December 17, 2025
Photo courtesy of Wine Enthusiast
Does Wine Enthusiast’s SoHo Retail Concept Have Legs?
Wine connoisseurs and industry analysts looked on as Wine Enthusiast — famed for its longstanding magazine aimed squarely at sippers, sommeliers, and alcohol beverage businesspersons, in addition to its DTC presence — opened its first physical location on Dec. 16.
According to a company press release, the flagship store is located at 27 Greene Street in Manhattan’s SoHo, represents nearly 1,500 square feet of floor space, and boasts a slick and trendy interior dreamed up by Wine Enthusiast’s design team in tandem with Leap Commerce.
“This store represents the next chapter of Wine Enthusiast. Our customers rely on us for guidance, and having a physical location offers consumers a consultative, tactile experience to complement the online shopping experience,” said Erika Strum Silberstein, president of Wine Enthusiast Commerce.
“Customers may compare cellars in person, test glassware, and see first-hand how these products will integrate into their homes. This space brings that expertise to life,” she added.
Wine Enthusiast’s SoHo Store Opens During a Time of Turmoil in the Business
However, as both the press release itself and a recent report from Forbes indicated, the U.S. wine business is currently enduring a period of turmoil.
“The main reason U.S. vineyards are in crisis boils down to an oversupply of wine in the market and in winery inventories, caused by a variety of factors. These include a decline in alcohol consumption, changing consumer demographics, rising inflation pushing wine prices higher, an increase in anti-alcohol groups, tariff pressures, and an influx of new beverage choices on the market, such as hard tea and THC-infused drinks,” Forbes contributor Liz Thach wrote last month, noting that growers are having significant issues in selling their grapes, with many vineyards allowing grapes to simply rot on the vine.
According to Thach, the U.S. wine business began flattening in 2018, seeing a brief upswing in sales during 2020 and 2012 as COVID-era restrictions drove Americans to consume more. However, as 2024 drew to a close, wine sales had diminished by 9.1%.
On the other hand, while the opening of the Wine Enthusiast SoHo retail concept comes during “a time when wine businesses are navigating shifts in demand and changing consumer preferences,” the company indicated that by providing would-be wine aficionados a space — and the opportunity — to see how wine can best be experienced, and how retail can bolster that evolution, change lies ahead.
“Our goal was to create an environment where anyone, from new wine drinkers to serious collectors, feels comfortable asking questions, learning, and exploring what the wine lifestyle can look like for them,” Strum said.
“At the same time, it’s a place where our industry partners can introduce products, host activations, and engage a highly informed audience in a meaningful way. It’s a win for consumers and for the wine industry,” she concluded.
Among the items for sale amid the warm backdrop afforded by the venue’s wooden-and-terracotta aesthetic: private-label Vinoview and Somm products, Zalto glassware, EuroCave cellars, decanters, preservation tools, and more.
BrainTrust
Brian Numainville
Principal, The Feedback Group
Scott Benedict
Founder & CEO, Benedict Enterprises LLC
Neil Saunders
Managing Director, GlobalData
Recent Discussions
Discussion Questions
Can Wine Enthusiast bring its DTC and creative business successfully into physical retail, despite the prevailing market headwinds? Is SoHo the right spot to do so?
Do wine brands, and associated wine tool brands, have an opportunity to recapture some lost mind and market share with splashy retail spaces (and experiential retail plays)?
What can retailers in the alcoholic beverages space to do, more broadly, to reignite interest?
Poll
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The key is to make this a destination for wine connoisseurs and enthusiasts as well as more casual browsers, and to make the store a place of experiences as well as buying. Berry Bros & Rudd has done this in London – and it has been around since 1698, so must be doing something right!
With an estimated 20 to 40+ specific wine retailers in the Raleigh Durham area of North Carolina the successful ones have leaned into their differentiators and retail experience. These range from viticultural area specificity to curated tastings and customized ordering. Wine Enthusiast may need to have a more generalized offering and experience based on their global brand.
A single store seems like a safe way to test the water (so to speak) Beyond that…As is pointed out every time the alcohol market is discussed, it’s different from most industries: there are huge restricrions on what can be done.
