Being down the quiet side of Norton Street, down by the City West Link, which is actually quite…read moreloud now that I think about it, so perhaps my initial adjective was a poorly chosen one, is Amato's Liquor. One of a couple of business's that occupy the lot on the corner. What it is, is basically a warehouse full of alcohol. Like a Bunning's Warehouse of booze. It's huge. Wine's as far as the eye can see and a wide selection of beers and spirits. Ice is available in their freezers and bits and pieces necessary for a party are sold here as well. There is a parking lot out the front and trolley's are available should you be requiring a large amount of grog. While Amato's isn't the cheapest bottle shop, that's not to say that it's expensive, but it is not a discount retailer. Ideal for parties, when you're looking for a brand of beer or wine that is hard to get your hands on and when you're really really thirsty.

On the corner of Norton Street and the western distributor is a large brick building. People…read moredriving past on their way to Haberfield and Five Dock may have noticed but have never been interested in what lies inside the building. Go past the brick wall and around the corner into Norton St and you come across the driveway and parking area for Amato's Liquor. Amato's is a large warehouse-sized (600 sq ft) liquor store that carries wines, spirits and beers from all over the world but apart for a huge range of Australia wine specialises in Italian wines. They have a wonderful selection at all price points so that anyone with an interest, be they novice or confident connoisseur can purchase a bottle of vino Italiano. However, the rest of the world hasn't been left out, 35% of their stock is imported. Like all other liquor stores, they have wine in the fridge, which on a Friday night comes in very handy as there are so many BYO restaurants in the area. They also have case deals for people who want to buy in bulk. A cool-room especially to keep the beer nice and cold is at the front and the spirits and liqueurs are in easy reach on the wall facing the front of the store. With thousands of products in store and over 250 beers, the store can be a little overwhelming but Franc, who owns the store has plenty of help and they are always ready to suggest a product if you're not too sure what to buy. There's parking for about a dozen cars at the front of the store which is handy as there's no street parking at that point in Norton St. Also available: * Panetone (at Christmas) * Ice * Wine Accessories * Pasta / Sauce / Oil * Soft drinks * Confectionary * Glass Hire

Family run, N & T Luchetti is like a small, dimly lit super market. They have a large selection of…read morepackaged food and also alcohol. They are of course a little expensive, being a small company and not a huge conglomerate, but sometimes it's nice to pick up a few things from a supermarket and not be bombarded with fluorescent lighting and excessive marketing. What they have above the large chain stores is a great selection of cheeses and meats in their deli section. The family that owns and runs the store are ever friendly and it's nice to recognise a friendly face on the way into the shop. Great to pick up a few items and the deli has a large selection.

I live near a pretty damn exceptional liquor store. In fact my local will be my refuge of choice…read morewhen the zombie apocalypse hits. But if the outbreak hits Bondi first I'm heading straight for Leichardt. I could spend hours in the wine section just choosing a bottle for dinner- it's all clearly labelled with region, price, matching suggestions and RRP- all the info an amateur wino (I mean wine lover) could possibly need to assist in making an educated guess. The beer and spirits selection looks equally tantalising, but I was all about the entire section of bio-dynamic wines on offer at Vintage Cellars.

Good Morning, I'm…read morewriting to you in absolute frustration and disappointment. I have been a loyal client for many, many years. Please review my Vintage Cellars membership details to put my complaint into perspective. Reference Number 59952253 I placed an online order which I do roughly every 4 weeks. I am very particular about wine vintage and never, ever order anything that doesn't list a vintage. The above order included more recent vintages for both the Saltram and Taylor Estate Wines. On January 9th, I attempted to return these incorrect wines to the Leichardt Vintage Celllars at about 12:30 PM. I was greeted by a very polite and helpful woman who explained she could not process the return but her manager would be arriving at about 1 PM and could I come back. I'm sorry, I didn't record her name but I did say that I was disappointed she was not empowered to make this decision and as a loyal customer, I was now already put offside. At about 1:10 I went back to the store and asked a gentleman I had not seen before if he was the manager. He said, "No." The lady I had spoken to prior, then told him who I was. He picked up the box of wine and started to give it back to me saying he could not process a return if the order was made online. I suggested he should ring the police as I wasn't leaving until the credit took place. He then asked me if I had tried this at any other store. I said, "what difference would that make, but no I haven't." He then pretended to make a call and then processed the return. My complaints are: If Vintage Cellars is not going to provide the vintage as advertised then either don't list a vintage or allow me to stipulate somewhere 'no substitutions.' Allow returns in store regardless of the channel used to purchase them. Empower your staff to keep clients happy. At absolutely no point did either staff member apologise.

TO AVOID AT ALL COSTS! (unless you want exceptionally poor…read morecustomer service - you've been warned) This is the worst shop anyone can find in whole of Australia. They are so, so rude and abrupt and they don't really care, 'case they still have the customers, as no one imports/stocks wine from my home country :( When Anthony (Tony) told me no one was buying the wine I often purchased, I soon found out WHY, when I got a case of 4-5 corked wine bottles and was told to get stuffed and hand up phone on me... It's impossible to get them to smile or do anything nice for a customer. Even became postcode snob and won't ship if they don't know where we live... And one cannot avoid grump Tony (he should consider another career path, really), because Anna doesn't do much in the business anyways and always fobs off everything to him :(

Dr J's review is spot on. I've just been abused and hung up on twice! It's like they are the grog…read moreequivalent of the soup nazi off Seinfeld. "No wine for you!" I honestly don't know how they stay in business.