New Wine Shop, 65 Fen, Open For Business

On Saturday, as the snow started to fall, 65 Fen (65 Fenimore, near Flatbush) opened for business with a day of wine tasting.

We got there at around 6 and, despite the awful weather, found ourselves in a bustling shop with a lot of samples on offer. Off the top of my head I recall an Argentinian malbec, an Oregon red zinfandel, wines from Washington State, Sonoma, the Finger Lakes, New Zealand and, of course, France. I believe everything is priced in the $10 - $20 range. We left with the $12 Malbec. (Our favorite, the red zin, was too pricey for us, at $17.)

Since the owner, Michael Campbell, has solicited input from the community, here's our two cents:

(1) Focus on quality wines in the $8 - $12 range. The selection on 5th Avenue's Red, White and Bubbly is amazingly well-curated and should be an example for all wine retailers. The way they see it, ten dollars is about the right price for a bottle grabbed on the way home from the train to have with dinner. (We catered the wine for our wedding off of the RW&B value selections.) Wines priced between $15 and $20 rarely seem worth the extra few bucks when there is so much quality available for $10.

(2) Make sure that whoever is in the store KNOWS the wine. I admire that the selection is both small and varied. It is a perfect combination for appealing to a broad range of tastes without losing familiarity with the stock. I felt the person leading the tasting, while nice enough, didn't seem to know much more than that he liked the wines he was pouring. I don't need an expert on pairing with food, but if a particular wine is recommended, a reason why (acidity, fruitiness, etc.) would be helpful.

To end on an up note, I liked what I saw and look forward to returning many times. King of Tandoor is still BYOB (or W), and now there's a good place to pick something up.

Comments

[jonesy]

Went in last night for a bottle of wine--what a pleasant surprise! The shop looks small from the outside, but once you go in, you realize that it contains a remarkably smart, interesting and manageable selection. Think of it as a curated cellar.

I too walked home with the Malbec (a pretty swell $12 bottle), but recognized an Ottimino Zin, and the selection of French, Italian and Spanish reds was intriguing. Michael and Michael were both very knowledgeable and helpful, and explained that they are open to customer suggestions. If you know a good wine, they'll stock it--and one of their goals is to make sure that customer favorites don't disappear from the shelves in a couple of weeks, as they have a way of doing over at RW&B.

All in all, this is an amazing addition to the nabe, and automatically became my wine store of choice. I even had the crazy idea of buying a bottle of everything they had--over time, and in small batches, of course--which seems entirely possible here. That way, I could pick exactly what I wanted every time!