Wine Watch
901 Progresso Drive, Fort Lauderdale, 954/523-9463, Winewatch.com
First-timers to Andrew Lampasone's Wine Watch may be thrown off by the quirky Progresso Plaza location, where renovations seem to have been ongoing since the Clinton administration. The constant in the mostly empty work in progress is and always has been Wine Watch, home to roughly 2,500 vintages from around the world. Lampasone is among the leading wine experts in South Florida, and his palate is open to everything from affordable table wines from Spain and Australia to pricey collectibles from France and California. Chilled like a wine cellar, the shop stores its bottles floor to ceiling behind windows sealed with wooden crates. More like a den with a really great stash, Wine Watch provides a haven for serious oenophiles searching for the latest find and an illuminating experience for casual drinkers just getting turned on to vino. The labels look nothing like what you'll find in Publix, but you can't fail to take home something to your liking by simply asking for recommendations from Lampasone and his staff.
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