Albert Di Meglio, the chef and an owner of Barano restaurant in South Williamsburg, said that customers who liked a wine on his list would ask where to buy it. “It was sometimes a problem,” he said. “Restaurants can get wines on allocation that people won’t find in stores. That’s one of the reasons I wanted to open the shop, to sell the wines.” The airy store, a few doors down from the restaurant, is centered on a curved bar for tastings and small classes, with racks of wines and spirits along the walls. It carries a limited inventory, fewer than 200 labels, mostly from organic, biodynamic and natural producers. “I want to sell wines made with good farming practices,” he said. “This is not a wine shop with everything.” Austin Flechler, previously the wine director at Nix restaurant in Manhattan, is running the store.
Spirit Animal, 20 Broadway (Kent Avenue), South Williamsburg, Brooklyn, 929-489-3012, spiritanimalbk.com.
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