Federal Wine and Spirits | 29 State St Boston, MA
 |
29 State St Boston, MA 02109 (617) 367-8605 www.federalwine.com |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The store has a nice facade in a neighborhood dominated by tall buildings and well polished stock brokers. At first glance, this is a posh wine and spirit store. Upon entering, however, the very cramped and cobweb-riddled interior is very different than expected. From floor to vaulted ceiling there are hundreds of bottles of wine and liquor. Initial thoughts are, “what a dump!”
This is until the labels are examined a bit closer. What is this? a Cognac from 1946? A 50 year old scotch? That’s all fine, but what about the wine? Well, it takes a journey into the basement. Follow the sign that reads, “Enter the Dungeon,” down a very cramped spiral stair case.
The “Dungeon” is filled with wine case boxes all marked with black magic marker. The journey takes you through the store office to a small clearing with wire bottle racks. The selection focuses mainly on French and American medium and high end “cult” wines. A hidden (and locked) metal cabinet in the corner contains top vintages from top wineries spanning multiple decades.
Any preconceived notions about the upstairs are now gone. This is a serious wine store housing some very serious wine in a building older than any bottle it contains. The staff is more than willing to help you find the perfect bottle of wine. They also hold weekly tastings with great themes. In the neighborhood, this is the store to check out.
