; NO wine from Australia or New Zealand; NO wine from Chile or Argentina; NO wine from Germany or Austria; NO wine from Portugal or Spain (save for one dry Sherry); and only a LIMITED selection of wine from France and Italy.

But why do you feel this is one of the five best stores in the US? What is your criteria?

Please note: I am NOT trying to be argumentative; I am merely trying to understand your criteria. There ARE certain instances I would probably agree with you about Kermit, but I wouldn't include his store if your criteria are "selection" and "price."

Cheers,
Jason

[vanillagorilla]

I have to agree, though I've never been to Kermit's store. In Seattle, I have one specific store I go to when I want Burgundy or Champagne. One that I love for Alsace, Loire, Germany, and Southern France. One that is better for North West Wines.

The world of wine is just too huge for a one size fits all store. I find myself almost avoiding the ones that attempt it, because they are usually lacking enough in one area or another.

[Husky]

You're certainly correct in saying that Kermit is not one of the best wine shops in the US when considering selection and price, but I can say that I've NEVER been disappointed with a bottle I've bought there - either at $10 or $60. I guess his palette and mine are compatible.

[zin1953]

Husky, I agree 1000% with that! I, too, have NEVER been disappointed in any wine I have ever purchased from Kermit, and I think it's a great store. But the prices are/can be on the high side and the selection is limited to only the wines he, himself, imports directly . . . but those are darned good wines!

[mengathon]

I think it's also important to add that his staff is extraordinarily well-trained.

But taking into account price and selection, I would agree that I cannot put it at the top of the list. Still, definitely worth a visit to anyone in Berkeley.

[jasmurph]

Fair enough. Maybe call it "Favorite" stores or "Stores Worth Visiting," but gosh those sound so milquetoast.

The idea was to compile a list so that when I'm next in Boise--great rec, btw--I'll know where I might go to get something other than Kendall Jackson.

[zin1953]

Favorites are another matter entirely . . . I shop at each of the following stores, some more frequently than others, but that is mostly out of convenience and/or driving times. The wine selections are well thought out, and the staff is quite knowledgeable. Not all wines are everywhere; indeed, most of these stores specialize in one thing or another -- D&M, for example, is a specialist in Champagne, single malt Scotch, and French brandies (Cognac, Armagnac, and Calvados); but I go to the Jug Shop to get sparkling Shiraz! In other words, each fills, for me, a specific niche . . . or two.

Prices are better at some than at others, but that's the way it goes.

Also, please note that the stores are in random order; preference is NOT indicated by their order.

[zin1953]

Among MANY others in Southern California . . .

[zin1953]

In Seattle . . .

[zin1953]

In New Orleans,

[kati_spears]

In the wine list above you left out High Times and Trader Joe's. Wonderful selection of wine. Newport Beach, CA

[zin1953]

Kati,

I know you spelled it "High Times" (the name of a former "pre-Marijuana" magazine, IIRC), but Hi-Time in Costa Mesa IS there . . . or is there really a different store called "High Times"???

As for Trader Joe's, they were a deliberate omission. I would certainly include them on any list concerning the VOLUME of wine sold, but I wouldn't include them on a list of the BEST wine stores. YMMV.

Cheers,
Jason

[CurtA]

In the Seattle area I head for Pete's or Esquin.

[ibstatguy]

re Kermit, I think he's a great importer but I don't think he is necessarily a great retailer.

In So. Cal. there is the triumverate of 3 stores along the 55 Hwy: Hi Times, Wine Club and Wine Exchange. Woodland Hills Wine has been very helpful to me via phone on a couple of occasions. I have several times ordered wine in Washington D.C. for delivery there to my father in law from Calvert Woodley; their prices seem a bit high to me but I have received great service.

I'm pretty sure that about once a year, Wine & Spirits has an article on the "best" wine shops; suggest you track down a copy of same.

[Missmoo]

I really like Liner and Elsen in Portland (not sure if I spelled it properly) We visited them from the Bay Area last year and although small they had a great selection, good prices and were very helpful.

[alilsaucy]

Moore Brothers if you're on the east coast (they have locations in NYC, south Jersey (Pennsauken) and Delaware. They are, hands down, the best purveyors of artisanal, high quality, old world (mostly) wines.

[chefdilettante]

Love, love, love Moore Brothers. Everything is shipped in temperature controlled containers and refrigerated trucks; store is kept at 58 degrees.

Devotion to well crafted wines, most of which are little known in the US but absolutely brilliant.

http://moorebrothersblogs.com/

[Somnifor]

Minneapolis - St Paul has a good array of wine shops, probably because grocery stores aren't allowed to sell wine.

