PUBLISHED November 18th, 2014 04:00 pm | UPDATED January 20th, 2016 03:53 am
Where to buy wine in Singapore? If you’re drinking wine as much as I do, then you’re probably always on the lookout for a good bottle (or even a case for that matter!) to pick up. But the question is WHERE? Wine shop are aplenty, and then there’s supermarkets and websites…If only we could import from the vineyards themselves. The options are endless and can be a little intimidating. Well, have no fear, City Nomads is here to guide you though the minefield.
To break it down, there are three good ways to buy wine in Singapore, and there is absolutely an order of preference:
Wine events & festivals
Seriously, there are wine tastings in various forms happening every week. Did you know that Singapore has more than 300 independent wine importers? These events (and bigger festivals) are THE BEST places to pick up wine.
Why?
1) It makes for a fun day or evening out. You meet great people and get a little merry in the process.
2) Cost effective. Many of these wine tastings are complimentary, and even if they’re not, they’re seldom more than $50 a person – a small price for a fun few hours sampling different wines from around the world. Moreover, at these events is usually where you’ll find the best prices.
3) You get to try before you buy. There’s nothing worse than spending $100 on a bottle of wine that’s meant to be superb and finding it falls flat. This issue simply doesn’t happen if you buy at wine events. You try the wine. If you like it, buy it. If not, don’t. Capiche?
As we mentioned, there’s a ton of wine events happening throughout the year. To keep track of upcoming ones, just check out wine events listings here.
Wine shops
Wine shops come in second. Unfortunately you don’t get the pros of being able to taste the wine before you buy, but at least at a shop, a knowledgeable salesperson should be able to help you with your purchase and recommend some good bottles.
In this humble Nomad’s opinion, the following are the best wine shops in Singapore taking into account selection, price and service:
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Le Vigne
Tucked away on Namly Place, Le Vigne is a superb find…and a very hard place to leave without a few bottles in hand. Their shop has a great range of Old and New World wines, and there’s some great bargains to be had. Moreover, their staff are very knowledgeable about their products, so they’re able to skilfully make recommendations.
Le Vigne is located at 72 Namly Place, Singapore 267220. Call 6314 1597 to find out more.
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The Straits Wine Company
One of the most well-known wine suppliers and shops in Singapore, Straits Wine not only has a humungous selection of wines to choose from, they are also located all over the city!
To find the nearest Straits Wine shop to you, visit straitswine.com/straitswine-shops-locations
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Wine Connection
Another mass wine importer, Wine Connection is also very well connected in the city with shops all over town. Whilst their selection isn’t quite as impressive, they do offer cheaper deals if you’re looking for some bargain vino.
To find the nearest Wine Connection, click here.
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Merchants Wine Cellar
For the CBD-ites, Merchants is an awesome place to purchase wine. Specialising in wines from Down Under, their wines range from $25-$75 a bottle and there are some real gems amongst their offerings.
Operating as a cafe/bar/restaurant as well, it’s a good place to open up a bottle on-site and give it a try there and then.
Merchants is located at 52 Duxton Rd, Singapore 089516. Call them on 6222 1162 for more information. Note – they also have a shop inside Pasar Bella market.
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Artisan Cellars
Tucked away in Orchard Road’s Palais Renaissance, Artisan Wine Cellars caters to the slight higher end of the market, with some incredible wines from France, Italy and California.
Artisan Cellars is located at 390 Orchard Road #B1-01, Palais Renaissance, Singapore 238871. Call them on 6838 0373 for more information.
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1855 Bottleshop
The 1855 Bottleshop offers an impressive range of wines to cater for all budgets. Moreover, they have shops in Somerset, Raffles Place, Serangoon Gardens and Sixth Avenue so they’re quite convenient.
To find out the exact locations of their outlets, click here.
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Top Wines
Located in Joo Chiat, Top Wines offers an all round great wine selection with bottles prices anything from $20 to the hundreds. Particularly noteworthy are their new world wines from Australia and Chile, which offer great value.
Top Wines is located at 33 Tembeling Rd, Singapore 423576. Call them at 6468 3866 for more information. Open Mon 11am-7pm, Tue-Fri 11am-8pm, Sat 1.30pm-6pm.
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Ponti Wine Cellars
If you make the journey out to Aljunied, Ponti Wine Cellars has an excellent selection of more than a thousand bottles. They definitely veer more toward the premium, so if you’re looking for that huge Napa Cab or Bordeaux blend, this could be your place.
Ponti Wine Cellars is located at 18 Howard Road #07-10 Novelty BizCentre, Singapore 369585. Call them at 6733 0369 for more information. Open Mon – Fri 9am to 6.30pm.
Buying Wine Online:
If heading out to wine events isn’t your thing, or you don’t fancy the hassle of going down to the shop and would rather just order online takeaway style, then ordering via a website can be a great option.
Here are the ones that we recommend the most taking into account selection, price and site usability:
A website that is really user-friendly, great deals and a site that also acts as something of a community allowing various wine-lovers to share their tips with each other, Wine-family.com is a great site.
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Straits Wine
If you fancy ordering their wines straight from your computer instead of in person, Straits Wine’s website is easy to use and makes for an enjoyable browsing experience. Information is very clear and the ordering process is simple.
Offering specific varietals from all of the major regions, Ewinesia has a lot going for it. Whilst its main selection is French wine, they definitely offer a good selection of other European and new world wines to boot.
For those New Zealand wine lovers, this is the only site you’ll need. Having gone through a massive site overhaul, their new website is a dream to navigate and makes the ordering process as easy as possible.
And if you’re feeling lazy to decide, their pre-selected wine cases are a great option (and great value!)
Maintaining a very affordable selection (pretty much all less than $100), Benchmark offers wine from all over the globe. For the eat green and clean crowd, there’s even a special section for organic wines.
Not so much of a website. This service is for those that don’t want to think about choice. Simply choose your preferred pricing ($79 , $139, $259 or $489 per month) and the French Cellar guys will send you 2 bottles of superb wine recommended by Nicolas Rebut, a 3-Michelin star sommelier.
Well, wine lovers, if this doesn’t help you then I don’t know what will. Good luck, and as my wine teacher used to say to me;
“Drink what you like and keep trying new things, the rest is commentary”
Cheers!