Storeowner Hitesh Patel put his hand on his forehead and shook his head, when asked how many different kinds of wines now are sold at the Liquor Depot on Saulsbury Road.

    “That is hard,” Patel said. “There are a lot of different kinds of wine.”

    The Liquor Depot held a grand opening Aug. 29 to celebrate its 3,000-square-foot expansion, dubbed a “wine cellar” that contains rows of bottles of Cabernets, Merlots and White Zinfandels. The selection ranges from Italian and Australian imports to California labels, such as Sutter Home and Woodbridge Winery.

    The cellar also includes a climate-controlled room, used to store high-end wines, ranging from $40 to $200 per bottle, at a 60-degree temperature.

    “If we don’t have a wine and someone asks for it, we can get it,” Patel said, noting the store can special order products for customers.

    Patel has owned Kent Plaza Discount Liquors on Route 13 for 10 years and opened Gateway Liquors in the shopping center near Food Lion approximately three years ago.

    At the end of 2008, he moved his store to a new location in the plaza and opened the 7,000-square-foot Liquor Depot with the hopes of expanding the space to provide a greater selection of wines in addition to micro-brewed beers and liquor. 

    The store spent approximately four months doing construction on the expansion, and Patel noted that customers will benefit from having a large selection of wines in Dover and not needing to drive as far as Wilmington or Rehoboth in search of a good bottle.

    “It will be more convenient for them,” he added.

    The Liquor Depot is open from 9 a.m. to midnight Monday through Saturday and from noon to 8 p.m. Sunday.

     For information, call 736-3050.

     Email Elaine Hughes at elaine.hughes@doverpost.com.