5 New York Wines to Seek Out — According to Sara Velazquez of Slug Wine
A Catskills wine shop owner shares five of her favorite NY wines
Every other week, we ask someone with real experience and insight to share a quick “Top 5” from their world: design, hospitality, food, nature, and the quieter corners of culture that shape how we travel. It’s a chance to hear directly from people who genuinely live and breathe these spaces and experiences, and a small bonus for our paid subscribers.
We kicked off the series with Casey Scieszka — writer, innkeeper, and co-owner of Spruceton Inn — who shared her Top 5 Motels in the U.S., drawing from years spent restoring, running, and reimagining one herself. Tom Roberts of Homestedt and North Branch Cider Mill weighed in on the most charming shops, while Hudson Valley–based brand Big Towel shared their Top 5 saunas — a winter-ready reset rooted in ritual and design. More recently, wedding photographer Joshua Brown shared his five most photogenic venues across the Catskills and Hudson Valley, while Drew Frankel of Impact Concerts and Assembly highlighted five standout music spaces in the region.
For this week’s installment, we’re turning to Sara Velazquez — owner of Slug Wine in Jeffersonville, NY — for her take on five standout New York wines worth seeking out.
5 New York Wines to Seek Out — According to Sara Velazquez of Slug Wine
Sara Velazquez owns Slug Wine, a small but carefully curated wine shop in Jeffersonville focused on natural and biodynamic bottles from independent producers. The shelves lean toward small-batch wines with character: Jura standouts, earthy skin-contact whites, versatile reds, and bottles that reflect the places they come from.
Slug operates inside Sullivan Sundries, a specialty food shop in Jeffersonville that has quickly become a gathering place for the town’s growing food and retail scene. The space also houses Bloom Coffee, Deli Cat, and r52 Home, a vintage and modern home goods shop — creating a small cluster of businesses centered around good food, thoughtful sourcing, and independent makers.
Sara and her husband Dan opened Slug Wine after settling just across the Delaware River from Callicoon. The two now run the wine shop together as part of the region’s evolving creative community.
That perspective makes Sara a natural guide for this list. While New York wine is often associated with the Finger Lakes, the state’s producers now span multiple regions and styles, with a new generation of winemakers experimenting with organic farming, native fermentation, and more expressive approaches to terroir.
Below, Sara shares five New York wines she believes are especially worth seeking out right now.
Enjoy,
– Erin + the EB team