St. Marks Wine and Liquor. East Village Wine and Liquor Store/Shop. 16 St. Marks Place, New York, NY 10003

St. Marks Wine and Liquor

Welcome to St. Marks Wine and Liquor. We carry an outstanding selection of wines and liquors including fine wine, champagne, locally made and craft spirits, as well as familiar brands. Take advantage of our unique selection of locally-made whiskies, gins and vodkas, many of which are artisanal brands that you won't find anywhere else. Our wine selection is carefully chosen and includes biodynamic and organic. Be sure to sign up for our customer loyalty program to earn points toward discounts on future purchases.

Sample our select libations by coming to our regular free tasting events! We post the tasting schedule right here.

St. Marks Wine and Liquor is conveniently located in the East Village, close to the Astor Place (#6 train) and Eighth Street (R train) subway stops in New York City.

Hope to see you soon.

St. Marks Wine and Liquor
16 St. Marks Place
(Between 2nd and 3rd Avenues)
New York, NY 10003
212 529-WINE (9463)

Perfect Match Recipe: Seared Branzino with Winter Citrus, Fennel & Yogurt (Wine Spectator)

So often, you don’t need anything fancy to make restaurant-quality food. This is one of those times. “If the fish is amazing and fennel’s of a good quality and you have a great citrus, there’s no real way to mess this dish up,” promises Chris Flint, executive chef of the NoMad Los Angeles hotel and restaurant, a Wine Spectator Best of Award of Excellence winner for its wine list. So how do you turn these basic ingredients into something special? Well, it does take a small measure of technique.This citrusy, herbaceous dish, which appears on Flint’s winter menu, is a great example of the culinary approach on display at the NoMad’s L.A., New York and just-opened Las Vegas locations: Anchor each dish in a few key ingredients, then prepare each of those ingredients in a couple different ways, creating related yet distinct shades of flavor and texture. In this case, fennel wedges are simmered in a bath of white wine, fennel seeds, star anise and lemon zest. Wonderfully aromatic, this stewed fennel provides a textural contrast with the crisp, fresh fennel fronds and shavings that garnish the dish. In addition to the lemon zest in the cooking liquid, citrus segments are served fresh on the plate. The recipe calls for a mix of mandarin oranges, blood oranges and pomelos, but “just pick the best citrus that you love and put that on the dish,” Flint advises. “You’re looking for some acidity and sweetness, but then you can also just play with colors.” He suggests at least two, possibly three varieties for a bit of contrast. Flint goes for as crispy a skin as possible on the fish. To achieve that, he gently seasons the skin side with kosher salt about 15 minutes before it’s time to cook. This draws water out of the skin—just be sure you blot it off before the fish meets the pan. “Oil and water don’t mix,” Flint cautions; too much water in the pan could cause a flare-up. As long as you dry off your salted fish before cooking it, however, “It forms almost a pellicle, so that when you do add it to the pan, there’s less curling and there’s less sticking.” This means the fish is more likely to cook evenly and quickly for that perfect golden-brown crust.Next, heat the pan, then heat the oil to the point where you’re just beginning to see wisps of smoke. This is the Goldilocks zone of heat for fillets of lean, flaky white fish: It tells you the oil is hot enough that the fish won’t stick to the pan, but not so hot it’ll burn. Add the fish, skin-side down, and leave it alone for a couple minutes. Then, carefully slide a fish spatula or offset spatula underneath to check the skin’s color. If it’s a light golden-brown, turn the heat down a little. If it’s still very light, dial up the heat a