S. Florida Wine Shops?

I think many on the Board will agree that Wine Watch in Fort Lauderdale is an excellent store which carries a lot of interesting wines.

Not so good for daily drinkers (as I don't think their prices on lower end wine are that good), but excellent and interesting higher end stock.

One store I did well in was Laurenzo's at 16385 W Dixie Hwy (Hwy 1 & 163rd). It's an upscale supermarket (like Brunos with a huge wine section), and they have quite an amazing variety of wines there. It may be a bit south from where you are staying, but I quite enjoyed myself there during a rainy afternoon. (As an offside note, they had the 2000 Dead Arm there for $59 this past March)

Further south, there is Gulf Liquors at 1681 Alton Rd (Alton & 17th) which is not quite as good (although their Cali cab selection is pretty good). Their prices are a bit haphazard so you need to know your pricing. You'd only want to stop there if you were going to South Beach (they are open late).

I've heard that there is one good wine store up in Ft Lauderdale, but I've never gone there and can't remember the name. You might go to the Food & Dining section and search for:

WHERE - Miami
Where - Palm Beach
Where Ft. L

I'd recommend two chains:

1. Crown. The selection is good as are the prices. They have a nice assortment of cheeses and the best prices around for caviar.

2. ABC. Great selection of wines and similar prices.

One reason I like these is that if you find a wine, either rare, in limited supply, or in high demand, you may likely be able to get more at the other chains in the area. Both of these chains have numerous branches, many only minutes apart.

Just one more sip.

Thanks, all. Does anyone know if any of the shops mentioned above have web sites so that I can scout out the situation (and figure out which ones are most conveniently located)?

Thanks!

Slan, I don't know about websites, but there are loads fo Crown and ABC stores in Palm Beach County. When we get down there, we head to the nearest ones and scout them out. The best buy we found there was the 2001 Wehlener Sonnenuhr Spatlese at $18 when either purchased by the case or singly with their free card on a Monday or a Thursday. Some of the prices are remarkably low. If you and your wife enjoy caviar as we do, head to the nearest Crown for caviar, Devon Creme, and bread or crackers. Don't forget the Champagne.

Just one more sip.

Don't forget Wine Warehouse in Boca. You can get the address and phone # off winewarehouses.com. They will have a good selection of values. Also, there has been a lot of deeply discounted (over 50% off in some cases) 96-99 Bordeaux in the chain.

Disclosure: I have no financial interest in this Wine Warehouse location but in another store in the group.

Hey Slan,

ABC Fine Wine and Spirits has a web site that you can use to find locations.

If you are in the northern Palm Beaches, I recommend the ABC store on Northlake Boulevard, west of I-95. They have a great selection, and also have a special "wine cellar" room where they keep the good stuff. Just ask them to open it for you, and you can stay in there as long as you like (bring a sweater!).

Crown Liquors has two stores on US 1, one in Riviera Beach, and one in Juno Isles. I recommend the store in Juno Isles.

Just slightly north of the Crown Liquors on US 1 is the Flame Liquors store, which has a wonderful selection as well.

Inlet Liquors has a store on Blue Heron Boulevard in Riviera Beach you might want to check out. They have another in Jupiter near Abacoa which is nicer, and has a better selection.

The Costcos are hit or miss, as far as selection. But you cannot beat their prices.

If you get onto Palm Beach island, take a walk through the Publix wine section, and then go to Hamptons liquor store on Royal Poincianna Way.

Cellars on Federal Highway and Sunrise is also a good option for the warehouse type large store.

I prefer it to ABC.

Slan,

The website for Crown is www.crownwineandspirits.com
It will give you all the locations with a nice little map of where they are.

Thanks all for the info here.

FYI, Cellars now has a new branch in Aventura, on US1 in the same strip mall as Best Buy and WHolefoods. PRetty nices store, very slightly overpriced compared to Chicago, but a nice selection.

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Yes, but I came here for an argument.

Oh! Oh! I'm sorry, this is abuse.

Your welcome. Happy Cellars worked out well enough for you. Its prices are hit or miss. Some are quite high and some are ok. We saw that the Cellars opened in Aventura after this thread happened. The guy who helped me the most at the other store has moved there and it is closer to me, so I have started going there as one of the places I check out. We have gotten some good deals there. They are really short on rieslings though.

BTW- the 595 Costco has 2001 Beaucastel for $52 or so (somewhere in the low $50s, I do not recall the precise amount).

I missed joezam's post before we went to Florida, but I agree wholeheartedly with The Wine Warehouse. We discovered it by accident when driving past it. It's on the west side of Federal Highway (Rte 1) a little south of Yamato. The prices were the best around. Termes at $20. And for you Floridians interested in the '01 Numanthia, they have it.

Just one more sip.

Thanks Board-O and Joezam. It is certainly North of my usual haunts, but I will have to check it out.

I'll echo what Board-O said. ABC or Crown is a must for price AND selection. ABC is my personal favorite in that area.

