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Hunter’s Point Wines & Spirits
Critics' Pick
47-07 Vernon Blvd.,
Queens, NY 11101
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Official Website
Hours
Mon-Thu, 10am-9pm; Fri-Sat, 10am-10pm; Sun, noon-8pm
Nearby Subway Stops
G at 21st St.; 7 at Vernon Blvd.-Jackson Ave.
Payment Methods
American Express, Discover, MasterCard, Visa
Profile
Longtime Long Island City resident Paul Huston spent decades working for restaurants and wine merchants before he built this space in 2006 with his business partner and best friend, Michael Callahan. While the store has plenty of inviting elements, like its high ceilings, slate floors, and detailed tasting notes, Huston wanted to avoid looking “too polished” and encased his sales counter with acid-distressed corrugated steel. Behind this counter gleams a wide-ranging liquor selection, including Audry Cognac and rare Roger Groult Calvados. The rest of the front room is dedicated mostly to under-$20 wines. A dim corridor lined in rough-hewn stone (a tribute to the neighborhood’s transit tunnels) leads to the expansive back room where you’ll get a better sense of the stock’s global reach. Huston seeks out small-production wines from estate-grown grapes, which might come from New York State or New Zealand, Italy or Israel. The truly boldface names are kept in a glass-fronted chamber and reveal what Huston’s been collecting since he was in his twenties: every vintage from Dominus Estates; a 1997 Stag’s Leap Cask 23 Cabernet Sauvignon; and Ornellaia “super Tuscans.”
Wine StorageDon’t have room for your own cellar at home? You can rent space in the in the shop’s temperature-controlled wine vault.
Tastings
There is often a winemaker in attendance at tastings held Thursdays and Fridays from 6pm to 8pm.
Both still and sparkling wines: Solid cases are discounted 15 percent; mixed cases swing a 10 percent discount.