Location | Tote-bag Photo BradMandell |
3349 Monroe Ave, Pittsford, NY 14618 | |
in Pittsford Plaza | |
Hours (as of April 2010 via Website) | |
Monday - Saturday: 9:00AM to 9:00PM | |
Sunday: Noon to 6:00PM | |
Phone | |
585 248 0931 | |
Accessible | |
Yes | |
<comments AT CenturyPittsfordWines DOT com> | |
Website | |
http://www.CenturyPittsfordWines.com |
Century Pittsford Wines is a very large (45,000 square feet) wine and liquor store owned and licensed by Nicole Wegman and is now located in the lower, east end of the Pittsford Plaza in part of the space previously occupied by Cohoes Department store - below the recently-added Stein Mart and adjacent to the new Cheesecake Factory.
The store has a WiFi Reading area with reference books as well as wine-related books and magazines for sale. Visit the Rare and Fine Wine Room to see some special wines (not for sale) that you will only see in more elaborate wine cellars and high-end restaurants.
Background
Opened in April, 2008, Century Pittsford Wines is the result of the Wegmans family effort to acquire the former Century Liquor on Ridge Road West. Under NY State Liquor laws, a liquor store is licensed to one singular person and that person cannot own or operate any other liquor establishment in NY. The original plan to purchase Century Liquor and move it to Pittsford Plaza was thwarted by getting all the proper approvals from the state liquor control board. See references listed below.
References
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Wine retailers offer eco-friendly tote bags July 16, 2008, D&C
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Wegman pops cork on new wine store on MPNNow.com April 7, 2008
Comments:
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2008-06-29 17:55:17 This place is massive! Nice easy access location and will surely be a nice addition to our usual stops around town when we have visitors (as the Pittsford Wegmans is a tourist attraction!). We were a little disappointed by the abbreviated selection of German wines but still managed to find a few fun new things to buy/try. Prices seem reasonable and comparable to other places like Marketview in Henrietta. The staff was helpful and nice enough to show some personal interest in what we were buying - it was quiet when we were there late-ish on a Saturday night. Overall, a good experience and a place I'll consider shopping when the occassion calls for wine or liquor. —StephanieTodd
2008-07-21 19:17:44 Stopped by to check it out today, bought 5 bottles of wine - the prices were excellent. Got a kick out of the little partitioned black tote bags they sent us home with. Service was good and got help trying to find some info about Canadian wines (they don't carry them) but have a book on their reference shelf. —BradMandell
2008-08-17 15:43:34 This place is nice. I am very disappointed with their New York state wine selection. It is given two half aisles. I would go to Marketview for wine over this place. Their liquor selection, on the other hand, is far superior to Marketview. Prices are about the same. They are not offering the tote bags anymore which is disappointing. —ThomasVachon
2008-08-27 23:36:35 Went here to try to get a 1L After Shock after going to White House liquors down the road. Not only did they not have it, the wine n liquor head told me that they stopped making it 10 years ago. Um, really, then how is it that I can walk the 400 feet to the Liquor store on East Ave and buy the small bottle of it there? At any rate, they wanted to order a bottle for me for $29, to which I was turned off b/c I obviously didn't want to wait for it. So I went to Marketview and not only did they have both the small and big bottle of After Shock, but they had like 7 bottles of each. When I related this story to the clerk there he looked at me with amazement. So basically, I'm gonna avoid Century, which saddens me b/c I was a loyal customer when it was in West Ridge Plaza. —JETutty
2008-09-10 15:47:42 This place is absolutely massive. I'm not sure how anyone can be disappointed with the selection here unless they expect this store to specialize in every kind of wine from every country. It seems like they passed up a huge selection of any certain type of wine in order to give a good selection overall, which I prefer. I found two wines that I was unable to find at both Marketview and Henrietta Discount Liquors and the prices here are very good. I also was very amused at the little black partitioned bags, although I assumed that was a courtesy they could not afford to continue for long. —CatMagro
2008-09-10 20:32:22 I was disappointed with their selection of German wines. —EastSideStephen
2008-10-22 14:44:05 Pretty good wine selection and competetive prices, but I find their liquor prices on the high side. I'm a single malt scotch drinker and can find any of my preferred scotch elsewhere for less. —DavidRuekberg
