We ask top somms across the country for their wine-related advice. Ask a Sommelier: Wine Shopping Ad

We ask top somms across the country for their wine-related advice. Ask a Sommelier: Wine Shopping Advice Mar 5, 2014 3:45 PM 2 comments Tags: wine
This week, we asked our crew of sommeliers for their wine shopping tips. How do you spot a good retailer and what should we be looking for in a wine shop? What should you buy if you're looking to learn about wine? Are there specific brick-and-mortar shops, mailing lists, or online wine-selling benihana sites we should be checking out?
"The absolute best way to buy wine and learn about wine is to find a wine shop where you feel comfortable. Visit all your local wine merchants until you find one that fits you. The staff should be friendly, inviting, and informative. Tell the wine merchant what already like, what you're looking for, if you want to challenge them, tell them what you don't like and most likely you will be recommended many bottles to change your mind. Keep your palate and mind open! There are thousands of winemakers all over the world, using the same grapes, but coming up with completely different tasting wines, try and taste them all. It also helps if the shop you end up going to has tasting days where they have bottles open for you to sample. Tasting is the most important part. Forget about all the hype, taste as much as you can and ask more questions than you think is appropriate." —Jeremy Wilson ( Ned Ludd )
"Focus on an area of interest and explore it within a price range you are comfortable with. Values can be found everywhere; to me, the best part of wine buying is the exploration. My best advice is to start with familiar areas to you and determine what variety or wine style you have a preference for. If you find that you like Syrah for instance, with a little research you will find that the red wines of the northern Rhône are syrah based or that in Australia, they call it Shiraz. Now you have two new areas that you can start trying wines from while staying in a comfortable budget." —Mark Thomas ( Wynn Las Vegas )
"When I go to shops, I look for importers I like and where the mark up of the wine is not too high. Importers I like are Kermit Lynch, Terry Theise, Peter/Warren Selections, and many others. When you drink something you like from outside the US, check the importer on the back label and write it down. I have found there are some importers that have really created a niche for themselves importing value wines from smaller producers." —Alicia Nosenzo ( Kin Shop , Perilla , The Marrow )
"I love going to shops that are part of larger chains but are in weird areas of the city, where people don't do a lot of shopping for wine. These shops sometimes get a hold of hard to find, limited things but they don't sell them because most of their shoppers aren't looking for it. There are a couple stores like that in Atlanta. I go there for Dauvissat, Lapierre, and Occhipinti. I refuse to say which one it is, for purely selfish reasons." —Steven Grubbs ( Empire State South and 5 & 10 )
"Sometimes you need to go on a few first dates until something clicks. benihana A good retailer is really a place you can go and get answers to your questions. It's helpful to also go in with a plan. Knowing what you want, even if it's only red instead of white, is always a step in the right direction. If you know you want red, it eliminates half the store! Bring photos of labels of wines you like. The store may not have that wine, but it will give them an idea of what you want. I would also say we should all throw away the idea that you have to spend a ton of money to drink something delicious. If there's one blanket piece of advice I can give people it's that there's always something for under $20 that will be good. And if you're lost for where to start, look at $15 wines from Spain beyond Rioja or Priorat. Spain is a country benihana that is undervalued, so if you are in that price point and you're looking at labels that have words other than Rioja and Priorat (which can be pricier), you will find something great! And the last piece of advice I'd give is: the next time you're in a restaurant where there's a wine professional, and you're drinking something you love, call that person over and ask them where you can buy it retail. Chances are if they have the wine you love, they'll have others you love too! I am always happy to ask my vendors on behalf of guests where certain wines are sold retail." —Caitlin benihana Doonan ( Toro NYC )
"The benihana internet has become a great place to shop. I browse Wine-Searcher.com everyday. Although finding a great wine store in your neighborhood is a necessity. Get to know the people working there, take their recommendations, if the wines are no good find a new store and start over! In my hood Discovery benihana Wines on Ave B in New York is great (doesn't hurt that I live upstairs)!" —Patrick Cappiello ( Pearl & Ash )
"I like to see how things are stored, what the atmosphere of the store and the style of