Bouchon: Franklin Ave Uncorks a New Wine Shop

A new wine shop has joined the gang of new businesses springing up along Franklin Avenue.

Bouchon, located at 305 Franklin Avenue, officially has put a stick in the ground as the sole wine shop in Western Bed-Stuy, joining only three other wine shops – and , both in Central Bed-Stuy and on the Southern end of the neighborhood.

Bouchon, which means “cork” in French, sits near the corner of Lafayette Avenue, right next door to on the Franklin side, across the street from .

The shop opened ten days ago and currently carries 135 different types of wines from all over the world – France, Argentina, Spain and California. But according to the store’s co-owner Nadir Khelifi, within the next month, their inventory will grow to close to 250 wines total.

Khelifi, a native of Paris, France, moved to Bedford-Stuyvesant 15 years ago. Although he does not profess to be a sommelier, he insists that he and his partner, Stephane, who is also from France, are very knowledgeable about wines and had been planning to open a wine shop in the neighborhood for years.

“I always wanted to open something around here, and then my friend, Thierry from Dough next door said, ‘You know, I have a spot next to me; You should come,’ and so here we are,” said Khelifi, who also owns Café Lafayette in Fort Greene. “I love it here. I will never leave.”

The store is large, cool and spacious, and the variety of its wines appears to be equally as grand.

The owners plan to hold a wine tasting in the next 2-3 weeks, but first, they are working on building a mailing list and regular customer base. They’re also still putting together their wine inventory, which they say will fluctuate and depend upon customer demand.

“We just opened, so are listening to the customers right now,” said Khelifi. “We want to see the reaction and hear what people will want.”

For example, based on customer requests, Buchon soon will be getting wines from South Africa and Australia and also more Rieslings.

“In a month, we’ll be covering the whole world of wines,” said Khelifi.

Khelifi ’s recommendations? For a good, fruity red with very little tanons, he recommends the Beaujolais Gaulois. For white, he suggests the Sinsèritè, which is light, tasty, affordable and is sold at a few restaurants in the area.

Bouchon is open Monday through Sunday (yes seven days a week!), from 1:00pm – 9:00pm. The store also delivers, 718-399-6900.