A Veritable Vino Smorgasbord

Remember the feeling of walking into a Toys R’ Us for the very first time and seeing that new GI Joe action figure you wanted so badly? Well I experienced something like that this past weekend. No, I didn’t go to the toy store for an action figure…my experience was much more grand and relevant to this blog. This weekend was the first time I walked into the Wine Library, a wine specialty store located at 586 Morris Avenue in Springfield, NJ. It was like something out of a movie: I walk in and all of the sudden I hear almost heavenly music – harps, violins, chanting, the whole bit.

Now, those of you who’ve never been will tell me to get a grip, but those of you lucky enough to have walked through those doors, will understand exactly what I’m talking about. I’m not talking about your run of the mill wine shop. I’m talking about a wine Mecca, the aisles of which seemingly never end. Rows and rows of wines, and stacks and stacks of even more wine. Everything from Alberino to Zinfindel; $5 bottles to $5,000 bottles. The place was amazing.

The inventory was truly impressive (even intimidating). But fear not young oenephiles, the service in this store is just as impressive as the inventory. They weren’t right on top of you, don’t snicker at your silly questions, and generally are knowledgeable of the inventory in the store. The guy who helped me presented me with an Argentine Malbec that he highly recommended. The best part was, he saw the bottle of Malbec I had in my hand and offered a cheaper alternative that he deemed was just as good. The same guy also helped me find Riesling.

I think I know enough about wine to navigate a store with a large selection, but it’s always helpful to hear from the people who do it every day. I had ordered several times from Wine Library’s website (winelibrary.com), but I will now make a point of going to this amazing Mecca of wine at least once a month. I would also like to point out that I am not an employee of the store, nor affiliated with it in any way. If you spend any amount of time blogging or surfing the web for wine info, you may be familiar with the name Gary Vaynerchuk, the direction of operation at Wine Library, who also produces winelibrary.tv, a series of video wine tastings and wine commentary.

In fact, I was so impressed with the store that I got to thinking…wouldn’t it be cool to take a poll and see what you folks thought was the best wine shop in every NJ county? Stay tuned, because I’m working on putting together that poll (likely a 3 month poll), and will post when it’s ready for your feedback.

Until next time, remember to swirl, sniff and swig. Cheers.