I plan on being in that area this coming week and would appreciate some suggestions for wine shops in the area.
John,
I think your best bet for a decent selection of nice wines is probably The Bottle Shop in Spring Lake. It’s about 12 miles or so South of Red Bank. I believe you can peruse their entire inventory on their Website. Pricing is not the best, but you would have to go up to North Jersey to get both a good selection and good pricing (Wine Library or Gary’s Wine).
Good luck,
Paul
And both WL and Gary’s ship easily instate
Thank you, both.
What would you be looking for?
Something to consume now or wine to cellar at home?
It has been a decade + since I was there, but I found this to be a decent store, and it is still there:
Wine Cellar @ Red Bank
23 Monmouth St
732-219-9935
I was there on business for several months, and stayed at the Molly Pitcher Inn - very enjoyable
Buona Sera was a decent restaurant - on Maple Avenue? 732-530-5858
There’s a Bottle King on RT 35 in Middletown which is ~5 miles away …
this is a nice little store. been a while since i was there but service was great also.
No advice on wine shops but if you’re looking for a great BYO that isn’t too far away Heirloom Kitchen in Old Bridge is about a 30 minute drive. Great food, free corkage, only open for dinner on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
I am from the area and would say Bottle King or Wine Academy on 35 have the biggest selections nearby. The Wine Cellar in Red Bank is a fine option if you really want to buy something close by but selection will be much more limited than the other 2 mentioned.
I live close to Red Bank and visit regularly. Two recommendations - Little Silver Bottle Shop is a good local wine stop and very close to Red Bank. Also for food, fantastic BYOB in Rumson - Ristorante Giorgia.
Shrewsbury Wine and Liquor just south of Red Bank has a nice selection.
This is my neighborhood and i’ll echo some of the suggestions above.
The bottle shop of Spring Lake: Medium sized independent store awesomely curated from inexpensive to high priced wines.
Little Silver Bottle Shop: Small independent store but decently curated with mostly mid priced offerings.
Wine Cellar in Red Bank: Small independent store that focuses on small/unknown producers with a price cap around $30.
Shrewsbury Spirits Unlimited (in Trader Joes plaza): Independently owned franchise but the owners are long time collectors and put up a lot of thier own cellar in the store. LOTS of interesting cali wines with a little age on them. They have a sister store literally across the road which is technically the town of Tinton Falls. Same type of stock.
Rumson wine: Small independent store but prices are usually full retail or higher. Interesting selection but the pricing always turns me off.
There are a few medium to large chain stores that you can try out. Bottle Kink @ Middletown, Circus Wines @ Red Bank, Wine Academy @ Hazlet. I’ve found they all have thier interesting finds with each having some “winery direct” type deals.
A final food/dining note: because of our state liquor laws, BYOB is very common here, even in a trendy town like red bank. Dish, Via 45 are among the few we like. But for places that have wine, you will find the typical exorbitant markup. Still some good places despite that. There is a great new Spanish Tapas restaurant that opened up on the outskirt of town called Albarino that is pretty good. Lots of interesting spanish wines by the glass. Undici in Rumson is a great italian place with a great list and the owner is somewhat of a food blogger extraordinaire.
If you get sick of wine, go visit the tasting rooms at Carton Brewing or Kane Brewing in neighboring towns.
Thank you all for the great recommendations for both wine and dining. I have plenty of older bottles at home and am really looking to fill in some holes–White Burgs, Champagne, sake’. I do love the BYOB in New Jersey!
I’ve shopped at Bottle Shop of Spring Lake and it’s quite good on all levels. I was recently introduced to Court Liquors in Long Branch. They have an amazing selection and are very cutting-edge. I’d say it is the best wine store I’ve been to in NJ. If you can, find Nick and get him to help you. You can mention me as your reference.
Full disclosure - I am in the process of placing wines at Court. But that does not affect my opinion of the shop.
Yes Court has a great selection and is closer than Bottleshop of Spring Lake.
Thank you, Steve and Matt. I will certainly check them out.