Chelsea Wine Country

My most frequented wine and liquor shop in Chelsea. It’s small and unassuming from the outside, but they offer pretty much anything you would want when it comes to wine, all at relatively affordable prices.
Friendly customer service + great hours (open later) = A-​ok with me.

Walked into Chelsea Wine Country hoping to buy a bottle of wine today as we are having paella tonight. Looking for a recommendation in the $ 15 dollar range I asked the guy behind the counter. Given the clue of paella he immediately began to show me Spanish whites. Courteous and knowledgeable, I walked out with a bottle of Sancerre (2013) at the targeted price of $ 14.99. I was also pleased to find a .375 ml bottle of Tito’s Vodka — the size being right given we are visiting NYC and a larger bottle would be too much.
Overall, the shop is small and intimate, the seller knowledgable, and location convenient to our 17^th St. apartment. If you are looking for a mega-​swill store look elsewhere. If you are looking to patron a local shop and to become a regular — Look No More!

Stays open late. Has not an insanely overpriced wine. Selection is decent. What else would anyone want?!

The staff is always very helpful and friendly — They give good recommendations when I ask for them, but for the most part they will leave me alone and not judge when I pick up 4 $ 6 bottles of wine… Because, you know, its for «cooking»…Not that I have an addiction to cheap wine.

This is a cute little neighborhood shop with a great selection! I’ve been going here for the past two years and whether picking up a bottle of vodka for a party or a nice wine for dinner, I’ve never had a problem finding what I need. I was in the other day looking for a few different wines, including a nice bottle to gift and was so happy to find that they carried one of my new favorite winemakers — Burgess! The syrah was reasonably priced and I immediately confiscated a bottle… for myself. As for the gift, I was pleased to see that they also carried Silver Oak Cabernet from the Alexander Valley, which incidentally was on sale. Score! When out of curiosity I asked if they had the more expensive Silver Oak from Napa, they did! I stood staring at the two bottles and although I was tempted, I opted for the less expensive… after all, it was a gift that I wasn’t going to get to sample!
I like to select my own wines so I can’t comment specifically on the staff’s skills with regards to that aspect but I can say that they have always been really friendly and helpful. On that same visit, I also randomly selected a couple of cabs for a wine tasting party I was throwing. Because it was going to be a blind tasting, I needed something to wrap around my two cabs as well as the wines my guests were bringing so that all the info on the bottles would be hidden. CWC carries the long thin paper bags that are perfect for this purpose. I asked for 15 of these and even though I offered to pay, the cashier said not to worry about it. Niiiice!
Oh yeah, they carry Cristalino, which is a good, very inexpensive cava. I’ve never had to ask but if you plan on drinking soon after buying, they apparently have bottles of this and other bubbly chilled in the back room you can request, although they will probably offer before you get a chance to ask.

Cute little wine shop with an astonishingly huge selection.
And while there shopping for your romantic evening (right?), stop by next door at Sabon for a bar of soap.

I’m new to the neighborhood, so I don’t know much about the controversy about the old owners and the new ones. I’m also Korean-​American, so I guess I’ll throw those coals to that fire. We do, (at least Korean — Americans like me) like to glam it up, clean it up and make it things more fabulous for the masses. We’re natural entrepreneurs, so we do whatever it takes to generate more business and revenue. Natural born hustlers.
I can’t say that I’ve ever met a Korean –American sommelier. We are known more for our love of Cognac and are unrelenting willingness to drink. It’s part of culture… we’re gangsters, under our nerdy exterior.
With that said, I walked into the store to pick up a few bottles for a friends dinner party. I love Malbecs, I’m selfish when it comes to wines, I don’t care what other people like. I love reds. Hearty rich Cabs and Malbecs. Strong, tannic, need time to aerate red wines.
A young blond walks by me as she is picking out her wine and says, «you like Malbecs?» «Pick any of those, I drink a bottle or two of those every night. you can’t go wrong.»
«A bottle or two a night? Should I be worried or be partying at your place every night?»
We picked out three Argentinian Malbecs for $ 10.99 per bottle.
Colores Del SOL
Arido
Alamos
All solid bold wines for an unbeatable price. This is your perfect place to shop for your wines for your home, but especially for dinner at a friends place.
I picked up a card on the way out and it says, «We Deliver».
Now if I’m too lazy to walk to the corner to buy a bottle wine, perhaps I don’t need another, but the fact that they do deliver… always good to know.

