Put down the boxed wine and check out these independent retailers in Charlotte
Before quarantine, I was not terribly adventurous with my wine choices. After about a month of grocery store bottles, I started craving more variety than my Food Lion favorites — and realized that the boxed wine that I’d stocked up on in case of a national wine shortage actually didn’t taste very good.
Out of boredom and curiosity, I ended up browsing my local wine shops and grabbing a few different bottles curbside. Researching new beverages to try and doing a weekly pickup became one of my favorite rituals in the past few months. I’ve enjoyed it so much that I even decided to enroll in a class to become WSET (Wine Spirit Education Trust) Level 1 Certified.
Even if you don’t aspire to be a wine aficionado, smaller wine stores are great resources to find your new favorite bottle.
“Smaller retail stores that are owned locally usually have someone at the helm who is passionate and in touch with the market,” said Nikole Elkins, a Court of Masters certified sommelier and wine director at Del Friscos. “They know what people want and what they enjoy, and can bring things in to cater to people’s taste. Although a grocery store has a large selection, they only have a handful of wines that I feel comfortable recommending,” Elkins said.
Elkins suggests that you leverage the knowledge and passion of the staff at smaller wine shops and ask them to help you pick out a few bottles that suit your taste.
“It’s very helpful to develop a vocabulary to explain what you like,” Elkins said. “It doesn’t have to be crazy specific.” Use words such as light bodied or full bodied, dry or juicy, and fruit forward or earthy.
If you’re ready to start shopping, here is a list of 10 independent wine shops where you can browse, expand your palate on any budget and give local businesses and family owned vineyards a little love. Several of these stores offer curbside pickup and delivery and others have outdoor patio seating, so you can enjoy your new beverages in a way that you feel most comfortable.
(1) Assorted Table Wine Shoppe
224 E. 7th St.
Curbside pickup available 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Sunday
Located inside uptown’s 7th Street Market, Assorted Table Wine Shoppe features a selection of international and national wines at a variety of prices. If you aren’t sure what you are looking for, you can submit a form with your taste and type preferences and budget and let the experts at the shop curate a selection for you.
While the retail area is currently closed, Assorted Table is currently offering curbside pickup and a delivery service. Delivery is $10 for addresses within uptown Charlotte, and $10 plus an extra dollar for each mile outside the I-277 loop.
(2) Bond Street Wines
605 Providence Road
11 a.m. - 8 p.m. Monday-Wednesday, 11 a.m. - 10 p.m. Thursday-Saturday
Bond Street Wines is one of the oldest independent wine shops in Charlotte and features everything from your more traditional reds and rosés to newer, trendy wines such as orange wines and pét nat-style bottles. Don’t be overwhelmed by the store’s collection of over 550 bottles. The staff are excited to help you and encourage you to be honest about what you like so they can find the perfect bottle in your price range.
“The staff want to get to know you. … We try to put a personal touch on it [wine buying]. At the end of the day, your palate is very personal,” said Sam Bioski, Bond Street Wines’ manager and wine buyer.
(3) The Culture Shop
1425 Kennon St.
Noon-7 p.m. Wednesday-Saturday
This Belmont neighborhood wine and cheese shop opened this April and offers over 150 bottles of wine, including a few budget-friendly high quality bottles that land in the $10-$15 price range. Pick up a charcuterie board featuring local and imported cheeses, salamis and uncured meats to go and enjoy with your wine to make an evening of wining and dining.
(4) Davidson Wine Co.
121 Depot St., Davidson
4-9p.m. Tuesday-Wednesday, 2-10p.m. Thursday-Saturday, 1-5p.m. Sunday
Davidson Wine Co. is the first urban winery in the Charlotte area, producing affordable and locally-produced wine with internationally-sourced grapes. The wines made in house include champagne, a white Pinot Grigio and a wide variety of reds including Pinot Noir, Malbec, Cabernet Sauvignon, and some more international red blends. This winery also offers bottles and glasses from other vineyards and has an in-house kitchen that serves up flatbreads, salads, other small plates and sweets.
(5) Foxcroft Wine Co.