bit. Once it’s light-golden, ease down the heat to continue cooking the rest of the fish. “You’re basically cooking the fish 80 percent from the skin-side up,” Flint explains. When just the top 20 percent or so is still translucent, carefully flip the fish and cook it until it’s just shy of done; it’ll continue cooking a bit after you’ve removed it from the heat. Flint does most of his seasoning with salt and acid rather than the conventional salt and pepper, for a lighter, brighter end result. But after this dish has absorbed the lactic, citric and wine-based acids that go into it, he finishes it with a hit of Espelette pepper. “We like the Espelette because it does provide heat, but there’s also a floral quality to it,” he says. If you can’t find Espelette, “Aleppo would work, or another chile pepper that is not overly spicy but does still have a floral quality.” And he prefers the fineness of ground pepper to larger, harder-to-control pepper flakes. Although cayenne is a pantry staple you’ll likely have on hand, he warns that it is more aggressively hot and should be used sparingly if at all. “If you’re out of options and you have some cayenne, just use a very, very small amount.” It’s one of the clarion calls of wise cooks everywhere: “You can always add. You can’t subtract.”Pairing Tip: Why Champagne Works with This Dish[videoPlayerTag videoId="5966984235001"]Visit our YouTube channel to watch a version of this Perfect Match video with closed captions. For more tips on how to approach pairing this dish with wine, recommended bottlings and notes on chef Chris Flint’s inspiration, read the companion article, "Branzino With Champagne," in the Dec. 31, 2018, issue, via our online archives or by ordering a digital edition (Zinio or Google Play) or a back issue of the print magazine. For even more wine pairing options, WineSpectator.com members can find other recently rated sparkling wines in our Wine Ratings Search.Seared Branzino with Winter Citrus, Fennel & Yogurt1/4 cup crème fraîche1/4 cup Greek yogurt1/4 cup whole-milk yogurtSalt1 1/2 cups white wine 4 star anise podsZest of 4 lemons3/4 teaspoon fennel seeds2 or 3 fennel bulbs, depending on size, cut into wedges (4 per plate)1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for cooking fishFour 3- to 5-ounce branzino fillets (or black bass or red snapper), pin bones removed, skin on1 bulb fennel, shaved20 fennel fronds12 mandarin orange segments (from about 2 mandarin oranges)12 blood orange segments (from about 2 blood oranges)12 pomelo segments (from about 2 pomelos)Espelette pepper (or aleppo pepper)1. In a small bowl, combine crème fraîche, Greek yogurt and whole-milk yogurt. Season with salt to taste. Cover and transfer to the refrigerator.2. In a small pot, combine wine, star anise, lemon zest and fennel seeds over medium heat. Reduce by half, 10 to 15 minutes. Add fennel wedges and 1/3 cup olive oil. Simmer until tender, about 10 minutes. Cool in liquid and add 3/4 teaspoons salt, or to taste.3. Season the skin side of the fillets with salt and let sit for about 15 minutes. 4. Coat a large, nonreactive saucepan with olive oil and heat over medium-high. Pat the fish fillets with paper towels to absorb any accumulated moisture. Place two fillets skin-side down and cook for approximately 3 minutes, until skin is crispy. Flip and cook for approximately 30 seconds. Transfer to a plate and cover to keep warm. Add more oil if needed, and repeat with the remaining two fillets. 5. Over low heat, warm the fennel mixture in its cooking liquid. Place 1 fillet and 4 warm fennel wedges on each dinner plate. Scatter about 12 fennel shavings over each fillet. Arrange fennel fronds and citrus segments on or around the fish. Drizzle with yogurt sauce (you’ll use about 1/4 cup total) and a few drops of oil, and finish with freshly ground Espelette pepper. Serves 4.
