Great Terroir produces Great Grapes + Producers who have been doing this for generations = Great wines <> Great Values. 

Article written about George Eldi, owner of Wines By Nature in Wading River,  

By GREGORY ZELLER //

Eldi’s passion is in finding great wines at manageable prices. To do it, he applies a personal checklist – a proprietary formula, of sorts, built to calculate the best bottles and best bargains from the worldwide oenosphere.

“I’ve sold $800 bottles of wine and I’ve sold $1,300 bottles of whiskey, but that’s not my store,” he says. “My store is under $20 whites, under $30 reds, and outstanding value.

“You come in and want something for $20, I give you something for $17 and it overdelivers,” Eldi adds. “Taste, value, and it has to overdeliver.”

And what does “overdeliver” mean in a bottle of wine?

It’s who you know: David Kohl, inside man. David Kohl, a regional rep for global vino distributor Chateau & Estates, sits near the register, pouring two fingers of a Mâcon-la-Roche-Vineuse he’s brought for Eldi to sample. Eldi gives him a look.

“David pours me a glass of wine,” he says. “I taste it and say, ‘nine bucks?’ He says, ‘No, eight bucks.’ I say, ‘Really? You outperformed my pallet by a dollar. You overdelivered.’”

The entrepreneur works exclusively with direct distributors like Kohl – fewer middlemen, fewer markups – and prefers these “face-to-face tastings” to digital transactions.

“We need the back story,” Eldi says. “The family behind this. We need to rely upon [the rep’s] knowledge, his diversity, his book – he’s hand-selecting these things, so [the rep’s] knowledge, his diversity, his book – he’s hand-selecting these things, so he has the story.”

Most importantly, the innovator listens closely to his customers. Eldi may be the expert oenophile with all the right connections, but only his customers know what they like.

“We’re always ready to expand and contract (inventory) based on our customers’ requests,” he says, swirling the Mâcon around a wide-rimmed glass. “When you go to your favorite restaurant, you always want to see the greatest hits, but you also want to see the specials list.

“Same thing with wine,” Eldi adds. “We have our standards, but we’re always looking for value and listening to what our customers respond to. No wine in here is safe from the competition.”

The revolving inventory adds to Wine By Nature’s unique flavor. And while the “brand-loyal” are occasionally disappointed by the carefully curated selection, the wine connoisseur – or the gourmand who carefully pairs oysters with champagne, lobsters with burgundy and a rare shell steak with a hearty Napa cab – will always find the right bottle, with value.

“Some customers are brand-loyal, and we knew that going in,” Eldi says. “But those who trust us ... are here forever.

“A liquor store is a line cook,” he adds. “We’re a chef.”

Gregory Zeller is the vice president and editor of Innovate Long Island.