Whole Foods Wine

Profile

Whole Foods opened its sixth Manhattan location in August 2009, the first in the city with an adjoining wine shop. European wines are organized by country around the perimeter of the shop, with regions designated by cut-out barrel lids from local vineyards�some still stained purple. The domestic picks are arranged by varietal in the center, with special sections for kosher, organic, and tri-state area wines. Appealing to Columbia students on a budget, a third of the bottles are under $10, conveniently labeled with red �Great Buy, Pick Me!� tags around their necks. (There’s also an $8-and-under section near the registers in front.) The ecofriendly store was built using green materials and runs a cork-recycling program. Because it resides in the space formerly occupied by Mikell’s Jazz Club, the wine shop hosts a Jazz Legend Series every Friday night, in addition to tastings Thursday through Sunday. — Molly Finkelstein</