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Empire State Cellars will close at the end of the year. (Credit: Vera Chinese)

Empire State Cellars, the all New York wine, beer, cider and spirits superstore that opened in 2011, will close at the end of next week.

The store’s concept is one that I think has merit and potential, but no one has gotten it quite right yet. Stores like this have either been poorly staffed, poorly placed, too large or run by individual wineries, which often leads to poor selections.

ESC suffered because it was located at discount shopping destination Tanger Outlets in Riverhead. Despite the millions of visitors to the mall every year, I always got the impression that the vast majority of its clientele were more interested in sub-$10 pinot grigio from who-really-cares-where than they were looking for good, local wine.

As a strong advocate of drinking local, it was like an amusement park for me. I’d spend way too much time browsing and — my wife might argue — too much money buying. I wasn’t just a customer though – I was also an employee. For the past three years, I’ve curated the store’s wine club helping to get New York wines into the hands of wine lovers throughout the country.

It’s sad to see the store close, but there is one good thing about it and it’s happening right now.

Deep discounts.

I was in last week and everything in the store – from the cheap, sweet Kosher wines all the way up to the library wines from the 1990s were 40% off.

The store was somewhat picked over, but there are still some incredible wines there. Think of this as your guide to being a vulture as you pick at the store’s carcass.

Finger Lakes Riesling.  Most of the wines that I bought were Finger Lakes Rieslings. They are hard to find here on Long Island and most are already under $25 – meaning that they are now under $15. Focus on the wines made by Ravines Wine Cellars, Hermann J. Wiemer Vineyard, Red Newt Cellars, Bloomer Creek Vineyards and Keuka Lake Vineyards – especially the 2011 Falling Man Vineyard, which is a stunner. You won’t go wrong with any of those producers.

Arrowhead Spring Vineyard’s 2010 Syrah. A very specific recommendation, I know, but this is one of the best syrahs in the state and it tastes great right now. I know because I bought one and had it last weekend with rare venison loin at Orto, a great BYOB restaurant near my home. It was perfect. I wish I had bought more.

Spirits. I was surprised and disappointed to see that the vast, well-chosen selection of New York-made spirits had barely been touched. At full price it’d be easy to understand, but with the discount, I wanted to completely restock my bar. Of course I’d also like to stay married, so I didn’t. If you can only get a few bottles, focus on the Atsby Vermouths, the Tuthill Town Whiskeys and the Greenhook Ginsmiths gins – the delicious standard bottle and the hyper-local one infused with local beach plums.

Jamesport Vineyards 2007 Jubilant. The red wine section was particularly picked over by the time I arrived, but there were still a few bottles of this absolutely stunning cabernet franc-heavy blend left. This is a wine that I’ve loved since its release and it truly does continue to get better every time I have it. Do yourself a favor and go get one.

Lenn Thompson

 

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