Wine Buying Guide in New York City

Most wine is imported, which means there are lots of costs that are tacked onto wines during the distribution process, from transportation to storage and all the way to regional markups due to demand. While there are lots of places to buy wine, not every place is a good place to buy wine.

New York City is known for being especially expensive, but on the flip side, because there are so many importers, you can get some great deals in the city!

The Picks

• Astor’s Wines and Spirits: If you’re in Manhattan, you gotta visit this store. They have a wide selection of wine from every region, with top wines as well in their cool room. They have liquors as well, and also a decent selection of sake. Best of all, they have sales pretty often, ranging from 15–25%, and have flash sales as well. This is not a wine store you want to miss out on.
• Grapes the Wine Company: Actually located in White Plains, which is a 30-minute drive north of Manhattan, this is a massive wine merchant, and they have amazing prices and an even more incredible selection. Don’t miss out on their Black Friday discount, which allows you to get any 12+ bottle order for 25% off…now that’s a steal.
• Empire State of Wine: The store itself is pretty scrappy, but their selection for European, especially French wines, is incredible, and they sell wines at absolutely steal prices. You can find $200+ wines for 50–70% sometimes. They have a variety of techniques to get the prices so low, such as sourcing directly from the Chateau. They have great recommendations, sales, and I would highly recommend taking a peek at ESoW if you’re looking for a special bottle of wine.
• Gramercy Wine and Spirits: Rarely do I recommend going to boutique wine stores since they usually mark up a ton, Gramercy Wine and Spirits has very reasonable prices, an excellent selection of small producers, and also boasts perhaps the cheapest fruit-flavored soju prices in the city.
• Sotheby’s Wine: Sotheby’s is mainly an auction house, where they sell wine and fine art. However, they also have a retail store, which has really great selections of wine. For the most expensive wines, think First Growths and rare and cult wines like Screaming Eagle and Harlan Estate, Sotheby’s is your top choice. The prices are reasonable, and you can guarantee authenticity for sure, otherwise you can bring the wine back to them. They also do van shipping if you spend a certain amount, and the service overall is impeccable, as you would expect from such a prestigious auction house. In addition, if you are in need of a cellar starter, they offer a service where they can build you a cellar collection, given a budget. Finally, if you are interested in wine futures, Sotheby’s is the place to go.

Judging Criteria

• Pricing: are the prices reasonable with the rest of the market? This is probably the single-most important consideration for this list.
• Selection: how much wine do they have from various regions in the world?
• Niche: Are there specific wines that this merchant is very good at choosing and pricing?
• Delivery: Does the place offer delivery, safe for your wines, and at a reasonable cost?
• Authenticity: are the wines here likely to be authentic, and not fabricated ones?