Sommelier Roundtable: New World Alternatives for Old World Palates (Wine Spectator)

The world of wine is more diverse than ever, but some people still insist on drinking like it's 1855, turning up their noses at anything but the fanciest names from Europe's marquee regions. Which leaves a whole world of fine wine for the rest of us! Still, if you're a dedicated Bordeaux-phile or Chambertin-atic, you might be excited to find wines to your taste from unexpected places—and your wallet might thank you, too. We asked eight somms from Wine Spectator Restaurant Award–winning eateries which wines they'd pour to impress the most die-hard Old World palates—from California, Oregon, Washington, Australia, Chile or beyond. Wine Spectator: What New World wine(s) would you recommend to adamant Old World (especially Bordeaux and Burgundy) partisans? Caleb Ganzer, partner and wine director at Best of Award of Excellence winner La Compagnie des Vins Surnaturels in New YorkOld California Cabernet is just as pleasurable as Bordeaux with age. Diamond Creek or Dunn, specifically from the '70s and '80s. Wow! For a Burgundy lover, there are some tremendous whole-cluster Pinot Noirs coming out of the New World that rival some of the greats—By Farr from Victoria, Australia, and Domaine de la Côte from Santa Barbara are the first that come to mind that match the aromatic complexity and finesse often afforded by the best Burgundies. Brian Phillips, national wine director for Orlando-based Darden Restaurants, which holds Restaurant Awards for 55 locations of the Capital Grille, 15 of Eddie V's and 40 of Seasons 52Just as there are great and also less-than-great wines in the Old World, so there are in the New World. I find Chilean Cabernets from the top well-respected producers compete with some classic Bordeaux, often at much better prices. For those fully committed to Pinot Noir from Burgundy being their go-to region, consider Mornington Peninsula, Tasmania or all of Victoria, Australia, for some top-notch and comparably high-toned versions as well. In fact, many Burgundian winemakers spend time on the south side, as they can work two vintages in one year’s time. Andy Myers, wine director for José Andrés' ThinkFoodGroup, including nationwide locations of Jaleo and other José Andrés restaurants I’d send the Burgundy folks to Claude Koeberle and his stunning Soliste range of [Sonoma] Pinot Noirs. Pound for pound, these are some of the best Pinot Noirs in the world. I don’t like tossing “Burgundian” around when talking about New World wines, so I will just say that these show a magnificent marriage between form and function. For the Bordeaux crowd, they should absolutely try to get their hands on Lost Mountain or Rendezvous from [Virginia's] RdV Vineyards. It is one of the great American wines; do not let its AVA fool you, this is simply great wine that happens to live spiritually and physically between Bordeaux and California. Sabrina Schatz, sommelier at Best of Award of Excellence winner Bobby Flay Steak at the Borgata in Atlantic City, N.J.When a Bordeaux wine lover dines at the restaurant and asks me for a Napa Cabernet, I usually give them a Philip Togni, Mayacamas, Staglin or Larkmead. As a Burgundy wine lover, Santa Barbara Pinot Noirs, especially from Melville, Williams Selyem in Sonoma, and Big Table Farm Pinots from Oregon are my go-tos. For white Burgundy, Ramey, Peay and Hanzell in Sonoma are really good. I just got back from Santa Lucia Highlands in California, and some of the wines I tasted from Roar and Morgan had that Old World feel. Jenni Guizio, wine director at Union Square Hospitality Group's Best of Award of Excellence winner Maialino and Award of Excellence winner Marta in New YorkIf you enjoy drinking older Bordeaux, there are incredible experiences to be had with old Heitz, Ridge and Diamond Creek. And I have seen these wines favored in blind tastings over first-growths. Alex LaPratt, owner and wine director at Best of Award of Excellence winners Beasts & Bottles and Atrium Dumbo in Brooklyn, N.Y. There's so many. There's like a bajillion. Like, Dunn Howell Mountain—any vintage. If I blind-tasted you on Dunn Howell Mountain and Left Bank Bordeaux, like Pauillac, and a similar vintage, it'd be very difficult to tell the difference. Josh MacGregor, sommelier at Best of Award of Excellence winner DB Bistro Moderne in New YorkFor the Bordeaux lover, the instinct may be to seek out the wines of Napa. In this case however, it is an estate from the Walla Walla Valley in Washington called L’Ecole No. 41. [They] produce exceptional single-vineyard