Wine Merchants

by Cynthia Sin-Yi Cheng
December 17th, 2007

For wines this season, I’d make a trip to SIP FINE WINE (67 Fifth Ave, Brooklyn; 718-638-6105) in Park Slope. The selection here is fantastic. You’ll find anything from a 2005 Sonoma County Gamay Noir by Marshall Family ($17) (which the wine director of Blue Hill, Claire Paparazzo, was recently pouring for tasting menus) to a 2006 Hahnmühle Spätburgünder Spätlese Trocken (A German white Pinot Noir!) ($22), and the list goes on. You can’t go wrong no matter how you pick. If Nick, the owner, is there, be sure to get his two cents as they are worth many times that.

For great champagnes, head to SEA GRAPE (512 Hudson St; 212-463-7688) in the West Village. They have a good selection of hard-to-find grower-producer gems from Becky Wasserman and Jenny & François Selections. Starting at the entry level, you can taste a Bernard Girardin Cuvée BG ($45) or focus on a single-village wine from my favorite Grand Cru village for Chardonnay grapes, Chouilly, with a bottle of 1999 Vazart-Coquart & Fils Cuvée Club ($75).