I will be in Hollywood from feb11 ,does anyone know the location of abc or crown, looking for aged bordeaux? i . I would prefer not to drive for more than 20 minutes from south ocean drive and hallandale beach blvd.

Although I stand by my position that the ABCs in Broward and North Dade are not the best, the closest ABC I can think of is straight west on Hollywood Boulevard about 15-20 minutes. I am not sure, but it is in the neighborhood of University, so it is pretty far west. There is also an ABC on US1 in Aventura, which is also about 15 or so minutes from you.

You may want to call some places. Wine Watch in Fort Lauderdale is about 20 minutes from you so can call and see what they have. Not sure about Crowns.

You could also do an ABC/Cellars Aventura trip. You may want to call around if you are looking for aged bordeaux.

Thanks J

Definitely check out ABC Fine Wine & Spirits when you're down there. There's a great selection in most of the Palm Beach/Ft Lauderdale stores, especially if you're into Bordeaux. Check out http://www.abcfws.com for more information, and if you have any specific questions, feel free to email me at abcwineguy41@yahoo.com

FSU, from your email address, it looks like you work for ABC. If so, are you primarily in one store? If so, which one? I visit a bunch of them every time we're down there.

Just one more sip.

Yes, I do work for ABC, but I only work out of one store (in Tallahassee). We have about 50 Wine Consultants company-wide that work out of most of our larger stores. To my knowledge, every store in S. Fla should have one. However, we can all pretty much get any wine that is available to any store, so dont hesitate to email me with any requests/questions, even if you arent going to be in the Tallahassee area.

Which stores have you been in?

Funny you should ask. I've been highly recommending your stores, as well as Crown, for your good selection and prices. I have one of your club cards, or whatever you call them. Last year, we went into the Boynton Beach ABC and found 11 bottles of the 2001 Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling Spatlese (96 points) at an unbelievable $20, or $18 by the case or with the card. I bought all 11 bottles and then went to almost all of the ABCs from Boca Raton to West Palm Beach, only to find them all sold out.

I have one suggestion for you. Why not carry caviar? Crown does and when we go to Florida (anywhere from 2-5 times a year), we go to Crown for caviar. Sometimes we buy wine there, and sometimes in ABC. Just before New Year's, I noticed people in the Crown stores buying caviar and wine or liquor. I noticed your stores have refrigerated cases, so it should be easy. Besides, you want to keep up with your competitors.

Just one more sip.

Funny you should mention that Riesling. I bought my fair share at $18 a bottle. A few of our stores in S. Fla do have Caviar "coolers." In our case, though, not many people request high-end caviar, so many stores do not keep it on hand. However, if you ask the manager on duty in any one of our stores, they can order it for you (depending on availability) and have it to you within a few days if you're going to be visiting for a while. I know this is a bit of a pain, but I have been told that our prices are quite comepetitive, even though I dont go near the stuff. lol

Count me in as a fan of ABC. I especially like the bordeaux sales that happen about twice a year or so. It's given me the chance to buy some first growths (albeit from mediocre years) for less than $100 a bottle. The selection is normally quite good, as well.

Count me in on wishing for a caviar fridge. I understand that you don't want to have tins of caviar sitting around if no one is buying them, though. FSU, do you have a price schedule for the caviar?

There's an ABC at 163rd and US1, pretty close to Hollywood.

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Yes, but I came here for an argument.

Oh! Oh! I'm sorry, this is abuse.

Grossie, that is the one I was referring to. I guess technically it is probalby in North Miami Beach or North Miami, I said Aventura.

The one on Hollywood Blvd. is much larger although I have not been in either for quite some time.

drthvader, e-mail me. Miamiatty@aol.com

I just bought a home in Hollywood and am in the process of redoing the bathrooms, kitchen, etc. Anyway, I'm between Taft and Johnson street off of 40th ave near the hospital.

Maybe we can take a trip to 3 or 4 wine shops.

MiamiAtty:

Yikes. We just finished repairs on our home... we have a great custom cabinet maker (also an architect) if you would like the name let me know.

Good luck!

Mona lisa vito, I just happen to be looking for both! Is this my lucky day or what?!

Please e-mail me so we can speak.

Slan,
I agree with those who recommended Wine Warehouse in Boca. It's a small shop, but they do have a very good selection the prices are better than I have seen in most of the shops in Palm Beach County. They often have wine tastings for little or no cost. You can also get some good deals if you're on their mailing list. Also, there is a Crown Wine and Spirits right across the street, so you can hit two birds with one stone!<g>

Welcome, Marlen, from a fellow Palm Beach county member!

Check the Off-line thread if you are interested in a local off-line in April. We've had a couple, and they've been excellent.

quote:

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Originally posted by Rothko:
Count me in on wishing for a caviar fridge. I understand that you don't want to have tins of caviar sitting around if no one is buying them, though. FSU, do you have a price schedule for the caviar?

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I'll look into it for you and send one your way. Send me an email at abcwineguy41@yahoo.com and I'll respond with the prices.

Marlen, that's how we found it. We walked out of the Crown and there it was.

Just one more sip.