[/media-credit]
- Elana Effrat, a sales associate at Vintry Fine Wines, uses one of the store’s iPads to check stock on bottles of certain wines, their price, and their location on the store’s shelves. Similar information will be accessible on the store’s website.
BY TERESE LOEB KREUZER | Even a glance through the window of Vintry Fine Wines, which opened on Jan. 14 in Goldman Sachs alley, suggests it is no ordinary wine shop. Around a thousand different wines are displayed on undulating shelves that lead to a climate-controlled room where the most precious bottles are stored.
Additional bottles are in an off-site warehouse said Michael Martin, 39, Vintry’s general manager and wine director. Though Vintry currently offers more than 2,500 different wines, the collection is growing. Martin, who has been in the wine trade all his life, is responsible for making purchases for the store.
A set of iPads in the front of the shop allows staff and customers to search for wines by name and find how many bottles are in stock, where they are located, and the price.
Soon to be operational, a Napa Technology wine tasting machine at Vintry will dispense tastes of four wines at a time.
Vintry’s stock ranges in price from $10 to $11,000. Among the more expensive offerings, a case of 12 bottles of 1982 Chateau Petrus goes for $95,000. A three-liter bottle of 1990 Chateau Lafite Rothschild Bordeaux is $7,500.
“We have a lot of wine-geeky stuff here,” said Martin.
As an example, sales associate Sarah Chappell pulled a bottle of 2008 Ribolla from the shelf. It comes from Movia, a producer in Slovenia, and sells for $27.
“It has nutty complexity with a fresh acidity,” said Chappell.
The Ribolla grape was first mentioned in a notarized contract dating from the late 13th century. The grape was greatly prized for the next 600 years but was nearly wiped out by the phylloxera epidemic of the 19th century that destroyed most vineyards in Europe.
Martin also anticipates that Vintry will hold wine tastings and special events. “We have a lot of venues,” he said, where these could be held. He noted that the shop is partially owned by the Poulakakos family, and that Harry’s Italian, another Poulakakos venture, will be opening this spring in Goldman Sachs alley, just across from Vintry.
Vintry Fine Wines is at 230 Murray St. The phone number is (212) 240-9553. The website is vintryfinewines.com. The store is open daily, Mondays to Saturdays, from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. and Sundays, from noon to 6 p.m.
