After Car Crashes into Shop, Continental Wine & Spirits Offers Takeout and Delivery, Plus Big Plans

Corey Fine took over ownership of Continental Wine & Spirits last July, remodeled in August and suffered a fate that sadly is not uncommon in Greenwich when someone drove their car into the side of his store last month.

Mr. Fine moved to Connecticut with his wife and 3-year-old son from California. She works in importing and distribution for a wine company in Portugal and Mr. Fine carries some of her wines in the shop.

Repairs have been stalled by snow storms, but are set to get underway shortly. In the meantime Fine is working around the store closure by offering takeout an delivery. Just call or text him on (617) 645-5592.

Events, Tastings, Cellar Consultations

Mr. Fine, who is a Certified Sommelier, received an MBA from University of Southern California where he was the president of the school’s wine club.

“I organized wine tasting trips to Santa Barbara and wine country in California. I did a lot of educational tastings, and a monthly seminar on different wines – we tried wines from Napa, wines from Burgundy,” he recalled, adding that he enjoys organizing events.

Fine handled the drinks for the wedding of his best friend from USC, which took place in San Diego.

“I did all the alcohol coordination for his wedding, including helping them pick out signature his and her cocktails, and helped them select the sparkling red and white they served all evening,” he said.

Along the line of events, Fine said once the repairs are complete he will resume Friday night tastings that are free and open to the public.

He is working on a tasting event with Townhouse located around the corner on Church Street, just organized the drinks for a Chamber of Commerce’s mixer at Art + Design on Greenwich Avenue and looks forward to organizing a tequila tasting for Cinco de Mayo.

“I also do cellar consultations where I analyze someone’s wines to determine roughly the street value. Or maybe I say, ‘You’re heavy in Burgundy, let’s fill in with Bordeaux.’ Or I recommend collectible wines. Or maybe they’re looking to offload their wines. I appraise them and sell them at auction.”

Unique Selection and Reasonable Prices

“About 75% of my wines are ones I’ve brought in since the old owner,” Fine said. “With my experience living in wine country – and going to  Bordeaux and Burgundy every year – I carry wines from a lot of small producers you don’t often see in Connecticut.”

In another example of what makes Continental unique under Fine’s ownership, he carries whiskies from Redwood Empire, a popular company in northern California where they craft, age and bottle their spirits. The company is known for its environmental commitment, planting a tree for every bottle sold, with over 1.7 million trees planted.

“It’s fun for me to bring a little part of my California and introduce people to something they’re never tried before,” he said. “When I do a whiskey tasting I want to stand behind it as good, but also expose people to something they may not otherwise try.”

He said his approach is to differentiate his inventory from other liquor stores.

“For every one that I bring for the consumer, I bring one or two for people to try something different. Expand your palate. If you don’t like it, go back to your favorite. I don’t carry a lot of big box names you can buy at every store.”

“My favorite part of my job is when I introduce someone to a new wine and they come back and buy it again,” he said. “I have a couple customers who just ask me for a recommendation – this is what I’m cooking for dinner, I’m looking for a Cabernet between $20 and $30.”

Inventory and Pricing

Fine said his pricing at Continental been adjusted to be more reasonable than in the past. He also packs a lot into a relatively small space, with 350 to 400 different spirits, 100 different beers – including craft and micro-brews – and about 500 different wines.

Also unique is that he is keeping the picture windows open while many other liquor stores often block their windows with shelving.

Fine, a member of the Greenwich Chamber of Commerce, said director Andrea Blume has been arranging for him to provide the drinks at Chamber events where he has made valuable connections.

“I love seeing our members come together to support each other and our community,” Blume said. “Having Corey at our businesses after hours event with the other member businesses was a fantastic way for us to showcase the power of connection.”

Continental Wine & Spirit, is located at 58 William Street.

Tel (617) 645-5592.
Email: [email protected]

Takeout or Delivery via (617) 645-5592.

Hours
Tuesday through Saturday 11-7
Sundays 12-5
Closed Mondays.

Follow them on Facebook.