Austin360 blogs > Out & About > Archives > 2007 > October > 03 > Entry
Your A-List: Best Beer and Wine Selection
Austin has embraced another newcomer with open arms, determining that Spec’s carries the Best Beer and Wine Selection through the Your A-List poll. And it wasn’t even close: Spec’s beat the next contender, home-grown Central Market, 31 percent to 19 percent.
Just months ago, Spec’s imported its Houston-honed store model to town, quickly planting flags north, south, west, east, and manning them with family members. Houstonians, restaurateurs and tourists have known for decades that the downtown H-Town Spec’s Warehouse pioneered the concept of mixing acres of beverages with gourmet food and reasonable prices.
On a recent visit to the Brodie location, nostalgic for the French countryside, I was looking for a selection of Burgundies. Yep: There was a whole aisle for red Burgundies and a whole aisle for white Burgundies. In prices from $10 to more than $200. Mmmm.
The local competition was hard to beat. Besides Central Market, which revolutionized grocery shopping in Texas, there’s studiously staffed Grape Vine Market (14 percent), beer-heaven Whip In (13 percent) and organic amusement park Whole Foods (10 percent). Most readers would be surprised that local do-gooders Twin Liquors, which just opened its 50th Central Texas store, polled at only 9 percent.
Smaller local hot spots include Twin-owned Reuben’s (3 percent) and idiosyncratic Wiggy’s (1 percent) as well as write-ins Austin Wine Merchant and Davenport Wines & Spirits. Come to think of it Austin is blessed with more than its share of great beer and wine shops.
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