Hennepin Lake Liquors has the best prices in the state but they only have a medium sized selection, only take cash and have no service. Everything in the store is below list price, some of it is pretty close to wholesale price. This is the first choice among people in the restaurant business. It is a good place to buy Ken Wright Cellars and St Innocent Pinot Noir.

Surdyks is a grocery store sized wine shop that has great selection. Their prices are a bit higher but during their sales they are price competitive with Hennepin Lake. They claim to have the largest selection of wine in the Midwest.

France 44 has a lot of interesting wines and a very good selection of domest Pinot and Italian wines, their prices are bit higher than Surdyks.

Thomas Liquors in St Paul has an excellent selection for a smallish wine shop, I would consider it the hidden gem of Twin Cities wine buying.

Haskell's is a big local chain with lots of high end wine. Their markups are ridiculous though, and that $500 bottle of '95 Bordeaux may have been on the shelf for a few years. I only mention them because some people recommend it but it should be avioded like the plague.

[soupkitten]

haskell's is invariably where the hotel concierges will send visitors to buy wine in downtown minneapolis, and Somnifor is correct-- there are much better wine stores, with better selection and prices (just) outside of downtown. matter of fact the recs from all of the downtown concierges are pretty much wrong, about anything, across the boards. i think they're all on the take.

[RicRios]

Good that nobody mentioned The Wine House in LA.
It was an excellent store back upon a time, when managed by its founder.
Since second generation took over it has been heading consistently downslope.
It definitely doesn't belong anymore in the top tier(s).

[olasek]

I like stores that offer me wine tasting. I found such a store in my neighborhood of Oakland, Ca - Wine Mine Co. Extremely friendly owner, frequent tastings of both basic and high-end wines, great atmosphere, great prices and wines from the whole world. For me it is like being in wine heaven.

[Paul Weller]

In Escodido Ca. there is a store called Holiday Wine Cellar. They have a great selection and temperature controled display/ sales area. Lots of top notch wines and vintages from most regions. Prices are a little steep sometimes, but if you need something like an aged first growth bordeux or cult cal cab on short notice they are open 365 days a year, and I have never had a corked or bad bottle from them. It's kind of like buying something at 7-11 that you need right away, they have it in stock but it's more expensive than if you shopped around or ordered from somewhere else. It is a fun store to shop at and sometimes you can find bargains, like a 98 Quarts De Chaume for 18 bucks.

[ibstatguy]

that's a great spot and for some reason I always enjoy the sprial staircase; prices are a bit high

[vickib]

In Signal Hill/Long Beach CA, my favorite is The Wine Country. They have tastings several times a week, which I work into my schedule as often as I can. They have a good selection from California, Oregon, France, Italy, Spain, Germany, and the southern hemisphere. I've gotten great bottles at every price point in (and sometimes outside of) my budget.

[mengathon]

Re PJ: I shop there all the time. Their prices and selection are great. Their staff is very good as well. But their website is in terrible disarray. A small drawback, and certainly not enough to keep me from shopping there.

[ChefJune]

I don't have a clue what "PJ Wine in NYC" is. In New York I can recommend Sherry-Lehmann, on 59th and Park as "as good as it ever gets!" Great selection in all price ranges, as well as wines that no one else in the country gets..... also like Morrall, and Warehouse Wines (on Broadway in the Village) as well.

[MMRuth]

PJ's is a very good, and well priced, wine store in Upper Manhattan. They have a particularly good selection of Spanish wines. I also like Sherry Lehman.

[zin1953]

Try this . . .

[Jason_Coulston]

Given I live a mere two blocks from Hi-Time, I'm honestly biased. However, I've been to a LOT of wineshops, including several listed in this thread. For me, Hi-Time is truly amazing and one hell of a glorious wineshop. If you can travel deep into the buying process and become a regular, a whole new world opens up behind the scenes. Their inventory on the shelves is amazing. Their "other" inventory is murderous.

R. Jason Coulston

[MMRuth]

Can you elaborate on why you recommend them? We don't usually make it down that way ... though we do have a car. Most of our (admittedly mostly uniformed) wine shopping is done at K & D on Madison, which happens to be close to our home.

[zin1953]

Can we play echo?

>>> Love Chambers St Wines. *Great* selections and good pricing especially of French, German and Austrian wines. They have the great bottles from the producers you've heard of, and they're always uncovering obscure gems from the ones you haven't. I buy most of my wine from these guys. <<<

I will only add that I know MANY people here in California who buy from Chambers and have their wine shipped. I tend to buy from them less frequently, but . . .