Cabernet Sauvignons, savory Merlots and arguably the most exciting Sémillon in the country. If one had to be picked for the proper introduction to their wines, it would be the Walla Walla Valley AVA Cabernet Sauvignon 2014. If Burgundy is your first love, then it would be a shame not to discover the Maysara Winery’s Momtazi Vineyard wines in the Willamette Valley in Oregon. The savory and mineral aspects transcend all limitations of a New World wine, displaying a sense of place and terroir like few others in the state of Oregon. Erik Segelbaum, wine director for Philadelphia-based Starr Restaurants, including Best of Award of Excellence winners Upland, the Clocktower and Le Coucou in New York; Barclay Prime and Butcher & Singer in Philadelphia; Upland in Miami Beach and Steak 954 in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.; and Le Diplomate in Washington, D.C.The first wine I'd recommend is a big old bottle of get over yourself! At the end of the day, the very same thing that drew you to Bordeaux or Burgundy can draw you in other directions, and there was a point in your life where you had never tasted Bordeaux and you had never tasted Burgundy. So why limit yourself? Your next favorite wine region just might be out there. I often describe Washington state wines as the perfect balance of Old World earth and New World fruit. Let's use Bordeaux as a model. If you like that graphite, No. 2 pencil flavor that comes out of the terroir of most of Bordeaux, and that earthiness, you get a little bit of that especially from Red Mountain and Walla Walla. But if you also want to explore the New World without straying too far, you're not as likely to get a giant, massively extracted fruit bomb as compared to perhaps the more classic styles of California. Likewise, Oregon is my go-to for if you like Old World earth, Old World fruit flavors and structures, but a little bit more ripeness without going all the way to something like Carneros or Central Coast. Basically what I'm saying is the Pacific Northwest is a really great amalgam of Old World and New World expressiveness. I will also say that a little bit more credit needs to be given to Australia, at least what they're doing now. I've had some Margaret River Chardonnays of late that can definitely rival some of Burgundy's better producers in warmer vintages. Both Victoria and Tasmania have incredible Chardonnays and Pinot Noirs. They are cool climates. You don't think about Australian winemakers struggling to ripen their fruit, but that's the reality with Victoria and Tasmania. Want to stay up on the latest news and incisive features about the world's best restaurants for wine? Sign up now for our free Private Guide to Dining email newsletter, delivered every other week. Plus, follow us on Twitter at @WSRestoAwards and Instagram at @WSRestaurantAwards.
Unfiltered: In the Red Zone: Drew Bledsoe Builds New Walla Walla Winery (Wine Spectator)

For much of his NFL career, Drew Bledsoe's turf was Foxboro, but the All-Pro New England Patriots quarterback actually got his start under center at Walla Walla High School, in the heart of Washington wine country. When he decided to trade his football gloves for pruning ones, to Walla Walla he returned, buying a vineyard and starting Doubleback winery with the 2007 vintage. Now, after a decade of wine wins, Bledsoe has built a home stadium for Doubleback, and 2018 marks the first season crushed at the svelte new 14,000-square-foot winery. It all started when Doubleback winemaker Josh McDaniels stumbled upon a piece of land along Walla Walla's Powerline Road during a jog; he immediately snapped a picture and sent it to Bledsoe. The pair had been scouting sites for the winery to find a permanent home, and this property looked golden. "The location is exceptional due to its proximity to downtown, A+ grapegrowing potential and also for the outstanding views of our beautiful valley," Bledsoe explained to Unfiltered via email. Indeed, the 45-acre property neighbors Charles Smith's Powerline Vineyard, which yielded the K Syrah that earned Wine Spectator's No. 2 spot in the Top 100 Wines of 2017; Smith was its previous owner. When Bledsoe and McDaniels broke ground, they also planted 8 acres, mostly to Syrah, and named the vineyard Flying B. Richard Duval Images / Courtesy of Doubleback Winery Doubleback now has home-terroir advantage. The new facility houses tasting rooms, offices, fermentation and lab rooms and a barrel cellar for both Doubleback wines and sister label Bledsoe Family Winery. Among the bells and whistles are a gravity-flow