What would my perfect wine store look like? Take a casual, unpretentious daydream into a space featuring rare vinyl, shared plates, and open bottles.

Let’s face it. My perfect wine store doesn’t exist.

But if it did, what would it look like? Or, rather, what would my perfect wine store look like? Because, I must admit, everything here will be my personal opinions.

I want to daydream—and put into writing—what the perfect wine store would look like if such a place existed. From the wines offered to the music played, and all the details in between.

Let’s start, then, with the most important part of a wine store.

What Wine Would My Perfect Wine Store Offer?

Wine stores sometimes have agreements with major producers, so their wines tend to occupy a large percentage of the store’s shelf space. I understand the approach: the store wants to sell wine, and many buyers are likely to go in looking for brands they recognize. It’s the same with varietals and wine regions. People know and look for, say, Cabernet Sauvignon or Bordeaux, and would be disappointed if those wines are barely featured and the store offers Aglianico or Rioja instead.

In my imaginary perfect wine store, big wineries would still be available, just not prominently. I’d like to walk into a space with knowledgeable staff happy to help me discover interesting wines from lesser-known wine regions. Well-known ones, as well; there are many boutique wineries crafting excellent wines in Napa or Maipo. I’d like to discover them.

And that’s the thing: my perfect wine store is somewhere I can go to find new wines. The clerks working there would encourage visitors to get outside their comfort zone by recommending alternatives based on their preferences.

“Try this Assyrtiko from Greece or this Austrian Grüner Veltliner instead of the Sauvignon Blanc you normally buy,” for instance.

Of course, to really sell the alternative, they shouldn’t be afraid to offer you a taste of it.

My Perfect Wine Store Would Let You Sample Wine

Not all of it, of course. It’s not like one could just walk in and ask for a particular bottle to be uncorked so they can taste it before deciding on a purchase. However, the wine store should not be reluctant to open a few bottles a day to help sell interesting alternatives that might be a better value than the well-known wine that the customer was asking for.

Wine stores, after all, should already be uncorking so that their staff can taste the wines they’re expected to sell. They should also be empowered to decide on whether opening a bottle for a customer is worth it or not.

I remember traveling in Tuscany and stepping into a random wine store in Montalcino. I wanted to buy a Brunello and had several questions about vintages and aging potential. The owner excused himself and came back with a 20-year-old bottle he had uncorked that morning. Of course he sold me some wine, including a bottle by the same producer from a more recent vintage. He already had the bottle uncorked, why not share?

The store could even turn this into a feature. Uncork a bottle, serve a glass or two, and whatever’s left can go into a wine dispenser to sell by the glass.

The Perfect Wine Store Is Also a Wine Bar

Of course it is. My favorite wine stores are also my favorite wine bars. They have an interesting wine-by-the-glass list, or the servers will uncork and serve the bottle that you just picked from the store’s shelves.

Once again, this hypothetical store/bar would rely on their staff to recommend good wines that encourage customers to explore unknown regions, varietals, and labels. Wine flights would be a highlight of their menu, maybe even offering one relatively well-known wine along with two recommended alternatives. Wouldn’t that be a nice way to find new favorites?

What About Food?

The bar would certainly serve food, and as a former chef, I have some thoughts on the subject.

All food would be shareable, affordable, and charged per person. That way, you get two croquetas if you’re on a date or five if that’s the size of your party. Servers would recommend a few alternatives from the menu based on the wine (or wines) selected, and they should be able to explain why those pairings work. But they shouldn’t be pushy, food pairings are subjective. If they want oysters and Merlot, so be it. Nobody would judge you.

The bar would be separate from the store, but not necessarily two different spaces. See, the ambience would be shared because music pairs wonderfully with wine.

Music In My Perfect Wine Store

I’d love to step inside and be greeted by some classic tunes from the 1960s up to, maybe, the mid aughts. I’d even like to see somebody spinning vinyl records during the store’s busy times. But I’m not talking party music. Nothing too loud. I just want a nice analog mood to chat with the store clerks and browse the shelves for a bottle or two.

I wouldn’t mind, in fact, if my perfect wine store is also a record shop.

Is this too off-track? Whenever I think of memorable wine store experiences, I can’t say I recall the music played in the background. In most cases I can’t even remember if music was played. However, for the past decade or so, every time I’m at a record shop, I can’t help but think how much better the experience would be with a glass of wine in hand.

Ok, so, let’s recap: wine store, record shop, bar. This place needs storage space and a kitchen. Also, a tasting room, right? We’re talking about a large space then, right?

How Big Should This Perfect Wine Store Be?

This is where we get metaphysical. Yes, I want all those things in a perfect wine store. However, I wouldn’t want it to be too large. A huge room full of bottles would be intimidating. Even the staff would have a hard time navigating the volume.

“Of course, I can suggest a great fresh red that’s not Pinot Noir. Have you tried País? Let me show you some alternatives. They’re on a shelf 40 feet away.”

40 feet of shelves full of shoulder-to-shoulder bottles. And that’s only one aisle. Enough wine is produced that you can have stores as large as football fields that remain interesting. But I doubt customer prefer those stores when they’re looking for special wines and recommendations.

All of my memorable wine store experiences have occurred in smaller stores. Even most of my favorite wine bars are not large at all. I’m sure both could fit into a space that feels comfortable and friendly, instead of loud and intimidating.

The Last Drop

The best wine stores have something I’ve hinted at but never put in the spotlight: passionate people happy to chat without pressuring into buying something. It’s always helped that I don’t really walk into a wine store not expecting to buy something, and they can probably see that. But for this article I wanted to mention everything else.

The perfect wine store doesn’t exist. All I can do is daydream and throw incoherent—and sometimes contradictory—ideas in this space. I have a small number of wine stores I enjoy returning to, and I’ve visited another number of great ones while traveling, but I wouldn’t call them perfect.

Then again, I haven’t been in every wine store in the world. I haven’t even been in every single wine store in my city! The perfect wine store might exist, after all.

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Cover Image: My perfect wine store doesn’t exist. Photo by Miku Aalto.