Frank C.
Yelp
Winot is my favorite wine shop in Brooklyn, and as a regular, I cannot sit idly by while others on here use this page as a sounding board to blast their internalized gripes. Yes this means you, LAUREN R!
I was actually in the store when Lauren R was in there, so buckle up for some Yelp justice.
First of all, Winot is a rather small shop, and as one of the only real wine stores in the neighborhood, it can get busy and crowded during peak hours and weekends. This means that no, you won't always get a personalized greeting if you walk in and the store staff is busy helping multiple people, but this also isn't WAL-MART with an on-staff greeter. The whole staff is extremely friendly, cool and helpful but also unobtrusive and laid back. In a small shop like this it's nice to feel like you can browse around for as long as you want without feeling pressured.
Lauren R was in the shop a few weekends ago with four or five other people in the shop including myself. After completing her purchase and while she was halfway out the door she yelled "THANKS FOR NOT GREETING ME! THAT WAS KIND OF BIZARRE!" Everyone in the shop exchanged "WTF?!" glances and Lauren R was gone, bounding smugly down Franklin Ave to wherever the Lauren Rs of the world go after haranguing the employees of small businesses. Probably home to write passive aggressive notes to her roommate while sipping Pinot Grigio.
But oh! We hadn't heard the last from Lauren R, because a Yelp review would be sure to follow. Coming up next week: A review of El Barrio Burritos following an incident wherein Lauren R could be hear screaming from Eastern Parkway "How dare they forget my fu***ing salsa verde!?"
As an aside, to address the other reviews on here that suggest the shop employees are pretentious, I don't know what to say because I've found everyone that works there to be extremely helpful. The employees at Winot have probably taught me more about pairing wine and different varietals than any other wine store I've ever shopped at. I think people tend to approach buying wine with some apprehension, probably out of some misguided fear of seeming unsophisticated if a lack of knowledge is exposed. While there are certainly people in the wine world who like to act high and mighty, they don't work at Winot. The selection at Winot is very specialized, and you won't find the kind of big brand names here like you would find at the corner liquor store. But don't be afraid to ask and tell them what you like, and you'll find that every employee here is more than willing to help.