Best Wine Store in the Area?

I was a big fan of the Wine Library in Millburn for many years. Lately, I find it's gone down hill - often out of stock on good, mid-priced wines (zero for 3 on my usual favorites from Portugal today as well as my standard Gruner Veltliner). Plus, they just seem to have a lot less wine/variety than they used to. My dad likes Gary's in Madison, and I think it's pretty good. Much better than Wine Library. Tried Stew Leonards on Meisel - meh.

So, what's a good place with a large selection including a good variety in the $15/bottle (+/- a buck or two) range?

I don't know about "best," but I like Gary's in Madison, especially if you can describe what you have liked to the helpful salespeople wandering the aisles and let them pick some similar or new choices. A friend with a nice wine cellar stocks up at and orders from the Bernardsville Gary's.

But in these matters, I defer to the advice of @hankzona.

We like Total Wine in Essex Green. It's recently expanded too!

I know Jose, the man who owns UnWined. It's a small boutique store on Millburn Ave, right up near where it crosses with Main Street. He has been helping us get to know some new kinds of wine besides just cabernets and merlots... They also deliver for those BYO places in town.

Shoprite Liquors of Westfield is surprisingly large with a good selection.

catch22 said:
I was a big fan of the Wine Library in Millburn for many years. Lately, I find it's gone down hill - often out of stock on good, mid-priced wines (zero for 3 on my usual favorites from Portugal today as well as my standard Gruner Veltliner). Plus, they just seem to have a lot less wine/variety than they used to. My dad likes Gary's in Madison, and I think it's pretty good. Much better than Wine Library. Tried Stew Leonards on Meisel - meh.
So, what's a good place with a large selection including a good variety in the $15/bottle (+/- a buck or two) range?

One thing I have noticed is that the Wine Library's inventory shrinks quite a bit during the summer. They'll often have one wine filling up an entire shelf.

Fairchilds in Roseland. Worth the trip! You will love meeting Diane and will leave with beautiful bottles of amazing wines. She even has great suggestions for more reasonable options.

Also, they will deliver for substantial purchases! Amazing customer service and you can get awonderful lunch at the same time.

http://www.fairchildsmarket.com

Don't rely on the website wine offerings. Call or email about something special and she may find it for you. Prices are very fair.

We also like Total Wine in the Essex Green Mall. Very wide selection of wines - they've recently expanded (as was mentioned above) and they also have lots of wine-related items when you need a gift or just something for yourself.

I should add that I know the types of wines I like (and don't like), so I don't usually ask for suggestions from the staff. I like the write-ups they post with each wine and find them helpful if it is a variety I've not tried before. Usually if I ask for any help, it's to find out where they've moved something to - the layout is a bit confusing and inconsistent.

Have been a Wine Library fan for more than a decade, but, also like Stirling Fine Wines in Stirling, NJ. Customer service and enthusiasm are good at both the WL and Gary's in Madison. Total Wine at Essex Green has a huge selection and a good Bordeaux section, but, in my experience, you need to know what you want (the web site shows availability by store, as wee as the aisle location, which is very handy), as I've found the staff there apathetic and lacking wine knowledge. Similarly huge in size, with little gems hidden away, and occasional low prices, is the new Bottle King at the Livingston Circle. Cheers!

bikefixed said:
I know Jose, the man who owns UnWined. It's a small boutique store on Millburn Ave, right up near where it crosses with Main Street. He has been helping us get to know some new kinds of wine besides just cabernets and merlots... They also deliver for those BYO places in town.

Agree very good liked suggestions and nic

I highly suggest Amanti Vino on Church Street in Montclair. A great selection and we have been happy with every bottle of wine there. We are very comfortable trying out new wines as we know we won't get a clinker.

Worth the trip, and you can have lunch at Raymond's next door!

Kurt

If you are up in Morristown, stop in The Grapeful Palate on South Street just past Elm Street. Excellent little wine shop, also carries some really fine boutique beers. Grab a few bottles and wander over to Fiore's on Elm Street and have a wonderful Italian dinner.

Agree on Amanti. I hate Total Wine...every time I go I'm either amazed at the general lack of knowledge or what appears to me to be steering to their own imports/exclusives. Or both. Maybe it's just me. While I agree that WL seems to have reduced their selections in places (or can't restock, or didn't get in this year--ahem, my Wolffer rosé), their knowledge (and Gary's too) beats TW hands down. When I'm looking for a reco for something I'm not as familiar with or just for something different, I head to WL, BS with Ian for a bit, and I'm good to go. And while I know we're talking wines at the lower end of the spectrum, TW does have some great stuff at the upper end (priced only ok, though) but the room upstairs at WL still knocks them way over. Another good spot is The Wine List in Summit. Some fun stuff <$20 and an upstairs that's got some surprises.

the wine store in downtown maplewood across from the old PO has a very nice owner- while selection isnt huge i have found selection to meet my needs-- owner is also knowledgeable

I also sign up to WTSO alerts and have bought some great wines at a decent price- and its shipped to my house

Good thread...it proves that when buying wine, our individual tastes/needs dictate where we like to shop for it.

