Racially profiled by racist blonde woman at the register per her Demand I had walk out with my son in my arms just to get my ID while my husband purchased our wine selection, she insisted she had to card me although I was not the person purchasing my presence was enough to intimidate the poor thing.. meanwhile no one else (white patrons) were carded by her coworkers. We still supported her paycheck and purchased our wine to expose her ignorance and policy. I came back threw down my ID and showed her my culture do age gracefully again I was not purchasing but here we are in 2021 asked to do more the neighboring patron for no reason at all. Karma will do the rest. read more

Empire Wine - Facts - Beer, Wine & Spirits Near Me - Albany, New York

I had a very bad experience with Empire Wine shipping wine to California. 3/4 of the ordered bottles had damaged labels and as a wine collector, damaged labels are not appreciated. I informed Empire Wine and I got the following Feedback: "Samuel, We have reviewed this order and have come tot he conclusion that kind of damage you sent could not have come from us. Our bottles are verified prior to shipment. No order would ever be sent out with flawed labels without first contacting the customer. Unfortunately we are unable to do anything in regards to this. -Mike" I tried to explain the problem on the phone, the shipper they use is creating the issue. By the way, I have in my 15 years never seen a shipper like this - with cardboard flaps (presumably to hold bottles tight in place) scratching against the labels. The team didn't listen, hung up the phone and left me with these bottles. It's my problem they said. Not the customer experience I'm used to. Looks like Empire Wine will keep shipping with these boxes and doesn't want to learn. read more

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This is undoubtedly my favorite place to buy wine and liquor. I am in Colonie, so it is close by, but there are stores closer to my house. Empire is dollars cheaper on everything compared to smaller liquor stores. The always have a good stock and selection, but this place is very popular. Sometimes I miss seasonal releases because this place gets so much business and I didn't come the day they put it out. Speaking of popular, sometimes the line here can be ridiculously long, but TRUST ME, it goes by extremely fast. They can well predict busy days and they always have the staff there for it. The place is even well staffed when its slow. I have never had a problem with the service. Every time i am there, at least one employee asks me if I need any help, the cashiers are courteous, and if i am buying a large amount they always offer a hand to my car. Compared to other small shops, my go to vodka is $8 cheaper a bottle (titos), my favorite red wine is $4 cheaper (apothic inferno), and my favorite cheap wine is $3 cheaper (rex). Go here to save your money! read more

Empire wine has an absolutely enormous selection of wines and a pretty impressive selection of liquors. The wines are organized by varietal and also by geographic location. There is also a separate section for large mags of wine. Empire is a local distributor as well so you really can get some great deals on products. What I really love about this place is the varied selection. There are dozens and dozens of each varietal. They also have an impressive selection of local spirits as well as some hard ciders. They also cary some fun, kitchy products such as canned wine or juice-box sake. This place can get hectic, though so its a good idea to try to come when its slower, all though the line always moves pretty quickly. Another great thing about this store is that they often have tastings of new products for free. While the staff on the floor is always very helpful and knowledgeable, the people behind the counter are often short. read more

Empire Wine - some of the liquor selection - Beer, Wine & Spirits Near Me - Albany, New York

Hands down the best liquor store to order from online. They are very professional and helpful. Fast shipping at a steal of a price. I also want to tell them thank you so much for everything. I had a small issue with a previous order (shipping company's fault) and empire fixed the issue right away. Great establishment over all. read more

Empire Wine - Ordered Saturday and got my package Tuesday. Awesome establishment. - Beer, Wine & Spirits Near Me - Albany, New York

I have been ordering monthly for delivery to my home since 2013. There has never been a mistake in my order. On the occasion that I call the store or visit it I have always been treated with respect. I have been treated with kindness with every delivery. When I cease to place orders say a prayer for my soul. Until then keep those orders coming. read more

I order from here occasionally for delivery out of state. Excellent customer service and great prices. Very trustworthy and the shipping packages are very robust. Highly recommend. read more

Not fit to run an e-commerce business. I Ordered wine 8 days ago and still hasn't shipped. No email updates or any update on when it will ship. Was supposed to arrive next day The only reason I don't give it one star is they have a good selection and good prices and I'm sure it's perfectly suitable if you live in the area in you shop there in person read more

Don't order from here - no communication, just sit on your order for months and then cancel. Lots of other options - don't waste your time here. read more

This is the US, and this is NY. For some arcane reason, grocery stores are not allowed to sell wine/liquors and beer in the same place. Go figure. How I miss Europe! Anyway, so there's this place and there's lots of expensive booze to choose from! Too bad the staff is unfriendly and rude. Every. Single. Time. And no, it's not me. I'm one of those people who actually say hello and thank you with a smile. Maybe that's why... read more

