The Wine Room
Finding the perfect bottle
by JESSICA L. FINCH Associate Editor

Neil Kratzer, owner of The Wine Room in Williamsville, offers a selection of wines from around the world that are of high quality and low cost. Photo by John Rusac

Tasting every wine he selects for his store, The Wine Room owner Neil Kratzer knows how to locate the perfect bottle for his customers.

Kratzer, who has five years of retail wine experience, opened the store on March 1. He said his focus is bringing quality wine to the area, wine that is not always well known, but is just as good — if not better.

“It’s a new store, with a huge selection for the size of the store. And is here to serve the village,” he said.

Kratzer grew up in Pennsylvania but married a native of Rochester. He and his wife, Melinda, moved to Milwaukee, Wisc., for Kratzer to pursue his career.

Finding they weren’t in the place they wanted to be, the couple focused on moving back to Western New York and settled in East Amherst in 1999.

“The people here are awesome. They are friendly and there is a sense of togetherness,” he said about missing WNY when he was living in the Midwest.

He brings that attitude into his store, offering his expertise to each customer in selecting the best bottle of wine.

Kratzer plans to expand this service by creating reference cards that will describe the wine based on sweetness, aroma and other factors, and suggest the best foods to accompany it.

“This would increase the odds that a customer will be happy with the bottle selected,” he said.

Another way The Wine Room helps patrons leave happy with their purchases is free sampling on Thursdays. From 5 to 8 p.m. four wines — two white and two red varieties — are offered by a tasting professional. Bottles of the samples are sold that evening at $2 off each bottle.

Doing business in Williamsville, Kratzer said he is surrounded by well-educated people who travel the world — where they sample wines. Once they return home they want to know how to get those wines here.

“I pick wines that are different and unique — not run-of-the-mill,” he said, adding that the quality and price are comparable to other wine retails.

This season an unusual concoction has been one of the best sellers. Chocolate Lab by Pleasant Valley, located in Hammondsport, N.Y., is a blend lambrusco red wine and chocolate.

“It’s delicious,” he said about the dessert wine that features a wide-eyed black Labrador on the label.

Kratzer took what started as a hobby and a passion for wine and began studying it. He spent about a year looking for a store to own before finding his location for The Wine Room at 5651 Main St., Williamsville, in the Ed Young’s Plaza.

The store is open from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Saturday and noon to 5 p.m. Sunday. For information, call 632-2525 or visit www.neilswineroom.com.