Big Apple wine lovers are having a sour season.
It’s been a tough year for those who spend big on rare bottles and entrust them to New York City’s luxury wine merchants for proper storage and aging.
First, in February, the venerable Sherry-Lehmann wine was raided by the FBI and exposed for alleged bad practices including bottle mishandling.
Potentially among them: two cases of Petrus Bordeaux 1982, valued at $90,000.
Then Chelsea Wine Storage, a facility entrusted with storing rare vintages worth millions of dollars, came under fire for allegedly mishandling billable bottles, being slow in shipping and quickly confiscating bottles from customers who owed storage fees — even when the wine’s valuation was far exceeded. total debt.
The twin disasters have sent shockwaves through the elite world of wine collecting, a hobby that for many in the city requires high-quality storage — which may not come cheap.
Wine lovers want their wine from establishments like the venerable Sherry-Lehmann. They are not always able to collect. Robert Miller This is how the FBI raided the Sherry-Lehmann store on Park Avenue amid allegations that it was defrauding customers. James Keivom In Chelsea, Chelsea Wine Cellar was a long-standing storage option for some of the world’s most famous and expensive wines, but it changed its name to Chelsea Wine Storage and moved vintage grapes. William Farrington
As one oenophile told The Post, “They have to keep the wine at the right temperature and humidity while keeping it out of the light… And giving you wine when you want it.”
Attorney Asher Rubinstein told The Post: “Collectors are really losing sleep over this.”
Among the worst allegations: sources claim that Chelsea Wine Storage, far from carefully guarding heirloom bottles, has dumped them under the former TGI Fridays Times Square and has stored some in cardboard boxes.
They include bottles of 2011 Coche-Dury Meursault, a white Burgundy that sells for $1,200 per bottle, and Domaine Faiveley Bâtard Montrachet valued at $490 per bottle, according to an inventory seen by The Post.
Since early November, sources told The Post, increasingly frantic customers requesting shipments of their vintages have found wine company representatives difficult to reach.
This is where wine is stored by Chelsea Wine Storage, much to the chagrin of some of its customers — under the now-defunct TGI Fridays in Times Square. Angel Chevrestt Photographs shared the post showing how four-figure bottles of wine were stored by Chelsea Wine Storage, while disgruntled customers, according to a lawyer, launched a “constant stream of calls and emails” to get their wine back. Acquired by NY Post
In one such situation, a storage customer with Chelsea Wine Storage was trying to secure a collection of “significant value,” Rubinstein told The Post.
“We are working with Chelsea to get the wine,” he said. “It required a constant stream of calls and emails for about two months. [Rubinstein’s client] proud to collect the collection and a bit depressed not to get it back.”
Chelsea’s attorney did not respond to a request for comment.
While Chelsea’s owner had previously blamed him for staffing issues, Rubinstein, a wine collector himself (who doesn’t own a bottle with Chelsea) sees the problem as going beyond someone who is upset about waiting on a few precious bottles for a vacation.
A chaotic scene inside Chelsea Wine Storage under the former Times Square restaurant TGI Fridays. Wine owners told The Post they’re losing sleep over what happened to bottles they planned to store underground for decades. Acquired by NY Post
“I think this is on a macro level,” the lawyer said. “You are an investor and collect wine and collect thousands of cases.
“We’re talking about a $500,000 collection, and you can’t get this guy on the phone. What if you have the same amount of money in the bank and the bank stops accepting your calls? How is that acceptable?”
The lawsuit is not the first against Chelsea Wine & Storage, which exited Chelsea Market last year.
In 2018 it was sued by client Michael Moriarty, who accused it of mishandling his collection of “around 1,200 bottles valued at approximately $100,000 to $200,000.”
Kris Green is one of two people charged over Sherry-Lehmmann’s alleged failure to store customer wine. The owner of a premium wine shop was spotted with a bottle of Lanson champagne that sold for around $50. Chris Green/Instagram
When Moriarty tried to retrieve his items, he was told that the items were “being disposed of for non-payment of storage charges.”
According to court documents, Moriarty owed about $7,000 in fees and offered to repay the money. But, according to the complaint, “the offer was rejected.”
Moriarty claimed that the wine was “actually, not disposed of, but rather on the shelf… for sale.”
Rubinstein, who represents Moriarty, told The Post, “Moriarty bought the wine at auction and the label was inscribed with Moriarty’s son’s name in the early 2000s.
Shyda Gilmer, a former saleswoman at Sherry-Lehmann, is co-owner of the embattled store. Seen with Krug Clos du Mesnil 1990 Champagne — now selling for around $2,500 a bottle — he’s being sued by customers. NYPost
“He entrusted the wine to Chelsea and the bottles were found upstairs in Chelsea’s grocer. Someone he knew saw it for sale. Chelsea just denied it.”
The case was settled in 2019. Chelsea’s attorney did not respond to a request for comment.
Sherry Lehmann’s death has also sparked outrage.
“I asked them to send my wine and it was rope-a-dope bulls–t,” one former customer who lost thousands of dollars on a rare Bordeaux, fumed to The Post.
“I was emotional about it because of the wine that was lost but also because I was cheated financially.”
Sherry-Lehmann was founded by the swindler father of former owner Michael Aaron, and was most recently led by Kris Green and Shyda Gilmer.
Michael Aaron, whose father founded Sherry-Lehmann, sold it to Gilmer and Green after two generations of making it New York’s premier wine shop. Christine Aaron
They are now being sued by at least one former customer. Gilmer and Green did not return calls for comment.
Although he is awaiting a court date in May, the former client said, “I have emotionally wiped it out. I didn’t think so [the owners of Sherry-Lehmann] to appear in May for a civil trial.
“It made me angry with the man [have been accused of] stealing good wine, living a good life and drinking what doesn’t belong to them.
“Sometimes I’ll have a glass of wine and think about my missing case. I hope I have them and that they are getting old for the next 10 years.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
