Business Profile: Yorktown Wines & Liquors, Yorktown Heights
Pairing a wine with a meal or finding the right liquor to match an occasion is a task many people could use a little assistance with. Lewis Stern, owner of Yorktown Wine& Liquors in the Underhill Plaza, makes himself available to help all the customers who enter his store find the right choice for them.
“There are different varieties for different people,” said Stern. “I carry such a selection that I can help my customers find what they need.”
With the inventory busting out the seams of the store, Yorktown Wines and Liquors has the traditional staples of a liquor store: red wine, white wine and vodka, which are still the most popular items year-round. He also carries all of the harder liquors as well as Champagne and drink mixes.
Even though Stern has owned Yorktown Wines and Liquors for almost a dozen years, he still learns something every day.
“One thing I was surprised to learn was how good dessert wines are,” said Stern. “They are sweet, and I have a sweet tooth.”
Stern also recommends ice wine, which is made from grapes that are picked when they are frozen.
“It tastes very sweet, but it is also very expensive because you can only get the wine from places that get that cold, like Canada and Germany,” he said.
It has been the past two years though, that have left Stern in awe of what technology can do. The popularity of infused alcohol products, particularly vodka, has made the taste of alcohol more amenable, no matter what a person’s taste buds crave.
“They keep coming up with these new flavors,” said Stern. “The infusion process has completely changed the market. Last year they came out with vodka which smells and tastes like bubble gum. I understand how they come up with tastes like orange or lemon, but how they re-create flavors like bubble gum is amazing. The first time I opened a bottle, it reminded me of opening up a pack of baseball cards 40 years ago and getting that big whiff of bubble gum.”
Nowadays vodka companies currently offer flavors such as peanut butter, s’mores and even popcorn.
“When people come in asking for a certain flavor that I may not yet carry, I tell them that I never heard of it, but I would not be surprised if someone has it out there,” said Stern.
In fact, when customers are looking for hard-to-find bottles, Stern will do what he can to help the person get what they seek.
“If someone comes in looking for a specific case, I will look it up and help them in any way I can,” said Stern. “I will see if it possible to get.”
Nevertheless, Stern was not sold initially on the infused products.
“It amazes me that not only that they are to create the flavors, but just how big the market is for the infused liquors,” he said. “When the chocolate wine came out, I thought it would be a novelty fad and wear off, but people come in and get it as gifts. It seems like there is a market for any flavor they come up with.”
In addition to infused-alcohol products, Stern also carried items that are infused with alcohol, such as whipped cream.
“The things that they come up with now blow my mind,” said Stern. “You never know what the industry is going to come up with next.”
Yorktown Wines and Liquors is located at 1873 Commerce St., within Underhill Plaza, in Yorktown Heights. For more information about the selection Stern carries, call 914-962-2474.
Adam has worked in the local news industry for the past two decades in Westchester County and the broader Hudson Valley. Read more from Adam’s author bio here.
