Sip, Savor, Repeat

“I cook with wine. Sometimes I even add it to the food.”—W.C. Fields

Sarasota is a small town, at first glance, but even a cursory exploration reveals a plethora of distinctive neighborhoods, a disproportionate number of award-winning restaurants, and a veritable treasure trove of wine shops, ranging from specialty boutiques to warehouses with multiple locations. These are a few of our favorites:

Dive Wine & Spirits

It’s after 10 p.m. on a Friday night and Dive Wine & Spirits is still open. The man behind the counter smiles a greeting and the store appears to be empty, but there’s a hum of voices in the air. Follow that sound to the back of the store and hidden behind stacked cases of liquor and wine you’ll find yourself in an intimate speakeasy. Broc Smith is the owner/operator of Dive Wine & Spirits and the visionary behind one of Sarasota’s premier craft cocktail dens. You’d be forgiven for thinking that this area is the only hidden surprise in the store but if you headed straight for the back you would have missed another bar, located to the right of the front door, where the focus is wine and lighter spirits. Both bars feature exceptional drinks and ambience as well as rotating pop-up food options such as a Thursday pasta night presented by Chef Anthony Petralia. Both bars and the store are also very popular with the Sarasota bar and restaurant industry crowd and Broc is proud to have created a space for this kind of comradery. The website claims to have the best wine prices in Sarasota, and the price I paid for the beautiful bottle of Caymus Suisun that I purchased impulsively on my way out would serve to support that claim.
> Dive Wine & Spirits: 2881 Clark Rd. #19/20, Sarasota, 941-888-0382

Magnum Wine and Tastings

Heath Cordes is the charismatic owner/ operator of Magnum Wine and Tastings, an airy boutique shop on Bee Ridge Road, and Heath’s evident love for his profession and warmth for his customers have earned him a loyal following. Heath enjoys introducing people to wines that they might not have otherwise considered and seeing the connection that expands someone’s wine horizons. The board has a rotating list of such wines as well as a few proven crowd pleasers, and there’s a lovely spacious bar top inside the small store where you can enjoy a glass or two. You’re likely to notice a distinct lack of pretension in the air and you’ll feel yourself relaxing into the vibe. What could be better than going to buy a bottle of wine and leaving having made some new friends?
>Magnum Wine and Tastings: 2300 Bee Ridge Rd., Sarasota, 941-929-9463

Michael’s Wine Cellar

Michael’s Wine Cellar has been in business for over 30 years, and they’ve perfected their craft. Michael’s on East is one of Sarasota’s best dining experiences—known for a killer happy hour, incomparable atmosphere, and consistent distinction in cuisine and wine. This attention to detail and constant push for excellence is reflected in their shop, Michael’s Wine Cellar. The showroom boasts high ceilings and measured space between racks. The walls are filled with liquor and wine bottles interspersed with strategically placed ladders that give the impression of an estate library filled with alcohol in place of books. There are balconies and balustrades and chandeliers, and the overall effect is that of a Broadway set designed to welcome you in and show you what you want. Don’t hesitate to ask if you’d like some guidance—the employees are knowledgeable, friendly, and low key. They feel at home here, and so do we.
>Michael’s Wine Cellar: 1283 S Tamiami Trail, Sarasota, 941-955-2675

Norman’s Liquors and Fine Wines

Norman’s has three locations—in Sarasota, Bradenton, and St. Petersburg—but we most love the location on Clark Road in Sarasota. The building reminds me of the description of a Tardis in the popular show “Doctor Who” because the size of the exterior appears to contradict the size of the interior. To put it another way: This place is huge! I guess the presence of a small row of shopping carts at the front door should have been an indicator but the inside of Norman’s feels like a massive grocery store that sells nothing but bottles and bottles of liquor and wine. There’s even a room in the back that houses more specialty wines. I challenge you to go to Norman’s on any given day and leave without exactly the bottle that you were hoping to find.
>Norman’s Liquors and Fine Wines: 5200 Clark Rd., Sarasota, 941-926-9421

Sarasota Wine Company

Palm Avenue in downtown Sarasota boasts art galleries, beauty salons, fabulous restaurants, and innovative clothing designers. This is the perfect location for a boutique wine shop complete with an affable and convivial owner and a charming setting for sidewalk tastings. Enter Joe Levine, owner/operator of Sarasota Wine Company. Joe’s been working in the wine industry in some capacity since the tender and impressionable age of 16, when he emptied spit buckets for a winery and marveled at the idea that you could make a living selling, sampling, and tasting wine. Since then, Joe’s done everything from counting raisins in vineyards in Spain to selling wine on the West Side of Manhattan. He met a guy at a bar once and ended up working as a financial advisor at Merrill Lynch … and dreaming of opening a wine shop and deli when he retired. The pandemic presented an unexpected opportunity to re-evaluate his choices, and so he decided not to wait until he retired to realize his dream. Sarasota Wine Company focuses on small distributors and family-owned producers whenever possible, but the shop has something for everyone. Stop by and tell Joe what you’re looking for, we’ll probably see you there!
>Sarasota Wine Company: 64 S Palm Ave., Sarasota, 941-343-2289

Seagrape Wine Company

Seagrape Wine Company is our favorite kind of showroom: one where you can’t tell from outside the beauty of the inside. This kind of place serves to make you feel as though you’ve discovered a gem that is yours alone to enjoy, even though you soon realize that you’re just late to the party. Thomas Morgan and his team are excited to share their passion for wine with their equally passionate customers. Rather than being disappointed at the Covid- enforced turn of events that precipitated the end of in-store wine tastings, Thomas pivoted and discovered a new way to interact with his customers. In his own words: “We have many customers who buy and open bottles to drink, share, and talk about here at our large tasting table. We are serious wine nerds (not wine snobs) so we always have polished crystal glasses on hand, multiple decanters at the ready, and plenty of books and maps to elucidate a point or clarify a location. Watching folks discuss their differing opinions on wine is wonderful proof of the civilizing power of well-made terroir-specific wine.” We couldn’t have said it better ourselves.
Seagrape Wine Company: 4333 S Tamiami Trail UNIT F, Sarasota 941–260–9717

The Wine to Buy

The Wine to Buy in Gulf Gate is a wine warehouse with an expansive cellar, and this family-run business has more in store for the future. Mitch Soffer; his wife, Deb; and his daughter, Stephanie, have built a solid reputation with an impeccable selection of wines and an extensive knowledge of the business. Mitch is proud to say that Stephanie will soon be expanding the business with a tasting room a few doors up from the original store; named “Soprano’s Social Club,” it will house another, even larger, cellar, beneath the tasting room. Mitch believes that selling cellared wine is the future of the business and he’s happy to have his daughter leading that charge. Mitch has a preference for French and Italian wines when pressed to make a choice, and he says he loves to enjoy a glass of Italian wine on his birthday at his favorite restaurant in Sarasota, Marcello Ristorante.
>The Wine to Buy: 2140 Gulf Gate Dr., Sarasota, 941-926-9463