I live in DC, but I happened on Empire's website because they carry a type of wine that's hard to find locally. I was really impressed with their prices and selection, so I placed an online order for the wine I wanted plus a few other varieties. Shipping costs were also very reasonable. I placed the order on a Tuesday night, 5/5, for regular shipping, and it was delivered the afternoon of Thursday 5/7, less than 48 hours later. Incredible! All in all, a fabulous experience. I'll definitely be back next time I need to stock up. read more

I understand that pandemic times are tough and i HATE to be that guy to complain especially during a pandemic, but the work flow/ organization of the curbside pickup is an absolute mess. I waited 5 days to pick up my order that was supposed to be ready in 48 hours, which I understand in times like these. What I don't understand is why when I was sitting in the parking lot for pickup, I called 12 times with no answer (there was a misfunction with the online portal so they specifically told me to call when I was there for pickup). If the staff were busy, that would be one thing, but I saw them inside the store just on their phones, and at one point a staff member ran across the parking lot to pick up a KFC soda from a car that just pulled up. It took 30 minutes for someone to come to my car and ask what was up since we were in one of the reserved curbside spots. Like I said, there were problems with the online tracker, and that sometimes happens especially in high volume times. What isn't okay is that nobody was manning the phones for customer help. I called 12 times and my sister also called 12 times for this order over a 30 minute period. Since we were literally watching the store from our car, we could see that at least 1 of those 24 calls could have been answered by a staff member. Since the phone line is the only mode of contact between the customer and the store, it needs to be a priority. read more

I almost feel like a review of Empire Wine is silly because it is obviously a fantastic place. As with the other reviewers, I too will sing their praises. The prices are great. Seriously. Compare prices sometime. Empire Wine will beat them out. The selection is AMAZING with an incredibly vast quantity inside this space. My favorite aspect of this store is that they have a large selection of liquors produced in the area. I have yet to come here looking for something that they did not have. The line can get long at times, but do not let that deter you. It moves very quickly. read more

This is an amazing store - truly one of a kind. The selection, prices, and knowledgeable staff are second to none. As for the pricing, my brother worked at a wine store in MA, and he would stock up at Empire because the pricing was better than his own store's employee discount! We recently put in a delivery order (during the lockdown) and expected it to take a two or three days. We had our order the next day, which is unbelievable. read more

I've been here many more times after my review, but still haven't used the curb side pickup. Inside the store everyone is always very helpful. The only time I've had an issue was with a cash register person who was more interested in her nails and when I asked a question about my receipt, got kind of a snotty reply. Overall though, have been very happy here. read more

Huge selection! More types of Gin then I have seen at most stores. Nice selection of wine, they had my favorite Zinfandel from the Napa Valley, Biale Black Chicken, that alone would put them in the category of best places ever! read more

Worst on line order and pick up experience, ever. Rude, uninformed and obtuse is no way to run a business.

Searching around for a decent price for mini bottles of Martini and Rossi Asti for our wedding favors, I came across Empire Wine after searching a few places online. I was having a glitch problem trying to place an order over their online system, so I gave their shop a call. I spoke to one of the sales girls that made the process easy. She told me that when I was at the store parking lot, to just message them through the link provided in the order pick up confirmation. They will bring the order to the car. The order was ready the next day for pick up, but I wasn't going to be there until the weekend. When I arrived there were four reserved pick up spots for the store. After I notified the store we had arrived in one of their spots, it took them about 5 minutes to get our order and meet us. The gentleman had confirmed by identity by last name of the order and packed the cases into our car. We also decided to check out the inside of the store after parking in a regular spot. The store has a great selection with decently priced wines, spirits and liquors. Some of the salespeople had also kindly asked if we needed assistance. My friend ended up leaving with a plum wine she liked that they sold. With very outstanding customer service and a great selection of stock at good prices, I would definitely come back and visit if I'm in the area. read more

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I am a fan of their online sales and ship 4 for free deals. I love that they email me the deals so I never miss one. I have done 3 online orders so far and the wine I receive has always been top notch and ranked highly. The ship for 4 deals usually hover around $18-30/bottle while the ship for 12 deals around $8-15/bottle. Either way their prices are always cheaper than any online retailer as well as any storefront in my area. And the best part is that it shows up to my door in 1-2 days max! They ship the wines in sturdy wine cardboard boxes so it always arrives secure and ready to drink. I look forward to making more purchases to fill my collection. read more

