Smith & Vine

Probably the best selection out of the wine stores in Brooklyn. As a bonus, 10% on wine from 6-9pm on Mondays.

The store serves a niche well for those in Brooklyn who want to pick up a cheapie wine for drinking at home, a modestly priced for taking to a dinner party, or something more expensive for the connoisseur. They represent Old World and New World well, with comprehensive sections for France, Italy, California, and Champagne.

Although Manhattan stores trump Brooklyn in terms of sheer selection for wine, I find Brooklyn stores one-up Manhattan for their depth and careful selection in the spirits category. The spirits buyer at Smith & Vine must have been a bartender in his/her previous career, as their gin, bourbon, scotch, and cognac seem to be perfectly tailored for the amateur mixologist. There are all sort of artisanal gins for mixing martinis (Brueckelen, Junipero, Ransom's) and whiskys for Manhattans (Old Portero, Old Overholt, Rittenhouse). They even have obscure liqueurs that the top cocktail lounges sling like Batavia-Arrack, Creme de Violette, and St. Elizabeth All-Dram Spice.

However, I wasn't impressed by the tastings and the service. The Italian wine tasting on a Saturday afternoon had a decent IGT, but a nearly undrinkable Tuscan and Nero D'Avola that was brutally tannic. The staff are helpful and accomodating, but not as on point on their wine knowledge as locations like Astor Wine and Spirits, Chambers Street Wines, and Tribeca Wine Merchants.