Upstate Wine & Spirits Co.

This is one of the best stores I have ever purchased alcohol from. The staff are knowledgable and friendly. Todd is an owner that has pride in his business and it shows in how well he treats his customers.

Not long ago, I grabbed a few bottles of wine for an impromptu party. As I hurriedly signed my receipt, the cashier said, «You’ve made some great choices, you’ll have a wonderful time.» I replied that I hoped so, because I was having a few friends over and we were all going to watch «Mega Python Vs. Gatoroid» starring Debbie Gibson and Tiffany.
When I got home I discovered that one of the bottles I’d purchased was a 2007 Tardieu Laurent Chateauneuf-​du-​Pape. But what the hell, it’s Debbie Gibson, Tiffany and GIANT MONSTERS. So the evening was more successful due to the restraint of the cashier in not pointing out that I’d inadvertently bought a ninety dollar bottle of incredible wine.
More recently, Delmar Plaza Liquor store was really gracious in special ordering a bottle of Bols Genever for me, a relatively obscure proto-​gin from the Netherlands. And they’ve also added a small selection of bitters. And they have Luxardo Amaretto, the only amaretto males will willingly drink.

This place has hereby been dubbed *MY* Liquor Store. I love this place, and if it wasn’t for a few Wednesday morning meetings, I’d come out to Delmar/​Bethlehem JUST to come to this place. Speaking of, I might just drop by tomorrow for their FREE wine tastings that happen every Saturday from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m.
Now, don’t get me wrong. I’m totally NOT a lush. And don’t get me wrong, the liquor selection here isn’t super-​duper-​stupendously awesome, but it’s no worse than any other liquor/​wine store I’ve stepped into over on this side of the country. I’m pretty sure New York is the one state that’s stricter and stranger than Oregon about their liquor laws.
In any case, where this place totally excels is in the crazy awesome selection of wine. It’s a wine-lover’s paradise. Vino paradiso. No joke. And thus far, I haven’t gotten a bad wine from them.
There’s a huge selection from many different regions, and many different styles. You’d have to go see it for yourself. I love it, and that’s the reason I keep going back at 9 a.m. Wednesdays when they open (yup, how cool is it that they open that early?! Unilocalaholics unite!!!).
One note, though: I really wish they sold chocolate in tandem with the wines and did wine-​chocolate pairings. I asked someone there about it, and they said it was some sort of law that you can’t sell wine with foodstuffs, and you can’t sell beer and wine together, either. See? Weird stuff, NY, weird stuff.
Worth the drive.
Hands-​down.

I simply cannot rave about this place enough! I recently had a wine and cheese party and the owner, Todd, was WAY more than helpful — and happy to do it!
Now the cheese part of the party was no problem — I knows me some cheese! But it shames me to admit, I’m not a wine girl. I love to cook with it, but for drinking — not so much. So obviously this gave me more than a little anxiety! My pal Margaret (and her awesome husband Steve) are wine people and sent me to Todd.
He first asked my budget — never trying to steer me to the higher priced items, helped me pick out exactly what we needed and then… offered to let me borrow his extra 100 or so wine glasses! I don’t know if he does this for everyone or just took pity on me because I was so pathetic… but what an awesome experience!
The manager (I think his name was Mark?) was also really terrific! He even helped me write the poofy little descriptions for the table cards. His awesome sense of humor and knowledge made what could have been an extreemly stressful experience — dare I say it? …fun!
Thanks guys! I will always come back to your store for all my wine purchases!

Although I typically loathe Delaware Plaza, I really do like this place.
They have a great wine selection and the liquor selection isn’t bad either. The staff is always extremely friendly and helpful, and they never seem to mind when I run in to grab something at 8:57 p.m. They even laugh (or pretend to) at my jokes. That gets high marks with me. It’s clean, bright and welcoming, just like any good store should be. It really has a neighborhood kind of feel despite being in a shopping plaza.
Great selection of wines, with a pretty fair representation of Spanish and South American varieties, which is my preference. Also their prices are really fair and they often have a few wines on special. Thanks to these folks, I got totally hooked on $ 5 bottles of vinho verde all summer.
There’s also a clearance rack, and I can get my monthly fix of «Food and Wine» magazine here. Come to think of it, with the exception of Empire, this is probably my favorite wine shop. And while the prices at Empire are lower and the selection larger, Delaware definitely gives you more one-​on-​one assistance and they haven’t steered me wrong yet.