Fine Wine Brokers

i recently dropped in on a friday. the place was empty, yet the 2 employees present didn’t look at us, didn’t nod, didn’t say hello or give any acknowledgement whatsoever. takes so much effort, does it? i used to buy wine here all the time, every week, for years. i definitely prefer to give my money to local businesses. but why would i choose indifferent hipsters who couldn’t care less i walked through the door instead of a binny’s, where i frankly get better and more interested service? fortunately, another location option was available. i went down the street and bought some port at gene’s instead… where the owner himself helped me pick out the bottle.

This is a great place to get wine, they’ll pick out some nice ones for you. The selection is curated and they’ve got wines for all budgets and occasions.

The staff at Fine Wine Brokers are extremely knowledgeable and friendly. Every recommendation I’ve received has been right on the mark. I won’t hesitate to come back.

I’m from out of state (AZ) and needed to send a nice bottle of wine to a client per my bosses request. I call Fine Wine Brokers around 3pm and worked with Bill G, who helped my find the perfect wine with his extensive knowledge. We also needed to send flowers along with the wine and Bill let me have the flowers delivered to the shop, kept in touch with me the next day, and called and confirmed that our flowers had gotten there and that the courier had picked everything up! Such wonderful customer service and helped us make a client happy!

Great selection of wines, but be careful not to get ripped off. Stopped in here to check out the reds, and found a delicious-​looking bottle. I even spoke with one of the associates about its origin and the expected flavors. Unfortunately, the checkout process is what ruined my experience, and I didn’t come to realize it until after I received my receipt via Square.
The woman at checkout charged me $ 35 for the $ 18 bottle, while the associate stood idly by, trying to convince me to buy a $ 50 ticket to an upcoming event. It’s too bad because I like to support local businesses, but it’s wholly unacceptable for them take advantage.

I was very excited to explore this store after moving to the neighborhood and was pleasantly surprised with the variety of wine. The 3 star review is mainly for the wine and lost 2 stars because of the woman behind the counter. Every other person that was purchasing she was very friendly to and then when I was at the counter she was very rude and slightly condescending towards me. Even my boyfriend noticed it and made him feel awkward. I get it, you never know what’s going on in somebody’s personal life but when I notice a huge difference in the way you treat me to other customers I’m going to get a little offended.
Either way bad customer service or not, I like wine and will probably return. Hopefully next time will be more positive.

I have been going to the Fine Wine Brokers for over a decade but regret that within the last three years there has been a drastic decline in the quality of the wines available. The place looks like it is being stocked by accountants when the bins are filed. The wines are nothing special anymore, soon this place will be just another liquor store. I have shifted my business to Hart Davis Hart Wines (
). Their selection is like what the Fine Wine Brokers use to be but without the store.

When I first moved to the area many years ago, I was a bit intimidated by the name of the store, so I confess to buying wine elsewhere. However, about ten years ago, I popped in and have been shopping here ever since. The selection is wonderful and you have options at all price ranges. The staff is great with recommendations and the tastings on Saturday provide a fun way to discover new wines while you shop.
A fabulous store for wine lovers at every budget!

Stop here before you eat at La Bocca Della Verita!

This is a neighborhood spot. I’ve gone with a friend and the staff is always really friendly and helpful. The wine is priced from moderate 10 $ bottles to the higher end varieties too. They had some craft beer as well. I’ve gone in and told them what flavors and price I was looking for in a bottle of wine and they picked out an excellent selection for me. I was very pleased when I took it home and tried it. It’s a tradition after each payday to stop in and pick up a bottle of something new to try. It feels good too because it gives the neighborhood business.

Fine Wine Brokers is a real solid store. I’m more 3.5 stars, but I liked the selection enough to fudge higher.
The word I would most use to describe the selection is smart. The selection is diverse and they don’t have a lot of overlap with Binny’s. The prices on comparable wines are noticeably higher, but it is what it is.
I will say, that I did expect some more high end wines given the name of the store, but the word I would use on the selection here is: smart. They know what they are aiming at and there’s a lot of wines in the $ 15 – 50 price range with enough for me to have some decisions to make (That part doesn’t always happen when I’m at a smaller store).
While they did seem to follow smaller producers, I couldn’t fully get a feel for the general aim on what they were carrying. Even somewhere like Wine Discount Center, you can get a feel for what areas they are strong in, or a general theme, but I didn’t fully get that here. That’s fine by me, I just wasn’t able to figure out what their main specialty was.
Fine Wine Brokers is fine by me. If I lived in this area I would probably stop in more. But, it was a nice diversion on a rare saturday off, and it allowed me to pick up a bottle of LdH Gravonia. Now, that makes me happy.

Fine Wine Brokers has suffered somewhat from the untimely passing of this unique store’s founder, it’s just not the same without his helpful expertise and inimitable style. I miss Gerhardt Rohr, he was that rare sort of man, uniquely able and utterly irreplaceable.

I pass by this store often when they are having tastings, and I’m always too shy to go in, but for you braver souls, I’m sure it will be worth your while.
The staff here is very knowledgeable and fantastic at picking out not only great wines, but great affordable wines as well.

