Wine store takes over space and liquor license in Prospect Heights Leave a comment

In addition to stocking the shelves with bottles of wine and liquor she has learned about and tasted in 18 years in the business, Strobert said she was putting special emphasis on bottles created by a diverse set of winemakers and distillers. Navigating the layers of distribution and availability with that goal in mind has been a challenge, she said.

“Some don’t have distribution in New York,” Strobert said. “That’s a limiting factor.”

She currently has five such makers on the shelves. “They keep selling out,” she added. One is hyperlocal: Sorel Liquor, a Brooklyn-made version of a drink with roots in the African diaspora and a long history in the Caribbean islands.

In total, there are 300 different items at Fermented Grapes so far, and Strobert plans to grow that to at least 700, keeping the selection tight.

She added that the recent change to liquor laws allowing restaurants to deliver some drinks to customers would not take a toll from her business–though it has changed her strategy a little.

“Now you can put a cork in your wine you didn’t finish at a restaurant,” she said. “You can’t drink wine at my business.”

That has led her to offer more canned and pre-batched drinks, which customers might pick up on their way to Prospect Park nearby.