{"id":39006,"date":"2026-10-01T09:25:10","date_gmt":"2026-10-01T09:25:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.diningandcooking.com\/us\/39006\/"},"modified":"2026-10-01T09:25:10","modified_gmt":"2026-10-01T09:25:10","slug":"so-how-are-wine-shops-doing-these-days-it-depends","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.diningandcooking.com\/us\/39006\/","title":{"rendered":"So, how are wine shops doing these days? It depends"},"content":{"rendered":"

Richer operations are thriving, small ones are struggling and those in between are hustling harder than ever<\/p>\n

THE wine world has stumbled its way through a rough few years. Consumption worldwide has dropped as health warnings swirled. Inflation and tariffs are presenting unexpected challenges, while climate change continues to plague growers everywhere.<\/p>\n

With all these forces lined up against them, you might imagine wine shops hunkering down to cut their losses. Instead, K&L Wine Merchants, a retailer with four stores in California, did the opposite, expanding into New York City with a store on Madison Avenue in late May.<\/p>\n

So far, for K&L, things have gone better than expected. \u201cI\u2019m more bullish now on New York City than I was coming in,\u201d said CEO Brian Zucker.<\/p>\n

The view looks entirely different from behind the counter at Ardor Natural Wines in Portland, Oregon. This small speciality shop opened in 2017, capitalising on a thirst for what was then a new and novel side to wine.<\/p>\n

The store did well at first, said owner Victor Martinez, especially in 2019, which he called the peak of natural wine culture, and through the Covid-19 pandemic. Then the bottom dropped out, leaving Martinez somewhat puzzled.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe culture has turned against drinking, yet smoking is back, drugs are back,\u201d he said. \u201cIf this isn\u2019t the bottom, I don\u2019t know how sustainable this is going to be. I\u2019m working to make the landlord money, the government money, but I\u2019m not making any money.\u201d<\/p>\n

Going on different paths<\/p>\n

The divergent fortunes of these two businesses say a lot about the state of wine retail today.<\/p>\n

Small brick-and-mortar shops like Ardor, which serve a largely local clientele, are struggling, while larger, diversified stores with a healthy proportion of ultra-wealthy clients, like K&L, are sailing through.<\/p>\n

Aside from its stores, K&L does big business in wine auctions, on its website and in storing and servicing the collections of rich clients while finding rare and expensive wines for them.<\/p>\n

SEE ALSO<\/p>\n

\"Despite\"The<\/p>\n

Zucker calls this strategy \u201comnichannel\u201d: using any means, physical or digital, to connect with customers.<\/p>\n

\"\" K&L Wine Merchants CEO Brian Zucker says \u201cthings have gone better than expected\u201d for the company after it expanded into New York City. PHOTO: NYTIMES <\/p>\n

\u201cSales over US$100 a bottle were up more than 40 per cent this year, with 15 per cent more customers buying at that level, and the number spending over US$10,000 with us in that range went up by more than half,\u201d he added. \u201cOur private client group grew several-fold, at an average bottle north of US$300.\u201d<\/p>\n

At the same time, Zucker emphasised that K&L has done well at the lower end of the price spectrum, partly because of the slowdown in the California wine business, which has caused an oversupply of unsold wine.<\/p>\n

K&L makes deals with the wineries, selling bottles far below the recommended retail price, provided neither the names of the wineries nor the prices are publicised.<\/p>\n

In the last year, Zucker said, K&L sold about 114,000 bottles of California wine at half off the winery\u2019s own price or better through K&L Insiders, a free programme that only offers prices once the customer logs in.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe can\u2019t post them publicly,\u201d he said. \u201cThat\u2019s the whole arrangement with the wineries: The prices stay off Google and Wine-Searcher.\u201d<\/p>\n

Diversifying beyond the norm<\/p>\n

As with the proverbial K-shaped economy, the bigger, wealthier businesses are getting richer; the smaller, less well financed are getting poorer; and those in the middle are not quite sure where they are heading other than that they are hustling more than ever.<\/p>\n

\u201cTraditional retail is really hard work,\u201d said Chris Leon, owner of Leon & Son, a wine shop in Brooklyn. \u201cTo grow a business just doing that one thing is becoming less and less sustainable.\u201d<\/p>\n

To that end, Leon & Son operates a wine club that has built a nationwide clientele. After the pandemic, Leon, sensing that his customers yearned for community, began to offer wine classes and events highlighting visiting winemakers and other luminaries.<\/p>\n

Early in 2026, Leon & Son started an online auction business aimed at attracting not just those looking for rare collectible bottles, but anybody looking for a deal. To lower the barrier of entry, Leon & Son charges a 14.5 per cent buyer\u2019s fee rather than the conventional 20 to 25 per cent.<\/p>\n

For mid-range stores, creating a sense of community with their clientele is crucial.<\/p>\n

In Atlanta, Perrine Prieur Gallardo opened her first store, Perrine\u2019s Wines, in 2010 and now owns three shops in the city. They have become community fixtures, and she said she is working harder than ever to keep them that way.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have people who met here and got married and had kids,\u201d she said. \u201cWe are part of that, and that is what continues to fuel me.\u201d<\/p>\n