So I don’t know much about wines, but like many, I know what I like. And I love this place. Not knowing what I am doing, I was relieved at how accessible this place is. They are friendly, approachable and very informative. Most importantly their selection is wide. Some of the bottles are eye widening expensive, but many are affordable. I walked out with a $ 14 Cab to bring to the spa for a gals night. We loved it and I couldn’t be happier.
Plus, the check out guy looked at my pick and gave me, what may have been a gratuitous, «Very nice.» But I don’t care, I felt elated with his approval. :)

The reviews don’t lie.
This charming little wine shop serves up a fine-​tuned selection of wines so that you won’t feel overwhelmed by an endless array. Handwritten notes adorning the shelves provide meticulous descriptions so you don’t even need to ask someone for help if you are feeling anti-​social. (If you do ask for help, they have your back and at least in my case, won’t make you feel like a poor, ignorant wine novice.)
Price points are scaled for every budget so you can walk away with a nice bottle in the $ 10-​$ 20 range (like the Rose from Provence I was steered towards – perfect for summer patio gatherings!) or also find something «higher end». No matter what you spend here, seems like you are guaranteed some quality, tasty sips. There is a small craft beer selection too.
Take a jaunt along Lincoln Ave and be sure to stop in here. Even just to browse. The sophisticated boutique feeling will make you feel ready to host an exquisite dinner party or read a book and philosophize.
Lincoln Square, you do me proud!

The best place to buy wine in the city. The owners and everyone that works here are experts on wine and so friendly and ready to chat about what you need and what price range you would like. Wine tastings on Saturday’s are a great way to mingle with people and learn about the different regions or types of wines being featured.
You can mention to anyone who works here «I need X amount of bottles in X amount of price range for X cuisine/​purpose» and they will give you like 3 suggestions and you are good to go.
I love wine and I love learning about wine and I love people who have that knowledge and are FRIENDLY with sharing that info.
Difficult to rate on price because they have $ 8 bottles up to $ 100.

Look, I am not Wine Guy. You know who is? My brother. I visit him in SF and he drives me around, takes me to great places, I drink a lot of good (good as-​in I like it) wine. I know more about computers and statistics than he does, he knows more about law and wine and beer brewing than I do, and neither of us know how to fix a car.
So the girlfriend and I are in Lincoln Square doing the scavenger hunt and — hey, look, wine tasting. Then there is that moment of anxiety — am I going to have to pretend to be up to speed with what they are saying, nod my head like I know what they mean? It is like an art museum, I know I like this one better than that one, but I can’t explain what it is about the technique and style etc etc (our mother, btw, works at an art museum). I like the art museum because nobody is there gauging my reaction.
Anyway, my point is that the tasting was incredably relaxed. The things that they said made sense to me, like where it comes from and why these grapes are important, and then they just let us taste the wine. No selling, no pressure to say anything about it. I am not Wine Guy so I just want to taste some wines and find something I like, not write a dissertation.
So we have been back again and had another great experience. I think one of the guys running the tasting is the owner and he did a lot of talking and explained why he chose the wines and just let us relax and have a nice time and buy some wine that we have actually tasted and liked. It is now a place that is a regular stop for us, and we’ll find reasons to be in the area on Saturday afternoons.

We were strolling by on a given Saturday and a sign was posted on the sidewalk begging us to come in for a wine tasting. Why do you beg I asked? You need not beg. We love wine and will pay money for wine tastings!
No? you do not want our money? really? Well, let us drink wine and use the money we saved on the wine tasting to buy a nice bottle of Argentinian red. Oh, how wonderful it tasted with the BBQ ribs over the 4^th of July. How wonderful indeed. So glad to have stumbled across your threshold.

Great place in the heart of Lincoln Square. Really quaint store that has a friendly and inviting appeal to it. The people there are really really well versed in wines and have a great selection for any palate.
Their prices are very reasonable, I am sure you can find the same wine elsewhere for a dollar or two less, but the reason I will continue to go here is the experience … these people love what they do and it shows.
I had a long conversation with the person who runs this place (forget his name) regarding corks vs screw on caps (which are becoming really common now for cost and environmental reasons) vs silicone and glass stoppers … the guys is genius and very humble at the same time.
Good wine, decent cheese collection and some desert chocolates too. I will definitely repeat.

It’s taken me awhile to sing the praises of this place. Just last night I went there to find a special wine for a special Spanish dinner. And the helpful folks, as always, came through with a good choice at the right price. You can pick up all your wine and other spirits, an assortment of cheeses for the cheese course, and some chocolates for dessert.
As much as I love to find good values at Binny’s or Sam’s, I really prefer these «condensed» or smaller shops; the places that narrow the choices for you and who provide good counsel and advice and make the wine shopping easy. In my case, I can walk here. No driving or dealing with traffic or parking. And Saturdays, they have free wine tastings from 1 – 4 PM.
And I like that it has the feel of a cozy old bookstore, all curious and intellectual-​without the pretense.