I started using Empire Wine's curbside delivery at the beginning of the pandemic. What started out as a "necessity" quickly became a luxury, now a staple, and one that I am not willing to give up. Place the order.........receive a text that your order is ready (in a very reasonable time) ............go and have someone deliver it right to your car. I have never had a mistake in my order nor have i ever waited more than 5 minutes for my order to be brought out to me. Tip your delivery person! The work hard for you read more

This was my only go to place for wine before the expansion. I think I'll give it one more chance and if I have the same experience, will drive the extra miles to Latham. It not only is difficult to navigate, the aisle labeling is generic and the helpful polite staff is gone. Although there are stockers 3 and 4 to an aisle, a lot of the selections were bare. I witnessed customers opening boxes because they couldn't get help. I asked for Toscana, got a finger point and "down there", ....never found it. (There were 3 employees in the group I asked.). I recall when they sought you out and escorted you to the location of choice. I think shopping there will be impossible. read more

Empire has a great selection of mini bottles of wine-husband doesn't drink so this size is perfect for me. I've had some problems with delivery (I live in NYC,no doorman) but always resolved in a reasonable amount of time. The wines themselves are great;most local stores only have a few airplane size bottles of wine,most of them....not so good. Empire has many choices and reasonably priced. read more

Charged me twice for the same purchase. Confirmed that they had charged me twice 2 days later and said the bill would be corrected. It's now four days since this happened and I still have double charges on my credit card. My bank even notified me that the charge was suspect. read more

I've never been asked if I needed any help, but I'm used to it while I watch others around me get offered assistance. I've been going here for several years now and it's because they have a great selection of wines. They have an 'okay' champagne section, and it's conveniently located near a bunch of other shops like Target and BJ's. read more

My quickish take is that this is a really decent place to browse and stock up if you have some particular favorites, because of the large volume and pretty cheap prices, but if you want to browse and learn, it's not necessarily the best place. The employees know their stock but all seem a bit harried and frazzled. The squib reviews are just boilerplate quotations from wine marketing and external review sources, not the experience of the staff. It's a pretty young crowd and I don't think they have a lot of depth in varietals or vintages. And finally, they are very short on my favorite Monterey County and Santa Cruz Mountains wines, which I've been using as a personal yardstick about how deep they go, and their French vineyards are a pretty standard lot. They did have the best selection of Malbec I've seen in the area, and they carry Chartreuse, which I haven't been able to find elsewhere (for those of you who like expensive liquers that taste like expired cough syrup, as I do). And I appreciate the fact that in this mountain of wine, they have good bargain wines clustered at the front and the really expensive wines face-in, out of the madding throngs, towards the back so it's easier to pile up on the former and peruse the latter longingly. I'm still looking for a truly outstanding wine store in the area, but insofar as New York State prevents me from buying wine in grocery stores and Empire has the best breadth of bargain to mid-ranged wines in the area (as far as I can tell so far) I'll do my stocking up here and my single-bottle browsing elsewhere. Hint for all wine stores everywhere: it wouldn't kill you to have some information stations, such as a source for wine reviews, maps, and a bottle-finder so you can find something you're interested in fast by a look-up chart. I know retail conventional wisdom says your customers should wander around aimlessly and ask for help when they inevitably get lost, so they'll succumb to the label-impulse purchase which is the key to high margins in this business, but getting customers with a definite idea of what they want to get to their items faster will only free up more time for browsing, in my inexpert opinion. read more

This place was HOPPING at 10 am on a Friday morning! Although the staff was hustling to shelve a recent delivery, they were more than willing to pause and help clueless customers like me. The selection or wines was large, logically organized and marked at very good prices. I definitely tipped the nice young man who carried my assorted case of wines to my car. read more

Empire Wine - The hardworking staff were friendly and extremely helpful. - Beer, Wine & Spirits Near Me - Albany, New York

I was looking for a specific wine as I passed through Albany recently. I knew this place carried it as I had checked the website. Id also asked via email (their contact method on the site) if they could get another case. NO response. I asked again. NO response. OK, I assumed no. I get there and they have the wine, all good. But then the employee says "you should let us know in advance and we can get more for you." Really? I tried to do exactly that and got NO RESPONSE. I do have to comment that the selection here is very nice, broad and sure to appeal to you no matter your taste or price range. Kudos for that. When I was here it was SUPER busy. Gameday Sunday I'm sure. They don't have automatic doors here though. So you watch all these people with cases of wine or carts full trying to navigate the manual doors. Ridiculous. If you are not going to spring for electric doors at least have an employee standing there to help when its so busy. This is a busy strip mall, and parking was a disaster. I guess because it was Sunday around 12 noon, and people wanted to be home for whatever game they watched. But be careful in this parking lot or you may have a fender bender or hit someone. Its really that busy and that dangerous on a Sunday in the Fall. 3rd star is for the broad selection and choices. Otherwise, Ive seen better stores from a logistics view, especially the manual doors. read more

