Christie’s is opening a boutique wine shop at its Rockefeller Center headquarters in New York, enabled by a new state law that exempts the auction house from Prohibition-era regulations prohibiting wine retailers from also owning vineyards. The law was necessary because Christie’s owner, French billionaire François Pinault, controls nine vineyards including Château Latour. The shop, called Christie’s Wine and Spirits, is expected to open later this year and will focus on fine wines curated by the house’s specialists.
The move matters because it signals Christie’s ambition to revive its wine auction business, which once led the world but now trails competitors Acker, Sotheby’s, and Zachy’s with $89 million in global revenues. By planting a retail flag in a wealthy Manhattan neighborhood, Christie’s aims to attract affluent bankers and lawyers, expand its U.S. market presence, and strengthen its wine-collecting services. The shop also follows a record-breaking $28.8 million single-owner wine collection sale last June, underscoring the house’s strategic push into the fine-wine sector.