Winoteka proves to be the best place for wine shopping.
It is often hard to find the wine you want in Kyiv. Maybe you feel like getting a Pinot Noir or a Sauvignon Blanc – most likely you won’t be able to find any in the average food store. Most stores only have a small assortment of Ukrainian, Moldovan and Georgian wines, and you always see the same labels in every store you go to. Sure, Georgia is known for its great wine, and some Ukrainian wineries, like Massandra, make excellent sweet and semi-sweet wines as well. But when you’re looking to add something special to a dinner menu, or just have discerning, picky taste in wine, the usual selection at Kyiv’s supermarkets and food stores just doesn’t pass muster. For that reason, the “Best of” team has ventured into Kyiv to find the city’s best wine stores.
While most supermarkets feature a paltry wine selection, there are a few that have been recognized for their large, quality selections. The Megamarket stores, one in Petrivka and another on Horkoho St., have larger wine selections than the average supermarket and labels that come from countries all over the world. It is a great place to go if you want to browse their isles and choose something new to try. However, if you would like some advice when making your selection, Megamarket is a giant, impersonal store, and you will probably only be able to get the attention of the security guard keeping an eye on you as you peruse their expensive alcoholic goods.
The other supermarket worth mention is the Furshet located near Bessarbskiy market, which is known for its gourmet food selection and features many imported foreign food products hard to find anywhere else in the city. This supermarket has a small, but nice selection of imported wines. Its variety may not impress you, but you should be able to choose a nice wine from their modest selection.
The Best of team also found a few specialty wine stores around Kyiv that offer fairly large selections of international wines. The first one is hard to find – its location, 47 Obolonska St., is near an industrial stretch of the Naberzhno-Kreshchatytska in Podil, near metro Tarasa Shevchenko. Despite the rather dirty surroundings, the wine store itself has a pleasant interior and a selection of wines from all over the world – from France and Italy, to South Africa, Chili and Argentina. The store also has a selection of other fine alcohols. I don’t know how helpful or knowledgeable the store clerks are about their wines – when I stopped by the man working there asked if I would like some help, but didn’t offer much guidance or advice. Nevertheless, the store has a nice selection of wines not easily found in Kyiv.
The largest wine specialty store we found, Winoteka, also has the most pleasant staff. Winoteka is centrally located and just a short walk from metro Lva Tolstoho at Chervonoarmyiska. When I stopped by, a congenial sales clerk greeted me and offered right away to help me find the right wine. I asked her if she could suggest a nice Shiraz, and she obligingly lead me around the store, presenting Shiraz’s from different countries and telling me about each wine’s vintner. The two-level store boasts an assortment of wines from all the wine-producing countries of the world, with its second floor dedicated to French and Italian labels. It also sells a large selection of strong alcohols and cordials. Whether you fancy yourself a bon vivant, or a novice looking to expand your knowledge of wines, Winoteka is the best place in Kyiv to go.
Winoteka (44 Chervonoarmiyska, 428-1229).
