Astor Wines & Spirits has been a Greenwich Village fixture since 1946. Originally a small shop in the middle of Astor Place, Astor expanded to cover half of the block in 1980. In 2006 Astor expanded again, moving to the 1885 New York City Landmark, the De Vinne Press Building, at the corner of Lafayette Street and East 4th Street. Utilizing an onsite cogeneration system, the new shop features our temperature-controlled Cool Room and improved storage to house over 5,000 wines, spirits and sakes. In 2008, our sister educational facility, Astor Center, opened on the floor above Astor Wines & Spirits. Astor Center offers classes in wine, spirits and cocktails in facilities custom-built for this use.

Astor Wines & Spirits was purchased by the late Edwin Fisher in 1968. His son, Andy Fisher, has served as company President since 1971, and his brother Rob Fisher is the Chief Operating Officer. In August 2022, Astor Wines & Spirits became an employee-owned business when ownership passed to an Employee Stock Ownership Plan, or ESOP. Andy Fisher explained the decision. “My brother and I believe the best succession plan is to entrust Astor to the people who have been so instrumental in building our enterprise. By becoming an employee-owned business, we ensure that Astor Wines & Spirits will maintain our qualitative standards in selection and service while providing the additional benefit of rewarding our outstanding team.”

Astor Wines & Spirits uses chillers on their sales floor, in their basement, and in their off-site storage facilities to ensure that all temperature-sensitive items are held at the correct temperature so that they are not damaged before they arrive to the consumer.

If you’ve got no more patience than the average New Yorker, you probably shouldn’t try making saké. In case you don’t believe us: the first step in the process is "rice polishing" (just as time-consuming as it sounds). Luckily for you, we’ve got nearly 200 of the world’s finest artisanal sakés right here, resting comfortably in temperature-controlled units. In fact, we’re the only shop that preserves these delicate brews at 40 degrees at all times, both in our display chillers and in our cellars. We know you’re busy. But trust us: you’ll want to make a little time to explore our truly stellar selection.

We adore our wine buyers. They’re really good at what they do, and we’d like to keep them around. But we know (because they told us) that they would leave in a heartbeat if we ever ruined their delicious selections by storing them improperly. So whenever they decide that a wine is especially delicate, we take it straight to our Cool Room. Unlike other stores, at Astor this decision is based solely on the wine’s sensitivity to large swings in temperature – not its price. From inexpensive biodynamic wines to delicious bottles of Moscato d’Asti to 1982 Bordeaux, anything requiring gentler handling is stored at 57º in the Cool Room. Our buyers stay happy, and you end up with better-tasting wines.

Curious about Bavarian plum wines? So are we, actually. And if we ever come across a great one, we’ll make sure you get a chance to try it at one of our free tastings. Each week, we pour some of our favorite wines, spirits and sakés so you can taste and learn in a casual, relaxed, and – did we mention free? – environment. If you happen to like a particular wine or saké that’s poured, purchase it the day of the tasting and we’ll take 15% off the price. Tastings are held most weekdays and Saturdays. Sync up your busy schedule with ours by signing up for our weekly email alerts, or check out the calendar to find out what we’re pouring next.

Check out what's pouring at Astor