Cheers,
Jason

[MMRuth]

Thanks to you both! I've enjoyed Austrian wines at Wallse and it would be fun to explore them more at home. I'll add Chambers to our weekend food excursion list! There's an Italian wine store up in the Arthur Ave. area of the Bronx that we've enjoyed exploring, when we were on our Italian wine kick, though we didn't get much past Sardinia and Sicily, using this book:

http://www.italianwinemerchant.com/Bo...

[oolah]

Love Chambers St Wines. *Great* selections and good pricing especially of French, German and Austrian wines. They have the great bottles from the producers you've heard of, and they're always uncovering obscure gems from the ones you haven't. I buy most of my wine from these guys.

Other NYC faves are Moore Brothers (great small producer selection), and Le Dû (pricey, but delicious selection, particularly of big fruit forward wines). In Brooklyn, I like Smith & Vine, especially their French options and their $10 dollar table.

[jasmurph]

I'll ditto on Chambers. It's a bit like Louis/Dressner opened their own shop.

So, am I to conclude from the dearth of places outside NYC and California that everyone on this board is from these places? C'mon Memphis, Cleveland, Oklahoma City, Charlotte, Phoenix!

[zin1953]

Hmmmm . . . you flying Southwest or US Air? ;^)

[mengathon]

I like Sherry-Lehmann and Morrell both, but their prices are quite often 15-20% higher than other stores in NYC. If I were looking for one special bottle, I'd shop there; if I were looking to stock up, I'd go elsewhere

[vvvindaloo]

PJ Wines is a great resource for wine lovers in NYC, up in Inwood. I am also a fan of Chamber Street Wines (Tribeca), ViNO (Murray Hill) and Italian Wine Merchants (Gramercy), Vintage (SOHO; specializing in NY State Wines), September Wine on the LES, the Wine Vault in Chelsea Market (good variety and great to deal with), and Astor Wine Center (GV). I am not such a big fan of Sherry-Lehman or Morrell- probably because, with the exception of Astor, I really appreciate the attention I have gotten at smaller (or less-known) wine dealers. I think Mt. carmel Wines in the Bronx and Zachy's in Scarsdale (Westchester County) also deserve a mention.

[winechic]

Great thread! I offer up Tim's Wine Market in downtown Orlando, FL. There are plenty of good independent wine shops in the Tourist Mecca, I've enjoyed shopping at all over the years.

http://timswine.com

Tim's consistently offers a varied and extensive selection of quality wines at all price points. Labels that are familiar and labels that are not familiar...but well worth exploring.

Worth a drive if you are staying in the attractions area, enjoy some of the "real" Orlando.

Cheers!

[sake]

What does everyone think of Sam's in Chicago?

[Wahooty]

I used to live in northern IN - my friends and I used to make pilgrimages to Sam's. Screw Disneyland - as far as I'm concerned, THAT's the Happiest Place on Earth. Huge, lots of tastings, fantastic prices, and a very knowledgeable and helpful staff any time I've been in. I can only think of one time that I went in there and couldn't find what I wanted, and when I asked an employee about it, he not only knew exactly which bottle I was looking for, but also exactly why they hadn't been able to get hold of any that year. In a store that size, I thought that was pretty impressive.

The liquor prices are pretty sweet, to boot.

[fussycouple]

I considered whether we should break this down by state or region, like

FAVORED WINE SHOPS: SOUTHEAST
FAVORED WINE SHOPS: CALIFORNIA

or even by state, like

FAVORED WINE SHOPS: CALIFORNIA
FAVORED WINE SHOPS: SOUTH DAKOTA

just because this really is a big country.

But while we're doing this one, if you're in central North Carolina, the best three I can recommend are:

A Southern Season, Chapel Hill, NC.
These folks have a large selection, and a lot of it is small grower estate bottled, but they covered a broad territory and a wide range of wines. The shining spot of this wine store is Jay Murrie, who combines a great knowledge of wine with communication skills suitable both for the wine newbie and the wine professional. It sure doesn't hurt that our tastes in what we like is so similar, so for me he is nearly the *perfect* wine guy.

Wine Authorities, Durham, NC
Seth & Craig at Wine Authorities are running a great idea for a wine shop. Their price range tends to run between $5-$50, and they only buy what they like. They are heavily invested into small family run estate wineries, and they probably have fewer than 500 different wines in the whole shop. Also like A Southern Season, they carry organic and biodynamic wines, and seem to care about good wine from non-multinational companies. Their selection is truly eclectic and changes regularly, I try not to get too attached to anything I get there, and if I like it, get back and "get it while I can".