fermentation system and concrete fermentors to massage Cabernet tannins. But despite the new state-of-the art tech, "we [also] went back to my roots to give the functional facility a sense of history," Bledsoe emphasized, repurposing wood for its siding from two 100-year-old barns where he grew up in Ellensburg, Wash. The first wines made here will be released next spring (Bledsoe Family's Healy Rosé), and 2019 will bring the first harvest from the young vineyard. Doubleback also acquired a 30-acre vineyard in the Rocks District of Milton-Freewater AVA last year, but for now the excitement is on the 2018 vintage. "This first harvest has been incredible," McDaniels told Unfiltered. "The new winery really allowed us to focus on our winemaking more than we have been able to in prior years." Solar-Powered Robot 'Sheep' Mows Yards from Bordeaux to AzerbaijanTired of shoddy weed-killer that harms your vines and the ecosystem? Sick of surly harvest interns who grumble through their slapdash vineyard work? There's got to be a better way! Sylvie Monin The electric sheep androids dream of Now there is: Vitirover, a petite, solar-powered vineyard bot, is the latest cyber helper hatched by Bordeaux's brightest vine minds; its primary function is to manage grass and vegetation between vine rows, amiably and sustainably grazing like a sheep. (Last year, we met Pauillac Château Clerc Milon's triple-threat hoe-mow-weeder Ted.) The robot is the brainchild of winegrower Xavier-David Beaulieu, owner of Château Coutet in St.-Emilion, who after an earlier career in technology, returned to his tractor and realized growers relied on either cheap but environmentally harmful glyphosate spray or costly manual labor to keep their vine rows clean and clear. "We needed another option," Beaulieu told Unfiltered. Ten years later, having secured E.U. research cash and more than $226,000 in crowdfunding, Beaulieu and his business partner, Arnaud de la Fouchardière, shepherd a flock of 50 Vitirovers and expect to increase to 150 next year. The bots are lightweight, so they don’t compact the soil, they don’t pollute, and they’re guided by a GPS system. A new prototype equipped with a camera observes vine health and spots signs of disease. The little guys have also shown promise in other agricultural fields. Next stop: a demo in Azerbaijan in December. "The minister of agriculture of Azerbaijan wants their farmers to skip the nasty chemical phase we went through here," said Beaulieu. Given the promising progress in Bordeaux cybernetics, scientists hope by 2050 to realistically simulate the complex organic-forward decision-making processes and charming aristocratic mien of a Right Bank vigneron with the Count Stephan von Cypporg android project. Hall Wines Hosts Women in the Workplace (and Wine) Roundtable with Mira Sorvino, Kathryn HallOn Friday, Napa's Hall Wines was teeming with go-getting gals (presumably wearing fancy footwear) for the inaugural "High-Powered High Heels" roundtable chat, hosted by vintner Kathryn Hall. The event brought together successful women in various fields. Academy Award–winning actor and activist Mira Sorvino served as the roundtable's moderator. Panelists included LeShelle May, a Technical Emmy Award–winning computer engineer who helped launch CNN.com; Lee Ann Sauter, CEO of fashion brand Maris Collective; stage and screen actor Annie Starke; and Hall herself. Hall kicked off the conversation with her own impressive backstory: In addition to owning her renowned winery, she formerly served as the U.S. Ambassador to Austria; she also practiced as a lawyer, and ran for political office twice—and lost twice. "It's been a lot of different paths for me," she told the attendees at the winery, plus the thousands streaming the chat online. "Be prepared when one door closes—you find another window to jump through." As the women sipped Hall wines—the 2015 Kathryn Hall Cabernet, the 2016 Walt Bob's Ranch Pinot Noir and 2016 Walt Siangiacomo Chardonnay—the conversation occasionally linked back to wine in interesting ways. Starke, an advocate for mental-health awareness, called for a toast to another prominent California wine family, the Staglins, for their involvement in Bring Change to Mind, the organization run by her mother, actor Glenn Close. (They also raise beaucoup money for brain-health charity One Mind.) "The amount of good that those incredible people—their family—has done is just extraordinary," said Starke. "Cheers to them." Courtesy of Hall Wines From left: Lee Ann Sauter, Annie Stark, LeShelle May, Kathryn Hall and Mira Sorvino