A very good friend of ours, one of my college roommates, will hit the 70-year mark this week. He lives in NYC, in Manhattan. I’d like to send him a bottle of nice bubbly, Sauternes or Bordeaux.
Any suggestions as to a reliable NYC retailer to which to turn? Thank you!
Tons of great choices. Chambers is grest store, not so Bordeaux-centric but great grower Champagne list. Flatiron or Crush are also great. Sherry-Lehmann is more old school if you want Boerdeaux/Sauternes.
Thanks, but apologies–I should have specified that this place needs to be reliable on the delivery front. I won’t be going to NYC for this occasion.
At the risk of audit, I historically considered ordering but not inhaling wines from both Chambers and Crush. They are both excellent, and Chambers will return a bad (older) wine instanteously, Crush I’m not so sure. I was just on IronGate’s website, and they have some really interesting offerings, including a 1998 Magdelaine. Chambers and Crush are great with delivery.
I’ll be repeating the same ones:
Crush
Chambers Street Wines
Flatiron
Sherry Lehmann
I’ll also add:
PJWine
Zachys
Astor Wines
I’ve purchased from all of the above over many years and bottles were packed well and delivered in timely fashion.
A few non-wine-geek friends have gifted me with wines purchased/delivered from some of the above thinking exactly as the OP with my Manhattan address.
Ramon
I’ve used Zachy’s several times for just such an occasion. They delivered it on time every time and prices are good.
Chambers and Flatiron will have some great options.
And look at Dan Posner’s store - Grapes the Wine Store in White Plains. They’ll deliver to Manhattan, they have a good selection, they have good customer service, and he is a serious consumer advocate. http://www.grapesthewineco.com/
All of them are solid.
+1 on Zachy’s
Except that Zachy’s actively supports restrictions on wine sales in NY. I stopped supporting them long ago.
I didn’t know that and would stop supporting them, too, if so. More information, please.
I can vouch for the delivery from Crush. Always happy with them. Morrell wine in Roc Center is another option.
Crush is very good for delivery in the City and they usually have a good selection of Champagne.
Has anyone ever done business with “MCF Rare Wine” on 13th Street?
I didn’t know that and would stop supporting them, too, if so. More information, please.
Every so often there’s a bill introduced in the NY legislature to allow supermarkets to sell wine, and allow wine stores to sell wine-related things. Zachy’s has actively opposed it even though they would benefit. Right now you can only own a single store in NY - the wholesalers don’t want any retailers to get big enough to be threatening. However, when you’re not in NYC or Long Island, but you’re out in the rest of the state, there aren’t necessarily many wine stores around. In CA, IL, NJ, etc., wine isn’t restricted and owners are allowed to have more than one operation.
Yes. Matt Franco is a good guy. Great wine selection and does a lot of fantastic tastings (never been to the tastings so just making an observation based on the emails).
You could not pick a better city for this. There are so many excellent choices:
Chambers Street Wines
Flatiron
Crush
Morrell
Manhattan Wine Co
I have not dealt with Zachy’s for about a decade due to delivery issues.
I’ve never done online ordering from them but I’ve been to the store and they have a very well chosen selection. If I was local and still buying wine I’d be a regular.
As others have said, Chambers St., Flatiron and Crush are stars.
Thank you very much, folks–this has been extremely helpful!
I’m another happy customer.
One of my two “local” shops, highly recommended.