Wine Merchant, Raleigh, NC.
This store was the first really nice wine shop in the area, and has been here since 1981, though I seem to remember an earlier incarnation of it in another location. Their longevity and their contribution to wine in this area should never be ignored, and they have good wine at decent prices, too.

I've been to every wine store within 100 miles of these three at one time or another, and try to visit new ones when they open. I no longer spend my time anywhere else locally, and still shudder when I run into local people who recommend "Total Wine" to me.

[Dee S]

I like your suggestion of breaking down the thread. CA and NYC are going to get a TON of posts. It would be more informative to break down the thread into smaller, more manageable and easier to navigate threads.

I moved to TN and find the wine selection SERIOUSLY challenged. We have (I think) five distributors throughout the state. They are all related to each other so it seems like everyone has the same selection of wines!

And don't get me started on what they offer. It's pretty sad....*sob*

[Vlajos]

Binny's in Chicago is great. Sam's is also good.

[CindyJ]

Another very enthusiastic vote for Moore Brothers in Delaware, NJ, and NYC.

[horvath42]

I would suggest West Palm Wines in Tampa Florida, Cavanaughs Fine Wines in Orlando, Sunset Corner in Miami and Wine Watch in Ft.Lauderdale.

[MunkeeCIAO]

Got to throw a shout out to Ventura Wine shop, its sister store Carpineteria Wine Shop, and an old favorite I just dont get to enough, Malibu Wine Shop.

M

[Summerfield]

Thread seems kind of California heavy. I guess that's okay as lots of people live there. Anyway, Village Corner in Ann Arbor is one of the best wine stores I've ever shopped at. It's the only place I can find a selection of wines from Priorat, which is my new standard for defining an excellent store. Pearson's and Calvert-Woodley in DC are also very good (haven't put them to the Priorat test yet).

[Jason_Coulston]

"I can find a selection of wines from Priorat, which is my new standard for defining an excellent store"

Luckily Hi-Time just expanded their Italian and Spanish sections and dedicated an entire wall to Priorat! ;-)

R. Jason Coulston

[Summerfield]

Is Hi-Time in SE Michigan? Entire wall? That's pretty impressive. I shouldn't have thought that there'd be enough brands for that.

[Jason_Coulston]

Actually, Hi-Time in Costa Mesa (Southern California), a previously mentioned winery in this thread.

R. Jason Coulston

[Jason_Coulston]

Sorry . . . not "winery", rather, "wine shop". My bad.

R. Jason Coulston

[Chicago Mike]

Zachy's and Sherry-Lehmann in NYC metro are awesome.

So's Sam's in Chicago....

Binny's in Chicago is quite respectable also. the Crown Liquors chain in Southeast florida has a great selection between all their stores.

The Chicago Wine Company is rarely mentioned but they have phenomenal auctions, get on their mailing list. Their pre-auction tastings are some of the most vast tastings of great wines you'll ever attend,

[Vinquire]

Three cheers for K&L but also:
The Wine Club - very close 2nd
The Jug Shop for down under deals
and local favorite Bottle Barn in Santa Rosa for their outstanding inventory of local Sonoma county wines at below tasting room prices.

[BN1]

I think I’ve become a Bottle Barn addict. I try to stay away, but I can’t. Also, they have a large selection of French wines. A funny thing is that someone always seems to break a bottle in there because there is so much wine stacked around, so it smells good too.

[Vinquire]

So true!
I can NOT miss a chance at the Barn when up there. Funny, I noticed the broken bottle syndrome last time I was there...I wonder - do you think they could OPEN a bottle next time! ;-)

[vanillagorilla]

Anyone know a good store in Des Moines? I'm going to be there next month, and will need to pick up a bottle or two for a party.

I'm mainly into wines from europe: whites from Alsace, Loire, and Germany; reds from Beaujolais, Loire, and Burgundy. But I also enjoy Oregon Pinot Noir, and some of the lighter Washingon reds.

[greglor]

Christopher's Wine Warehouse in Houston, TX. F-A-N-T-A-S-T-I-C.

Mostly French wine, lots of tastings, great selection of mostly boutique wineries. I've never met its equal.

[stellamystar]

Skokie,IL (N. of Chicago) - Schaefer's - great gourmet foods, too.

Kansas City, MO - my British neighbor swears by Knocky's in Overland Park, KS for her Riojas.

[KenM]

Great idea ... can anyone recommend a wine shop in the Syracuse through Albany region of New York? I'm driving to a wedding in mid-Sept, and I have been nominated to pick up the wine on the way, so timely advice would be appreciated :-)

[waitress]

Carolina Wine Company
The largest temperature controlled wine warehouse in the U.S.
http://carolinawine.biz