7824 Fairview Road
1235 East Blvd.
7416 Waverly Walk Ave.
With locations in Dilworth, SouthPark and Waverly, you can probably find a Foxcroft Wine storefront convenient to your commute. Each shop has 1,500 bottles of wine on the shelves from all over the world, including exotic places from Slovenia and Lebanon alongside more familiar bottles. The staff are self proclaimed “wine geeks” and are happy to find you a bottle that you’ll love whether you want to try something exotic or rosé all day.
Foxcroft Wine also has a restaurant at each location. If you decide to dine in after you pick up a bottle, your cost will be much less than the industry-typical restaurant markup, and there is no corkage fee on wines over $29.99.
(6) The Hobbyist
2100 N. Davidson St.
7:30 a.m.-9 p.m. Monday-Thursday, 7:30 a.m.- 10 p.m. Friday, 8 a.m. -10 p.m. Saturday, 8:30 a.m.-6 p.m. Sunday
The Hobbyist is a Villa Heights cafe and craft bottle shop with a selection of wine that focuses on small production wineries with some bigger, more familiar wine brands sprinkled into the mix.
“I truly try to find wines whose names you may not have heard of, but you will soon love. I also try to listen to my guests [and learn] their favorite wines and wineries, as that gives them a local place to find these,” said Hobbyist co-owner Julie Woodside.
Wine prices at the Hobbyist fall in the $12-40 price range. If you want to taste before you commit to a bottle, the Hobbyist also serves wine by the glass that you can sip on its outdoor patio.
(7) Local Loaf NoDa
800 E. 35th St.
9 a.m.-7 p.m. Wednesday-Sunday
Order online from Local Loaf’s curated selection of both traditional and trendy wines and roll up for an easy contact-free curbside delivery. If you want to learn a little more about the bottles in its collection, Local Loaf has an entire Instagram page, @overthevine, with livestreamed wine tastings, bottle profiles and fun wine facts.
You can also save yourself a trip to the grocery store by checking out the Loaf’s selection of brunch and dinner favorites and provisions to grab with your wine purchase.
(8) Mere’s Wine & Cheese Shop
2400 Park Road, Suite H
Noon-6 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday
After 20 years in corporate America, Meredith Mullins followed her dreams and opened Mere’s Wine & Cheese shop to share her passions for wine and cheese. This Dilworth boutique offers themed wine packages to help you discover new bottles whether you like big and bold wines or patio crushers, and offers special $100 case sales on the shop’s Instagram.
The staff also post quick and fun wine education videos about different types of wine offered at the shop so you know what you’re looking for when you stop in to grab a bottle. Don’t miss the Instagrammable cheese plates you can get to go if you want to upgrade your evening.
(9) Petit Phillipe
2820 Selwyn Ave. #160
10:00 a.m. - 7 p.m. Monday-Wednesday, 10 a.m. - 8 p.m. Thursday-Saturday
Petit Phillipe is a fine wine retail shop that stocks ultra-premium picks alongside $20 bottles, with a focus on Napa Valley, California and French wines. Even the least pricey bottles are tested and approved by Petit Philippe staff before they make it to the shelves, so your taste buds won’t know that your wine was budget friendly.
As an extra perk, you can pick up gourmet treats from Twenty Degrees Chocolates made in house as you are checking out the bottles.
(10) Rhino Market and Deli
Multiple locations
Hours vary by location
Rhino Market works with local distributors to find fun and unusual limited release wines and sake that they display next to more familiar wines that you already know and love. Rhino Market has a slightly different selection at each location, but the price range for each market is about $7.99-$100, with plenty of budget-friendly and splurge-worthy options.
If you’re feeling adventurous, check out Rhino Market’s selection of bitters, mixers and other beverage accouterments that you can use to upgrade your glass into a wine cocktail.
(11) Salud Beer Shop
3306 N. Davidson St.
11 a.m.- 9 p.m. Monday-Thursday , 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Friday-Saturday, 11 a.m.-8 p.m. Sunday
Next time you stop by Salud Beer Shop for a six-pack, stick around and check out the wine selection. This family-owned store boasts a wide selection of natural wines, including orange wines, Pétillant Naturels, a natural take on sparkling wines, chilled reds and more trendy summer favorites.
If you want to keep things basic, you can also pick up a mimosa kit to DIY the favorite brunch cocktail.
This story was originally published September 18, 2020 at 9:30 AM.