Newold Wine World

New Old Wine World is an independent wine merchant somewhat incongruously situated on the lower floor of the otherwise soulless and predictably formulaic New Town Plaza on the corner of Jiangdong Middle Road and Caochangmen Street. The authentic wine merchant feel of the shop is no mere ersatz veneer as it houses a good range of sensibly priced wines from the major regions along with some of the emerging ones – including a judicious selection from China’s new wine stars – right through to the classed growths of Bordeaux and the top Burgundies, which are never sensibly priced anywhere. Fortified wines and various malt whiskies are also to be found, with a surprising selection of Madeira wines amongst the ports. But where this place really excels is in the lack of gormless sales assistants who seem to come in only two sizes in Nanjing – either unable to tear themselves away from their smartphones or running at you with a terrifying high octane sales savagery. The staff here are friendly, helpful and knowledgeable and if you are lucky enough to catch the boss, Mr. Fang Bin, he has more than passable English and really knows his wine onions, more than enough to convey a good recommendation from a stock which is more keenly priced than the supermarkets on any direct brand comparison.