I've had wonderful (internet) experiences with this company. I found online that they had some extremely attractive prices on certain bottles of wine, often cheaper than any other retailer in the state. That, even including very reasonable shipping charges ($14.95 for 12 bottles) makes for buying some wine more cheaply than in NYC. My orders were packed extremely well in very thick cardboard boxes, and dispatched immediately and quickly, two days total. Will absolutely order again, thanks for great service! read more

I found a wine that I like and is not easy to get from other online wine sources so I ordered a case. I bought 6 bottles of the one I was initially looking for and an assortment of others. When the case arrived I opened it to find that one bottle's top had loosened to the point that some was spilled. Another's cork was half out and a third had leaked as well. They seem to pack their wines upside down in the carton so the bottom of the carton was quite wet from the spillage. I sent an email to the company explaining what had happened and received no reply so I sent a second. Again no reply. There seems to be no "customer service". I will not be buying from them again and would not recommend them. Very disappointing. read more

Wholeheartedly agree with a recent comment that they're unable to run an e-commerce business. I ordered a case of wine 8 days ago, and was completely sensitive to the fact that they're obviously very busy at this time. I utilized their in-order/email messaging system to ask for updates with no responses. Finally called and had the worst customer service experience ever with a woman. There was no apology or desire on her end to keep my business and I canceled the entire order. All you need is to communicate, but there is obviously a major problem with who is representing your business on the phone. read more

My friends and I call this "Our Place of Worship." We discovered this large treasure trove about two and a half years into our Albany years, and after having had to spend questionable prices on the small corner liquor stops. So obviously we were quite happily overwhelmed at the selection here and great prices. Huge place and they have 3x the amount as regular stores do, with more varieties and flavors. Blood Orange, Blueberry, Bacon? THEY HAVE IT! Prices are great, are always 2-8$ cheaper than everywhere else. I love leaving the store smiling after spending 80$ on four or five bottles versus two and a pint. Usually a good number of customers always inside, but never a long wait on line thankfully. Many people working the 'shelves' although I'm not sure they know much about wines and liquors besides their homes on which and what shelf. Only downgrade, are the wine tasting sales-people. I come in there and I have a 50/50 chance of being approached and asked if I would like to sample. I may be 23 years old, but that doesn't mean I'm 'always' binging on vodka. I enjoy my wines and other liquors too; and have quite a fine palate for flavors thank you very much! They like to profile customers and if only their superiors knew what sales they were missing out on by doing so. Snobs. But anyway thats not really the store's issue so much... Overall this place is heavenly and always worth my time and trips! read more

If you don't take online orders then there is a SIMPLE SOLUTION-- take the website down. Stop wasting customers time!! Spent forever filling up my cart, trying to buy the wine, going in circles on the check-out, then I finally call. Woman says call back and they'll take my order by phone. I call back, no answer, leave a message. No call back, then later I call and they hang up on me two times before I said hello. Then guy tells me on 3rd phone call no phone orders. Coronavirus is no excuse for advertsing e-commerce business and then wasting people's time. Take the website down if you can't handle it. read more

I found a particular Sangria that I had at a wine festival once and Empire had the best prices. I ordered it one day and it was delivered the next! Bottles were well packed, and the delivery person was very pleasant. I will definitely be ordering again soon and will refer my friends to Empire! read more

