San Antonio wine stores?

Hi everyone. Please recommend a good wine store in San Antone. Thanks!

Just make sure you don’t call it San Antone while you’re there. Wish I could help, but all my years there were either pre-wine or short stays involving beers and margaritas.

SAN ANTONE!
If you’re just looking for something middle of the road try Specs. They have a few around town, sure you can find one close.

High Street Wine is a wine bar in the Pearl area. They also sell wines by the bottle at a not unreasonable price (for Texas). It is a well-curated list and they know their wine.

You haven’t asked for it. But they are right behind Cured which has a decent list of wines by the glass. The wines go well with their cured meats. Close by, Supper at Hotel Emma has a pretty good wine list; keep in mind, what is online on their website is not what they selling (this doesn’t seem to be uncommon in San Antonio).

Otherwise, Specs or Total Wine.

High Street for sure, you can bring a bottle there and enjoy it also so long as it’s not on the menu. My wife and I often bring bottles in to enjoy there, great people and their cheese and charcuterie are second to none.

Joe Saglimbeni’s Fine Wines for nice wines albeit expensive. Gabriels Super Center at 1604/Blanco is decent and Specs/Total Wine are just ok.

Everything here is so expensive compared to the East and West Coast; I don’t know the last time a bought a bottle in this state. After shipping costs, lots of wine is still cheaper than wholesale here and it doesn’t seem to be getting better with the iron grip the distributors have.

Hope this helps, if you have any other questions, please ask.

Perhaps somewhat surprisingly, the Whole Foods in the Alamo Quarry Market has a rather good selection.

The hotel bar at Emma is also worth visiting if you’re around the Pearl area. It’s exceptional, great quality spirits and drinks and excellent bar tenders.

I mostly shop at the Gabriel’s super store. Total wine only for bdx.
High Street is great, but priced rather high(no surprise given location) and the good stuff goes quick. (I scored cappellano there!)
No disagreement with anything others have said. I miss east coast prices but I’m tired of the logistics of shipping wine into the state so now I just suck it up.

Not to hijack this thread too much, but if there are this many Berserkers in the area that maybe we should get together sometime. Can start a new thread…

Emma is worth a stop for sure. Not necessarily for the wine but the restoration and rebuild is amazing. It shows what can be done with nearly and unlimited budget. The bar makes some good drinks and has a fun vibe.

I second J.Durham re: SA wine culture - will PM to set up a meeting

Joe Baker at Gabriel’s (1604 at Blanco location) is as reliable as they come. Best curated inventory in the city BY FAR and he has a number of close out deals that have wowed me over the years. If you’re on WB, I think this store is quite a bit more savvy in terms of caring about producers, vintage, and pricing. Strengths in white burg and Italy, with smart selection in some other areas. It’s still Texas…Total Wine is great if you know what you’re looking for. Generally disparaged on this board and perhaps rightly so as a number of the direct bottlings suck, especially on the low end of the pricing spectrum. But you can’t beat the overall volume and they certainly stock some winners, especially in BDX and Cali. The Bobs at Specs on dezavala are great guys but I’ve grown lukewarm toward the store as its inventory hasn’t changed much in the last 5+ years… I’ve also been steered toward some rather poor Rhône wines that were highly touted by staff who needed to clean their shelves. Specs is however, excellent for rare whiskey if you’re interested.

I’m told the flagship Specs in Houston is great but haven’t been. Finally, visit the Austin Wine Merchant if you’re looking for red burgundy. Hope it helps, JV

Thanks everyone. Ha, yeah I was referencing George Strait.

We’re staying at Hotel Emma, very nice place and agree that they’ve done a great job with this space as well as the rest of the Pearl District. I’m sure local darling Lake|Flato played a role.

Stopped at High Street after supper at Gwendolyn’s last night. Both recommended.

Some time has passed and I thought I would reach out here for an update, if any. Thanks in advance.