I think its good to really get to know someone on staff in a wine store. Some places I buy wine, staff members know what I like and look for, and I even have gotten to know their tastes. Its like a movie reviewer...you tend to go back to the one who writes reviews that tend to be in sync with what you like. Joel Siegel thought every movie was a blockbuster...they aren't. Any wine person who tells you every wine is amazing is like Joel Siegel. Also, try to establish a customer relationship in more than one place...not every store carries every and all the same wines. Those wines that seem to be everywhere you may not want. And in NJ, pricing in part depends on how much wine a store buys. Even the biggest/best priced stores may not have gone long with a certain wine so the store that happened to buy more of it may have better pricing.

Some of my thoughts on specific stores:

1. Wine Library. The OP was spot on. Its not the same store. But its not bad if you can sift through it all. Plus, they often have sold some wines and their liquor and food/cheese as loss leaders, kind of like a Wal-Mart, to drive traffic to the store. Pros: some great deals still. Cons: Definitely not as much variety a they used to have; many people have complained to me that their Top 10 list isn't always good...its because its the Top 10 they want to sell and have the most stock in and want to move. They have let go much of their staff (one exception...Jim, who is a gentleman and very knowledgeable...I almost always like his suggestions) and the rumor in the wine trade is that they have been trying to sell it for some time now. Gary V is no longer involved on a daily basis. He did a remarkable thing, groundbreaking really, using social media to build the business, but its not the mid 2000's any longer.

2. Gary's. I buy a lot of wine from Gary's...its where I get most of my wine for events that I do. The staff is knowledgeable without being pushy or superior acting. It is one of the more comfortable places to buy wine. They have a pretty wide range but now that they have a fourth store open, and based on their locations, they wont carry much wine for the wine geeks out there. They carry what sells. Also really good beer selection.

3. Supermarket wine stores. By law, no entity/individual can hold more than two liquor licenses...of course, there are loopholes but the supermarkets, unless they have set up separate alcohol selling entities, tend to keep it to the two. Kings in Short Hills has a small but nicely chosen and somewhat reasonably priced wine and beer selection. The manager there worked at Wine Library for some time and knows his stuff. Shop Rite stores that carry wine depend on their location. The one in Morris Plains is pretty good (in selection and pricing)...the one in Chester because of their location has some monster high end wines and also a very broad selection for a supermarket owned wine store. Trader Joes has some good names at good prices but a lot of it is private labeled stuff made to look like its not private labeled and the However Many Buck Chuck line is crap...sorry. Its food processed, mass produced wine.

4. The big chains. Total Wine, Stew Leonard's, Bottle King. All these places carry a good amount of private label stuff that isn't advertised as private label (Wine Library and Gary's have private label wines too but Gary's is the only place that outright tells you its private label and even in some cases what winery it comes from...by far the most honest store when it comes to this. Wine Library...not so upfront). Stew Leonards seems to carry a lot of stock but when I look around, I may see the same wine in 2, 3, 4 different places in the store. And it tends to be the higher profit stuff. Total Wine has some really good wine and some really good deals, but you have to know what it is and where it is. Staff can be very good or not...depends on the individual. As a corporate entity, they do a pretty good job of development but the chains are designed to have you come in and buy with a minimum of time spent with the customer usually. Bottle King has surprised me...some really good wines, some really good deals, but again you have to know what you are looking for and the stores do vary by location, but if you do, I think they are currently the best of the chains.

5. Boutique wine shops. Smaller wine shops that don't carry all or even any of the big names, regardless of price point. Amanti Vino does a great job of it...Sharon has built a great business but you wont find a lot of deals. You will get a lot of info and customer service. Sid Patel has turned Village Wine Shop into a nice hand sell boutique wine shop. He has really good relationships with a number of wholesalers who specialize in more artisanally produced wines...people should appreciate and support him. Unwined is similar in that regard. If someone likes the Amanti Vino model, I think CoolVines in Westfield and Jersey City (Princeton too) is really good. Energetic and informed staff, a bit better pricing than Amanti Vino.

6. Fun trips. I really like going to Ferry St wine stores in the Ironbound. You find some fun and good stuff at really good prices you wont find anywhere else or in few other places in the Spanish/Portuguese wine shops there. Or take a drive into the city some Sunday morning and go to Astor Wines. Im glad I don't live closer to that store.

