April 17, 2006
A Wine-Off
What lucky little New Yorkers we are. First the grand opening of the new and improved Astor Wines and Spirits and now, we get Trader Joe’s Wine Shop. It’s a wine cornucopia all packed neatly in one square mile. With such great options, so close (or conveniently located next to subways), we realized there was only one thing to do – hold a wine-off. May the best wine purveyor win.
Trader Joe’s Wine Shop:
Overview: This wine shop, located adjacent to Trader Joe’s just opened a week ago, yet is already bustling with curious shoppers looking to try that “2-Buck Chuck.” Fairly large in size (by New York standards), this wine store is laid out by country and grape varietals (although not that clearly) – but don’t worry, there are sales associates all around, easily located in their Hawaiian print shirts – to help you navigate the store.
Pros: If the “2-Buck Chuck" didn’t give it away, one quick stroll around the wine shop will confirm it – the prices are low. How low? Low. While this may not be a scientific analysis, we would guess that the average price of wine at Trader Joe’s was around $6.00. Another plus was the easy to locate and friendly sales associates. While they still may be working out the kinks, they were sure eager to please.
Cons: The selection is quite narrow. Forget walking into Trade Joe’s Wine shop to find that 2001 St. Joseph from Northern Rhone. If you are looking for a specific bottle of wine, this may not be the place for you (unless of course it’s “2-Buck Chuck”).
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Astor Wines and Spirits
Overview: Holy crap, it’s big. Give yourself at least a full 30 minutes to navigate the floor of this wine shop. Take a stroll through the temperature controlled cool-room, peek your head into the research lab, peruse the collection of wine books and accessories and rest at the tasting bar to sample the latest featured wine or spirit.
Pros: The selection brought a tear to our eye – in terms of producers, locations, grapes and price. It was just as easy to find an interesting wine from Rueda for under $10 as it was to find a Grand Cru from Burgundy (we bought the Rueda, but as soon as they develop a lay-away program that Corton-Charlemagne is ours).
Cons: The overall experience can be somewhat overwhelming. This isn’t a wine store that you just drop into to pick up a bottle. The selection, while great, can be too much. The store is also a little difficult to navigate. It’s set up by country with little markers on the end caps and occasionally a sign above the display – but these little markers can be easy to miss, and you find yourself wondering around searching for wines from California (they’re all the way in the back. Keep going.)
So who’s the winner? In the end that all depends on what you want. If you are looking to pick up an inexpensive bottle of wine, that may not knock your socks off, but will go well with your Kung Pao Chicken – then Trader Joe’s Wine Shop is a great bet. There were many wines under $10 and even a few good choices worth “splurging” for – the J.J. Prum that the Eric Asimov mentioned this week in the New York Times, was available for $19.99. However, if you love discovering new regions, producers and styles of wine then Astor has nailed it. The wine shop becomes a destination for exploring, tasting and learning about wine and spirits. You know what, just for that, we have to give it to Astor.
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the astor is lame. ugly. cheap fake wood floors, fake wood cabinets, bad layout, lame graphics. awesome space with a super cool ceiling. they really did nothing with the new store. the wine? the same - good normal selection, not a lot of unique hard to find wines. i couldnt find a cahors or a nero de avola. maybe a freaky sardinian wine? no way. . i asked where the rhones resided and the guy had never heard of it. i am no wine expert myself and i got nervous, was it just under france? my pronunciation? no...he had just never heard of it and had to ask another employee. bring on the wine snob or modesty patrol comments. ........
Went into Trader Joe's wine shop at about one minute to ten the other night and bought my first-ever bottle of two-buck Chuck (for three bucks).
Opened it on the beach at Coney Island yesterday and a friend and I found it an extrememly enjoyable accompaniment to Nathan's hot dogs and fries.
Just finished the bottle and turns out it goes just as well with veggie turkey on a whole wheat roll.
sa - I guess there may be inconsistency with the staff training. The person that helped me was quite knowledgeable and suggested a great Gruner Veltliner from Austria. I can't imagine somebody working in a wine store and unfamiliar with the Rhone region. Are you sure he worked there?
TJs Wine shop is dreck. Cheap bottles of table wine. Dominated by TJs own brands. Limited selection of finer wines at inflated prices.