This is not a review suggesting that you don't use Empire Wine (Albany NY). You decide. It's just an honest review of my first and only, probably my last, experience with Empire. I have ordered wine online every 1-2 months for a number of years both direct from wineries and from retailers so I am experienced in the process. Within the last 2 months I have received one other order from a different retailer and three orders direct from wineries in both California and Oregon [just stocking up for the winter]. When I order wine I accept no substitutions on wine or vintage. I am on the east coast. I am only a consumer and not associated with any retailer or wholesaler of anything. I purchase a mixed case from Empire on December 10. All carefully selected wines for my taste. The total was just under $500 including shipping and tax. The transaction was immediately charged to my credit card. It may have been pending, I am not sure, but either way this was ok. My order email confirmation came 1 minute after the bank's automatic email confirmation of the charge. Again, ok, no issue. The next day on December 11, I received an email from Empire that further action was required to process my order. They required me to enter into their website the exact amount of a further small transaction on my credit card to verify I was the owner of the of the card. A little extra security...never had this with a wine retailer before, but no issue. On December 14, 3 days after my order was confirmed by Empire, Empire sent me an email telling me they were out of one of my wines (3 bottles) and asked how to proceed. I was surprised at this since their online inventory was supposed to be up-to-date according to my phone discussion with an associate. It took me about an hour but I selected 2 other wines (1 bottle of wine x, 2 bottles of wine y) as replacement. I replied to their email, listed my replacement wines, and also noted that my order would now require a credit to the amount already charged. On December 16 my order was shipped. When I received the order on December 17, I found that Empire substituted (or made an error) on wine x - a 2 year difference in vintage. My profile with Empire states 'no substitutions.' I sent them an email and they replied the next day they could either have FedEx email a return shipping label or I could keep and they would issue a $5 refund for the mistake. Since we were only talking about a $16.95 bottle of wine, I decided the hassle of finding a box to ship 1 wine and returning it, and then waiting for the correct wine/year was not worth it. I opted for the $5 credit. Still waiting for the credit as of December 20. I have had vintage mistakes like this from other retailers although I have never had an error telling me they were out of a wine they confirmed by email in their 'order confirmation communicaton.' The two times I recall vintage errors, both retailers told me to keep the wine received and they either sent me the correct wine, or they credited me the full bottle price. After I accepted the $5 credit I found they also substituted a vintage year for one other wine. I should have checked earlier. I went online and since have found 2 errors with their description / vintage / rating. For example they were describing one wine as having a 100 reviewer score when it did not have any score. I reported this to them. Another wine had a different vintage with a reviewer score from another year. I believe this happens often with both stores and online retailers. Be careful what you read on any wine retailer website. Verify. I know I am probably more precise in what I want than many people. read more

exactly what I ordered, bodega petite fleur 2016. excellent service and price, strongly recommended

Large variety, plenty of help from workers that know their products. Usually have to wait in line but as others have commented the lines move quickly with many cashiers. Thank you Empire Wine employee for your help choosing a sangria brand. read more

Empire Wine - Beer, Wine & Spirits Near Me - Albany, New York

Good selection. Clean store. I've been going there for years. However, I had such an awful experience with the woman who answered the phone at 7:30pm on Wednesday, January 29th that I'll take my business elsewhere and encourage everyone I know to do as well. I had a few basic questions, and I was treated like it was an insulting burden for her to help me. When I was unclear as to weather the store did or did not have someone in charge of shipping, she sarcastically snapped "We're a store, not an office building". Honestly. I hope the management can identify who this woman is and re-train her, or just let her go. She sounds like she hates her job. Empire Wine is good, but it has competition. When customers are made to feel like garbage at a store, they'll just go where they're treated decently while they spend their money. read more

Since I've moved here a number of people have insisted that Empire Wine is the best wine store in the Capital District (ahem; I found one as good, from a wine perspective, in Delmar.) Overall, I find the wine selection somewhat small and was underwhelmed (granted I moved from California where Total Wine and More has amazing stores with truly expansive collections of wine from across the world). Empire has an array; but not very deep for Rhones, or Burgundies, or Alsatians, or Bordeauxs, which you associate with a great liquor store. Overall the prices are high, not a bargain (at best some are fair.) The check out experience is a nightmare: it seems that their "schtick" is have rude, impatient cashiers who bark what line is open, hustle you to hurry removing your purchases to put in front of them, and expect that you'd better be damned quick with your credit card. Btw, don't expect a thank you or even eye contact, and after the card clears they'll make it clear you aren't moving fast enough out of the way. People move to Albany to escape the rudeness of the 5 boroughs. But if you're feeling homesick you go to Empire Wine to have the personnel kick you in the shins to remind you of why you left. Addendum: a customer service manager responded to my review defending the efficiency of their check out system with no expression of regret for my perceived experience (similar experiences were noted in other Yelp reviews.) A word to Empire Wine: efficiency doesn't necessitate rudeness, brusqueness, abruptness. One can be efficient with a smile and the expression of a thank you. Those aren't trivialities: it's called smart customer service. read more

Not only is the selection terrific, not only are the prices better than any other liquor store I have ever shopped in, but ALL of the staff are extraordinarily knowledgeable, professional and friendly. Great prices on top brands of vodka and good quality cognac as well. Conveniently located so no reason to shop anywhere else read more

I live in California, but I come to the Albany area frequently to visit my family. This is my go-to wine store in Albany. Especially for my trips up to the Adirondacks, I always drop by Empire Wine and stock up. Great selection, great prices, and they ship almost anywhere. Five stars for Empire Wine! read more