The Wine Garden serves St. Clair Shores with passion

ST. CLAIR SHORES — Tony Batou knew alcohol was his passion back when he started his first retail location in 1995.

Batou, Owner of The Wine Garden, started developing his zeal for spirits right out of the gate at 21 years old.

“I went to a lot of beer tastings, wine tastings, liquor tastings,” he said. “Sometimes almost 40 or 50 a year, probably more.”

The original location of The Wine Garden was just four blocks south of the current address, located at 22425 Harper Ave. It was just a matter of time before Batou realized the need for a bigger location and more space.

“I knew this location would be great. March of 2015 will be five years,” he said. “I had the opportunity to buy it in 2008, renovate it and remodel it the way I wanted to.”

The former banquet hall now holds all of the beer, liquor and wine an enthusiast can dream of. Narrow aisles allow customers to weave in and out of huge stacks upon stacks of alcohol.

Gin, whiskey, bourbon, vodkas and other liquors can be found up front

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