Right around the corner from my crib, so this is my go to wine/​liquor shop. Friendly staff that is always willing to help you find what you are looking for and suggest things that you may enjoy. A large enough selection, reasonable prices, and they always have new items and specials right up front.

I have to say that I can’t speak to Daniel or Dee’s reviews as in the past year I have not asked for help– I do remember the first time I went to grab wine I was very appreciative of the service and wine suggestions, perhaps this was from the old owner as it was over a year ago.
Regardless, the Californian in my feels relatively comfortable selecting my own wines. I appreciate Chelsea WIne Countr’y’s proximity, broad selection, and discounts.
I was there just the other day and they were selling a Veuve Cliqout look alike prosecco, Monnetto, that I bought two bottle’s of. Ironically, my saturday night date was serving the same type of bottle that I had just bought and I was very pleased with the selection. I def recommend trying!

I needed some extra sake2me and was pleased to find out when I called that Chelsea Wine Country had a few cases of it on hand. I arrived at the tiny wine store a bit later to clean them out of their supply.
The cashier (also the owner, I presume) gave me 10% off the purchases because of the volume. I thought that was a kind gesture. And one that’ll bring me back here.

I’m not sure the previous reviewer took the time to speak to the new owners. While the old owner was very knowledgeable and willing to help with any questions, the new owners are as well. I don’t know that they «glammed up» the place as much as cleaned and updated it a bit. Honestly, the old place was a bit like a dusty attic. Whereas the new style is brighter and more modern. Doesn’t make a huge difference to me, but I find it more appealing now. Here’s how I’d sum it up — the old place made me feel like I was buying something to drink at home by myself, the new place makes me feel like I’m buying something to bring to a dinner party with a bunch of friends. Anyhow, the real reason for my rave is that when they first moved in, I asked the new owners about a particular kind of Spanish wine that they didn’t stock — within 2 weeks they had ordered it and called to let me know. And once when I went in one of the girls who works there told me I had to try this new bottle they had just gotten in — she was sure I’d like it given my other preferences. And the best part… wait for it… it was $ 5 cheaper than my usual bottle.

Tragically the old proprietor of Old Chelsea Wine & Liquor sold the business to a bunch of Koreans who decided to glam up the place by replacing the awning, the front door/​window, adding all this bright lighting. Umm HELL-​O! Light is a no-​no for wine! So the old owner was this old Eastern European man who took the time to educate you. The new folks just want to sell ya stuff. Oh and they changed the name to Chelsea Wine Country. Boring.
Fortunately, the shop still has the old man’s inventory – his acute wine buying. It’s also the only wine shop in Manhattan that I have found that sells the Schlink Haus Reislings, which are one of my favorites (and the reason why this place is getting such a rating). And at $ 11 a bottle, it’s a STEAL. I hope the new folks keep buying this wine. Otherwise, I might have to threaten some kimchee-​lovin’ lives.

This was a small and very unassuming liquor store with a fantastic and amazing selection of wine. The customer service here gets five stars because I just wanted to know what kind of red wine would go best with French food and he started giving me all sorts of great suggestions and the two bottles that he picked out were just perfect for our dinner. His first question to me was my price range and then, he wanted to know what kind of wine I liked and then, he wanted to know the type of food and with all that, he picked out two bottles that fit everything that I wanted.
Thank you, thank you, thank you! :)