2008-10-22 19:31:16 This is a great store. I saw Sherwood Deutch (the former owner of Century when it was in Greece, before Wegman bough it) and congratulated him on an amazing store. The place is significantly larger than the old Century, and the old store was very large. Their selection is particularly strong in French bordeaux and burgundies, and Californian cabernets. They have a nice, but relatively small German selection, but as a big fan of German wine, what they have is high quality. Their Californian chardonnay selection is good, but not great. There are some higher end chards I'd love to see here, but they're not currently being offered. But they have a fantastic collection of cabs - from a wide array of producers. Regarding their New York State wine selection, I think it's pretty good. If anything, it's better than before. Particularly when it comes to Long Island wines. Up here, most people probably don't think about Long Island wines, but they are very high quality and the new Century has several available. I am not a big Spanish and Italian wine expert, so I can't say intelligently whether or not their Spanish and Italian selections are strong, but there appear to be a wide array of options. The one comment about scotch is dead on. Century is not the place to go for single malts (or blends.. whatever floats your boat!) The guys at Whitehouse, just up the street in Brighton, have an excellent scotch selection and a knowledgeable staff. Century's liquor selection is wide and fairly priced. They are also the only guys in town (that I know of) that carry my brand of tequila (Corralejo) so that's a definite plus. They also have an amazing rare wine room that has a wide selection of first growths on the shelf, as well as rare vintage port, some cult cabs, and Grange Hermitage. Overall, one of my favorite stores in the whole city... I can literally spend hours there. Happy wine shopping! —DavidGottfried
2008-12-26 10:00:18 It's the first place I've found that carries Johnnie Walker Blue Label. Large liquor selection, respectable NY wine selection, decent pricing, and they gave me a tote bag on my first visit! It's like Best Buy for alcoholics! —BatGuano
2010-04-06 15:23:48 Regardless of what City Newspaper readers have to say - Pittsford Century is hands down the best wine and liquor store in Rochester! Wine and liquor selections and prices cannot be beat. Knowledgeable staff very helpful. Monthly specials are stupendous! I still frequent a couple of other small neighborhood shops, but my main purchases are from Pittsford Century. —JackPorcello
2010-04-21 19:51:42 Since the HOT guy at Tops plaza sold that liquor store to the new owners. I have been shopping at Century. The place is really nice, but the prices are a lot higher then the old Century in Greece. The new Century either needs to lower its prices or find and hire the hot liquor store guy from Brighton. —ncassidy
2011-03-13 21:06:00 The place is huge. I think its dirt cheap compared to some others. I'd have to take the Scotch comments as true as i don't know much about hard alcohol, but since moving to Rochester, i cannot find a better, or cheaper German wine selection. It appears they are closing a lot of it out, which is unfortunate. Hope they replace it with other offerings...i did get one of those black bags for free however, so i guess that promo is still going on —Sage
2011-03-13 23:32:55 I think the black bags are when you buy x number of bottles, I got one them like 10 months ago.
They change their wine stock selections a lot which is nice because there's always something new, but if you don't drink often and find something you like, you might not find it there again. Their selection of liqueurs is kind of weak though. They are missing quite a few kind of liqueur that most places would have.
Otherwise, this place has the best prices I've seen for 90% of things and their selection of wines can't be beat. —DamianKumor
2011-08-22 18:52:52 Haha I see my previous comment was censored! Well this place is alright I used to get annoyed with overbearing customer service but they have improved and it is more pleasant lately than it was a year ago. —JoeBernardino
2011-12-05 19:53:41 One of the best selections of wines locally. One other person said that the German wines selection was small, but I would have to disagree (although it's not actually huge, I'll admit). Perhaps this person was looking for Gewurtz or other Alsatian wines in the wrong area (Alsace is Germanic, but it's in France..)? While their selection of Italian wines comes in a close second to Mike Palmiere's store, nobody beats their collection of French wines (or Spanish, or Potuguese, etc.), and many items are exclusive to them alone. Particularly, look for the "Royal's Club" label on premiere cru Burgundy wines-these are 'overruns' of top-name vintners, produced on good years when the crop makes more cases than French law will legally allow them to sell on their best label. Often, you can ask, and they'll be able to tell you what chateau the wine is. i've found some really superb, mature wines on this label that would be worth $80+/ bottle being sold for maybe $20-$25. —Alex-C
2016-10-11 15:57:59 Obviously one of the top liquor stores in terms of selection and prices. Neither are perfect though. There have been a few wines that they did not have in stock. Most stores of this size will take requests, however. It is tough for a store of that size, but I have found employee knowledge better at other stores. —DE