This is just a quick overview...I left out a lot. Here is the thing though...there is a wine glut in the world and it is the golden age of wine consumerism, especially in the NYC metro area. There are more good wines from more places at more different price points than ever before. Have fun shopping.

I buy the wine I like on the internet and pick it up at the store. The best sites are Gary's, Budget Bottle (Beechwood Liquors in Summit) Wine O Land (Edison). To explore new wines I go to the Stirling Fine Wines web site and will buy interesting wines I'm curious about on sale.

If you know prices, then Total Wine can be very good. Unfortunately, it has a lot of their private label product sprinkled throughout the store and you have to know the clues on the label.

Wine Library lost me years ago when I asked a sales associate if they had Chateau Montelena Chardonnay. He went to a computer, asked me to confirm the spelling which I did by writing it out and checked again. He asked me how I heard of the wine and, keeping a straight face, I said someone had told me it was pretty good. His response: I think they were kidding you. There is no such wine. His recommendation: Corbett Canyon.

Eek.

How can you tell the private label wine at total wine or any store. What should I know?

Also, is it a rule that private label wine is necessarily bad

Corbett Canyon? Where is that puking emoticon?

Wine Library knows nothing about Chateau Montelena?
Next time ask for someone above the shelf stocker.

https://winelibrary.com/stories/an-afternoon-with-chateau-montelena

He was a sales associate using the store computer.

Private label does not automatically mean bad but it can be a warning especially for wines produced in communes or traditionally processed, blended and bottled by and under the name of negociants. Selling to the private label may mean the producer is cash strapped or could not sell it through regular markets.

A few years ago Total Wine was selling private label Barolo $6.00 cheaper than other bottles of that vintage and it was awful. I did not think it was possible to make a bad wine from Nebbiolo but the winemaker succeeded.

A $315 million transaction just bet on private labeling being a money maker.

http://www.pressdemocrat.com/home/4142899-181/constellation-brands-inc-buys-napas

If you use their web site you'll learn they don't carry Montelena. Would you judge Honda harshly for not carrying Toyotas?

truth said:
He was a sales associate using the store computer.
Private label does not automatically mean bad but it can be a warning especially for wines produced in communes or traditionally processed, blended and bottled by and under the name of negociants. Selling to the private label may mean the producer is cash strapped or could not sell it through regular markets.
A few years ago Total Wine was selling private label Barolo $6.00 cheaper than other bottles of that vintage and it was awful. I did not think it was possible to make a bad wine from Nebbiolo but the winemaker succeeded.

Thanks Hank

+1 for Jim at the wine Library, he always has good suggestions and if he is in the store, I will wait for him as opposed to having someone else help me. Jim knows what I like and is always spot on.

Astor Wines is incredible -- I used to spend too much time and money there! Now, it's mostly Chambers Street Wines for me, for all the little Loire reds, Burgs and Jura wines.

I've stopped going to Total Wine -- really put off by a complete lack of wine knowledge, enthusiasm and interest of the staff. Agree on Gary's being a very comfortable and support place to shop. Boutique can definitely be worth the premium for honest, passionate, reliable and knowledgeable owners and staff!

If you know what you're looking for, Bottle King can be amazing for hard-to-find wines or stupid prices on closeouts, such as the two cases of Ceretto Barolos that I've picked up (Brunate and Bricco Rocche) for ridiculous prices

Cheers and enjoy, all!

