Flowercup Wine Is All About Natural Vino in Cold Spring

Photos by Alethea Hohenberger

At Flowercup Wine, you’ll find surprise and delight on every shelf, with an emphasis on small-batch, natural selections.

When Cold Spring residents Eliza Starbuck and Eric Wirth decided to open a wine store on historic Main Street, they weren’t armed with decades of experience in wine or retail. Starbuck had worked in the fashion industry and Wirth was retiring from a long career in publishing. What they did have was a desire to contribute to their village. “We wanted a shop that would provide a service but would also be a place where the community could gather,” says Starbuck, who was inspired by the camaraderie her old neighborhood of Greenpoint, Brooklyn, had built around its local wine shop and video store. “There were a couple of conservative wine shops here but no one was selling natural wines or had employees who really knew about wine.”

So in 2017, after spending a year scouting retail storefronts and learning as much as they could about the wine world, the couple opened Flowercup Wine, a 700-sq.-ft. space, complete with a wall-length chalkboard mural drawn by Starbuck and her 12-year-old daughter. Shelves are lined with carefully curated small production wines that range from raw and natural to more traditional varietals. (Starbuck likens the difference between raw and finished wine to “eating berries straight from a bush versus eating a well-crafted berry pastry.”)

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Laminated cards are hung next to each vintage, detailing which region the wine is from, how it was processed, and what its flavor profile is. “Coming into the shop is like a history lesson, says Starbuck, who counts the frapatto grape from Sicily among her favorites. “Nobody knows about Frappato and it’s amazing.”

Flowercup wine shop in Cold Spring

Starbuck’s current go-to is a Crémant du Jura rosé. “It’s sparkly and pretty and it makes me so happy,” she says. “When I open a bottle of wine, I want to imbibe something that’s special and beautiful.” Come fall, she’ll be pouring a Sagrantino, an Italian wine that’s “herby and rich, like dark chocolate” or a Rufete from Spain—a bright red grape that pairs well with holiday meals. “We get excited when we get a bottle that tastes like nothing else in this world,” she says. “That’s what we’re always on the hunt for.”

Flowercup Wine
82 Main Street, Cold Spring
flowercupwine.com

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Related: Wineries of the Hudson Valley: A Comprehensive Guide

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