The two-hour discussion weaved through topics ranging from the importance of vulnerability to workplace harassment to the current political climate following the midterm elections. As the conversation wrapped up, the panelists clinked their empty or near-empty glasses, and Hall thanked them. "I've been really moved and excited by this panel. I really am so honored that you would give up your time and to continue to put yourselves out there and continue to give back." "The conversation was phenomenal," Hall representative Lisa Covey, who organized the event, told Unfiltered. "Kathryn has already shared her plans to continue hosting an annual conversation to continue these powerful discussions." Small-Dollar Donations Fuel #WineFreedom Campaign for Wine Retailer Shipping Supreme Court CaseFor wine lovers who are particularly eclectic of palate and/or sedentary of disposition, one of the most coveted wine freedoms is the ability to have one's favorite prestige cuvée delivered to one's door whenever one damn well pleases. Alas, sometimes that wine isn't available for delivery from a local, or even in-state, wine merchant—and most states prohibit out-of-state retailers from shipping wine directly to consumers' homes.Enter your savior from oppressive state laws: the Supreme Court of the United States! (Right?) A case called Byrd v. Tennessee will be heard this session, during which the justices could rule that the state bans against out-of-state retailer shipping violate the Constitution's Commerce Clause (as it ruled for wineries in Granholm v. Heald).We all know that when such a hot-button issue comes into discussion, special interests come barreling down from K Street with their dark-money checkbooks. But Wine Freedom, an organization operated by the National Association of Wine Retailers (NAWR), is lifting the hopes of the wine-disenfranchised with a GoFundMe campaign launched last week, raising money to fund the writing of a "friend of the court" amicus brief for consumers in the Byrd case."The one group that is potentially most impacted by the Supreme Court's ultimate decision are consumers," said Tom Wark, executive director of NAWR, who will be submitting their own amicus brief, but wanted consumers to have one too. "We believed that it was critical that the justices and their clerks were exposed to the way bans on receiving shipments from out-of-state wine retailers, Internet wine retailers, wine-of-the-month clubs and auction houses impacted them. This brief, funded entirely by consumers, will address consumer concerns."In just six days, the GoFundMe campaign exceeded its goal of $5,000; at press time, 133 people contributed a total of $8,670. That's an average donation of around $65—talk about a small-dollar, people-powered campaign! Wine Spectator will be following the SCOTUS case closely; a date for arguments has not yet been set.Alfred Hitchcock Also Inconvenienced by Three-Tier System, Says Letter Discovered by Wine MerchantSome famous film directors go through the trouble of making their own wine, but all Alfred Hitchcock wanted to do was buy it from his favorite retailer and have it shipped to him at home. But as residents of 37 states and readers of the previous Unfiltered item know, you can't just dial "M" for "myorderofwine" and get it delivered to you. According to a recently discovered letter from Hitchcock to a favorite British wine merchant, the auteur too thought such restrictions of America's three-tier system of alcohol sales were for the birds. "It has been impossible to import wines privately into California. One has to go through an established wholesaler and retailer," Hitchcock groused to Ronald Avery of the historic Bristol merchant Averys in a 1962 letter discovered by Avery's granddaughter and the store's current proprietor Mimi Avery. "Naturally, the first question they ask is, 'Why don't you buy your wines through "us"?'" According to Mimi Avery, the relationship began when Hitchcock visited a restaurant Ronald owned. "He was coming down for lunch in order to taste some Burgundy wines. On arrival, my grandfather turned to him and said, 'Really sorry, Alfred, but I've got a lot of Bordeauxs to taste today. Do you mind if we do Bordeauxs over lunch?'" Avery told Unfiltered. Apparently the film legend did not. Enjoy Unfiltered? The best of Unfiltered's round-up of drinks in pop culture can now be delivered straight to your inbox every other week! Sign up now to receive the Unfiltered e-mail newsletter, featuring the latest scoop on how wine intersects with film, TV, music, sports, politics and more.