hankzona said:
Good thread...it proves that when buying wine, our individual tastes/needs dictate where we like to shop for it.
I think its good to really get to know someone on staff in a wine store. Some places I buy wine, staff members know what I like and look for, and I even have gotten to know their tastes. Its like a movie reviewer...you tend to go back to the one who writes reviews that tend to be in sync with what you like. Joel Siegel thought every movie was a blockbuster...they aren't. Any wine person who tells you every wine is amazing is like Joel Siegel. Also, try to establish a customer relationship in more than one place...not every store carries every and all the same wines. Those wines that seem to be everywhere you may not want. And in NJ, pricing in part depends on how much wine a store buys. Even the biggest/best priced stores may not have gone long with a certain wine so the store that happened to buy more of it may have better pricing.
Some of my thoughts on specific stores:
1. Wine Library. The OP was spot on. Its not the same store. But its not bad if you can sift through it all. Plus, they often have sold some wines and their liquor and food/cheese as loss leaders, kind of like a Wal-Mart, to drive traffic to the store. Pros: some great deals still. Cons: Definitely not as much variety a they used to have; many people have complained to me that their Top 10 list isn't always good...its because its the Top 10 they want to sell and have the most stock in and want to move. They have let go much of their staff (one exception...Jim, who is a gentleman and very knowledgeable...I almost always like his suggestions) and the rumor in the wine trade is that they have been trying to sell it for some time now. Gary V is no longer involved on a daily basis. He did a remarkable thing, groundbreaking really, using social media to build the business, but its not the mid 2000's any longer.
2. Gary's. I buy a lot of wine from Gary's...its where I get most of my wine for events that I do. The staff is knowledgeable without being pushy or superior acting. It is one of the more comfortable places to buy wine. They have a pretty wide range but now that they have a fourth store open, and based on their locations, they wont carry much wine for the wine geeks out there. They carry what sells. Also really good beer selection.
3. Supermarket wine stores. By law, no entity/individual can hold more than two liquor licenses...of course, there are loopholes but the supermarkets, unless they have set up separate alcohol selling entities, tend to keep it to the two. Kings in Short Hills has a small but nicely chosen and somewhat reasonably priced wine and beer selection. The manager there worked at Wine Library for some time and knows his stuff. Shop Rite stores that carry wine depend on their location. The one in Morris Plains is pretty good (in selection and pricing)...the one in Chester because of their location has some monster high end wines and also a very broad selection for a supermarket owned wine store. Trader Joes has some good names at good prices but a lot of it is private labeled stuff made to look like its not private labeled and the However Many Buck Chuck line is crap...sorry. Its food processed, mass produced wine.
4. The big chains. Total Wine, Stew Leonard's, Bottle King. All these places carry a good amount of private label stuff that isn't advertised as private label (Wine Library and Gary's have private label wines too but Gary's is the only place that outright tells you its private label and even in some cases what winery it comes from...by far the most honest store when it comes to this. Wine Library...not so upfront). Stew Leonards seems to carry a lot of stock but when I look around, I may see the same wine in 2, 3, 4 different places in the store. And it tends to be the higher profit stuff. Total Wine has some really good wine and some really good deals, but you have to know what it is and where it is. Staff can be very good or not...depends on the individual. As a corporate entity, they do a pretty good job of development but the chains are designed to have you come in and buy with a minimum of time spent with the customer usually. Bottle King has surprised me...some really good wines, some really good deals, but again you have to know what you are looking for and the stores do vary by location, but if you do, I think they are currently the best of the chains.
5. Boutique wine shops. Smaller wine shops that don't carry all or even any of the big names, regardless of price point. Amanti Vino does a great job of it...Sharon has built a great business but you wont find a lot of deals. You will get a lot of info and customer service. Sid Patel has turned Village Wine Shop into a nice hand sell boutique wine shop. He has really good relationships with a number of wholesalers who specialize in more artisanally produced wines...people should appreciate and support him. Unwined is similar in that regard. If someone likes the Amanti Vino model, I think CoolVines in Westfield and Jersey City (Princeton too) is really good. Energetic and informed staff, a bit better pricing than Amanti Vino.
6. Fun trips. I really like going to Ferry St wine stores in the Ironbound. You find some fun and good stuff at really good prices you wont find anywhere else or in few other places in the Spanish/Portuguese wine shops there. Or take a drive into the city some Sunday morning and go to Astor Wines. Im glad I don't live closer to that store.
This is just a quick overview...I left out a lot. Here is the thing though...there is a wine glut in the world and it is the golden age of wine consumerism, especially in the NYC metro area. There are more good wines from more places at more different price points than ever before. Have fun shopping.

I'm not judging them on not carrying a brand.

I think the response I received showed a complete lack of knowledge about wine.

If I went into the Robert Mondavi Winery store, then I would not ask where the Grgich Hills selections were. The use of the word "library" in the name of the store more than hints that it carries more than one brand/type of wine.

Are you suggesting that people don't go into and browse in wine stores until they look at the web site offerings? You should keep in mind that not all stores offer all of their products for sale on the web.

I'd expect anyone working in the Honda dealership to know that Toyotas exist.

dave said:
If you use their web site you'll learn they don't carry Montelena. Would you judge Honda harshly for not carrying Toyotas?

dave said:
If you use their web site you'll learn they don't carry Montelena. Would you judge Honda harshly for not carrying Toyotas?

truth said:
He was a sales associate using the store computer.
Private label does not automatically mean bad but it can be a warning especially for wines produced in communes or traditionally processed, blended and bottled by and under the name of negociants. Selling to the private label may mean the producer is cash strapped or could not sell it through regular markets.
A few years ago Total Wine was selling private label Barolo $6.00 cheaper than other bottles of that vintage and it was awful. I did not think it was possible to make a bad wine from Nebbiolo but the winemaker succeeded.

I might judge a Lamborghini dealer harshly if it tried to sell me a Reliant Robin.