Please don't forget about Union Square Wines.
And we have a gem of a wine store here in lower Manhattan: New York Wine Exchange on lower Broadway. Knowledgable staff, pleasing layout, deep selection and reasonable prices.
Union Square Wines has a great selection (in fact that's where I usually buy my wines) however their mark-up is extremely high.
What's the line like for the TJ wine shop?
no mention of discovery wines?
the place is like a museum
10 avenue A
When I went there on Friday and this morning, there was barely a line (maybe 4 people). I, however, went during off hours.
yes - the guy worked at astor. maybe a box boy!
i was quickly sent to the rhone section -
still - the new store is lame - it looks like it belongs in a suburb of seattle.
crybaby - we love discovery wines. See below...
http://www.gothamist.com/archives/2005/08/01/new_world_of_wine_stores.php#comments
I tried the $2.99 "two buck chuck" from TJ's and it was awful. I'm not much of a wine connoisseur and don't mind drinking inexpensive wine, usually. This was awful. A cabernet isn't supposed to have a harsh, acidic taste. This stuff doesn't just taste cheap, it's undrinkable.
TJ's shelves are incredibly well labelled... they describe the tastes of the wines and they put the price front and center. Very shopper friendly. The line on Saturday afternoon was long but took about 10 minutes. The $3 TJ chardonnay tasted like a $3 chardonnay. A little better the next day but still cheap tasting.
Offering $3.00 is only going to give rise to more drunken winos around the park, and convert the teetering down-on-their-luck bums to imbibe all the sooner.... ahhhhh god bless them, the petulant fools....
My favorite wine store in the wine-rich Union Square/Astor Place region is Warehouse Wines & Spirits on Broadway. It looks like a no-frills place and the prices match the appearance, but the selection is great and the staff is very knowledgeable.
They're good at picking out a good wine/spirit that's cheap because it's not very well-known, and then buying up a lot of it and selling it for a bargain. I saw a Spanish Solera Reserva brandy (Gran Duque de Alba) there for $20 that was selling for $50 at the new Astor location. Besides the price benefit, I like that because the selection tends to rotate, which encourages me to try different things.
lest we not forget the $2 wine at Astor? The sure winner here is Astor Wine and Spirits by a mile. Knowledgable staff, more selection, not just wines, and free tastings on saturdays
+1 for warehouse wines.. They're equal to TJ for prices, have selection to match most other shops, and staff who know how to help even those who know nothing about wine.
I tried a selection of various $4 wines (no Chucks) from TJs, and was pleasantly surprised by all of them. Their Primitivo is better than more expensive brands I've tasted, and a $6 Old Vine Zin cousin was also quite good. Pull up the car, since I might have to start buying by the case! I get the impression that while they might not have anything too fancy-pants, the bulk of their stock is probably quite drinkable.
I'm also a big fan of Warehouse, and Union Square (though I agree about the markup with the latter). The new Astor gets a "thumbs down" for the headache factor. That lighting is horrible!
what is this 2 dollar wine you speak of at astor al2k and is it good?
astor wines & spirits is new york city's favorite wine store. and for good reason. the variety, the prices, the service. trader joes can never compete. they'll always be the outsider selling cheap wine (love the peanut butter filled pretzels though).
good choice gothamist.
I tried the $2.99 "two buck chuck" from TJ's and it was awful. I'm not much of a wine connoisseur and don't mind drinking inexpensive wine, usually. This was awful. A cabernet isn't supposed to have a harsh, acidic taste. This stuff doesn't just taste cheap, it's undrinkable.
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The merlot was enjoyable. Kinda like drinking grape juice, said my friend.
i went to the wine store for the first time today. I did not bother with the reds=but they had a good "cheap' white selection, especially when it came to australian or south american.
the tj's in alexandria va used to carry the 'BAREFOOT' red selection as well, not just whites/champ... the cab and zin were gold winners and 5000 times better than 2buck, at about 6 a bottle. sad, they don't have them here. i'd never go there for my prefered wines but its a great place fir serivceable cooking wine or sangriqa materail. I cross the pulaski to vine wine for my daily drinkers. cheap, knowledgable and unpretentious.