Wine Enthusiast’s move to physical retail reflects a broader experimentation we’ve seen from digitally native and direct-to-consumer brands looking to deepen engagement through experience and discovery. Translating a strong DTC business into a brick-and-mortar model is neither new nor easy — especially in a category where consumers already have abundant access through specialty shops, grocery chains, and big-box players. That said, SoHo’s blend of foot traffic, tourism, and affluent local shoppers does offer a compelling proving ground for an experiential concept that leans into curation, education, and tools alongside product. The real test will be execution — driving a distinct reason to visit that goes beyond what consumers can buy online or pick up locally.
There is an opportunity for wine brands and adjacent tool brands (think sommeliers, aerators, storage, smart dispensers) to reclaim mindshare through thoughtful retail activations. But splashy spaces alone won’t move the needle; the experiences need to be meaningful, genuinely educational, and tied to community. Tastings, guided journeys by region or varietal, tech-enabled discovery, and seamless integration with loyalty/commerce can differentiate a space in a way pure spectacle cannot. Strong storytelling — backed by category expertise and curated discovery — is what turns casual browsers into repeat customers.
More broadly, retailers across the alcoholic beverage space need to reignite interest not by chasing novelty, but by elevating the fundamentals: compelling assortment that balances trusted favorites with emerging producers, flawless inventory and fulfillment, and immersive experiences that reward exploration without alienating the everyday buyer. In a market facing economic uncertainty, experiential retail should complement — not replace — solid execution in core operations. When experiential spaces support deeper engagement with well-curated offerings, they enhance brand value rather than distract from it.
Wine is experiential, so creating a place where fun can happen and knowledge is gained, leads to purchases. The better the experience, and the wine, the more one tends to leave with, speaking from experience!
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The key is to make this a destination for wine connoisseurs and enthusiasts as well as more casual browsers, and to make the store a place of experiences as well as buying. Berry Bros & Rudd has done this in London – and it has been around since 1698, so must be doing something right!
With an estimated 20 to 40+ specific wine retailers in the Raleigh Durham area of North Carolina the successful ones have leaned into their differentiators and retail experience. These range from viticultural area specificity to curated tastings and customized ordering. Wine Enthusiast may need to have a more generalized offering and experience based on their global brand.
A single store seems like a safe way to test the water (so to speak) Beyond that…As is pointed out every time the alcohol market is discussed, it’s different from most industries: there are huge restricrions on what can be done.
Wine Enthusiast’s move to physical retail reflects a broader experimentation we’ve seen from digitally native and direct-to-consumer brands looking to deepen engagement through experience and discovery. Translating a strong DTC business into a brick-and-mortar model is neither new nor easy — especially in a category where consumers already have abundant access through specialty shops, grocery chains, and big-box players. That said, SoHo’s blend of foot traffic, tourism, and affluent local shoppers does offer a compelling proving ground for an experiential concept that leans into curation, education, and tools alongside product. The real test will be execution — driving a distinct reason to visit that goes beyond what consumers can buy online or pick up locally.
There is an opportunity for wine brands and adjacent tool brands (think sommeliers, aerators, storage, smart dispensers) to reclaim mindshare through thoughtful retail activations. But splashy spaces alone won’t move the needle; the experiences need to be meaningful, genuinely educational, and tied to community. Tastings, guided journeys by region or varietal, tech-enabled discovery, and seamless integration with loyalty/commerce can differentiate a space in a way pure spectacle cannot. Strong storytelling — backed by category expertise and curated discovery — is what turns casual browsers into repeat customers.
More broadly, retailers across the alcoholic beverage space need to reignite interest not by chasing novelty, but by elevating the fundamentals: compelling assortment that balances trusted favorites with emerging producers, flawless inventory and fulfillment, and immersive experiences that reward exploration without alienating the everyday buyer. In a market facing economic uncertainty, experiential retail should complement — not replace — solid execution in core operations. When experiential spaces support deeper engagement with well-curated offerings, they enhance brand value rather than distract from it.
Wine is experiential, so creating a place where fun can happen and knowledge is gained, leads to purchases. The better the experience, and the wine, the more one tends to leave with, speaking from experience!