She and her staff have increased the number of tastings the store does, creating booklets and other study aids so that people can leave with something in addition to wine.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey want to be part of this community,\u201d she said. \u201cIt just requires more work. You can\u2019t just wait behind a counter. We are just making it today.\u201d<\/p>\n

No store embodies the notion of togetherness more than Community Wine and Spirits, which opened three years ago in New York. David Weitzenhoffer, its owner, has worked in many facets of the wine business. Retail was the one thing he hadn\u2019t done.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs long as I put my store near a subway station, I\u2019m fine,\u201d he said of his initial planning. \u201cAs it turned out, I\u2019m nowhere near a subway station. On the flip side, the people around here are stuck with us.\u201d<\/p>\n

This isolation has worked in Community\u2019s favour. Weitzenhoffer collaborates with other local businesses, offering gift cards for neighbours. His store is roomy, with plenty of space so that wine is spread out rather than presented as an intimidating wall of bottles.<\/p>\n

\"\" David Weitzenhoffer of Community Wine and Spirits says that his shop is just about to become profitable \u2013 after three years in business. PHOTO: NYTIMES <\/p>\n

Like other stores, Community works hard to bring people in, with classes and tasting events. The store, Weitzenhoffer said, has become part of the community.<\/p>\n

\u201cI run into people in the neighbourhood, they wave and want to talk about the people who work in the store,\u201d he said. \u201cI feel like Mr Rogers walking here from the train. If we set out to be a high-end store solely, we wouldn\u2019t have the populist traffic coming through here.\u201d<\/p>\n

The peculiar nature of selling and distributing alcoholic beverages in the US makes things even more complicated for many stores.<\/p>\n

After the repeal of Prohibition, the American federal government established a three-tier system and gave the states the power to regulate it as each sees fit.<\/p>\n

Under the system, producers and importers cannot sell directly to retailers or consumers. Instead, they must sell to distributors, who sell to retailers and restaurants, which sell to consumers.<\/p>\n

Different laws govern each state, which perhaps made more sense in the days when every store\u2019s clientele was primarily local. But the rise of online shopping and interstate shipping gives retailers in more freewheeling states advantages over those based in more restricted states.<\/p>\n

In California, for example, importers such as Kermit Lynch and Rare Wine Co have long operated retail shops as well, a mingling of tiers that would not be permitted in some states, like New York.<\/p>\n

K&L also acts as an importer in California, buying directly from European producers and selling at its stores in the state. Zucker said that its Madison Avenue shop adheres to New York state\u2019s stricter rules.<\/p>\n

Few have exploited the disparities in the system as successfully as Thatcher Baker-Briggs, a former sommelier and restaurant manager who started Thatcher\u2019s Wine in 2019.<\/p>\n

At first, he worked with wealthy wine collectors, managing their accumulations. He then began an import business, focusing on high-end, in-demand European wines such as William Kelley, Vincent Dancer and Guffens-Heynen, selling the wines to his wealthy clients and through his website.<\/p>\n

In 2024, he opened a retail shop, Thatcher\u2019s Wine, in the Brentwood section of Los Angeles, and expanded his portfolio, selling bottles for US$20 to US$30 as well as for thousands of dollars. More recently, Thatcher\u2019s started distributing in Illinois, Florida and New York, selling its imports to a small number of restaurants.<\/p>\n

Thatcher\u2019s Wine, now effectively acting as an importer, distributor and retailer, has grown to a US$25 million business.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe don\u2019t have a three-tier system in California,\u201d Baker-Briggs said. That presents difficulties for stores in the many states that enforce the system more rigorously.<\/p>\n

Leon noted that while they are \u201ccompeting for the same customers\u201d they\u2019re \u201coperating under different rules\u201d.<\/p>\n

While he is scrambling to keep his business growing, he said that he is optimistic for the future. \u201cFrom where we are sitting, people are still really excited to explore the world of wine,\u201d he added, \u201cand we\u2019re still excited to be working in wine.\u201d<\/p>\n

Weitzenhoffer\u2019s store, Community, has just celebrated its third anniversary in Manhattan. He said that it is just now about to start making a profit.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m not paying myself yet,\u201d he said. \u201cBut as hard as it is running a small business, it\u2019s one of the most rewarding things I\u2019ve done in my life.\u201d NYTIMES<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Richer operations are thriving, small ones are struggling and those in between are hustling harder than ever THE wine world has stumbled its way through a rough few years. Consumption worldwide has dropped as health warnings swirled. Inflation and tariffs are presenting unexpected challenges, while climate change continues to plague growers everywhere. With all these<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":39007,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[919,18401,58,57,32188,5889,92],"class_list":["post-39006","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-california","tag-alcohol","tag-alcohol-sales","tag-california","tag-california-wine","tag-fb","tag-food-industry","tag-wine"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/vive.im\/@dc\/117364937434611494","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.diningandcooking.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39006","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.diningandcooking.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.diningandcooking.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.diningandcooking.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.diningandcooking.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=39006"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.diningandcooking.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39006\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.diningandcooking.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/39007"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.diningandcooking.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=39006"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.diningandcooking.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=39006"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.diningandcooking.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=39006"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}