New England Spirits & Wine Purveyors
1246 Whitney Avenue
Hamden, CT

Square footage: 2,400

Years in operation: 7 months

By Sara Capozzi

Since opening in December 2025, New England Spirits & Wine Purveyors is quickly becoming a vital part of Hamden’s Whitneyville neighborhood. Run daily by owner Angelia Rorison and her partner, Joshua Allen, the boutique store offers shoppers a distinct selection within a casual and welcoming atmosphere.

The idea of opening a wine shop came about a few years ago, when Rorison was working in civil rights in Washington, D.C., and started feeling the push to do something different, inspired by the time she spent working in hospitality in New York.

“I was getting disenchanted with politics, and I wanted to go into a different venture,” she said. “When I was in my 20s, I had lived in New York City and was a mixologist and bartender at really great restaurants. … I’d been working in hospitality since I was 15 and learning about wines and wine lists, and [later] as I worked in more high-end restaurants, that wine knowledge grew even more and also my love for fine wine, food, great cocktails and also experiences. … I think wine, food and cocktails are always a great way to bring people together.”

Rorison was thinking she wanted to open some sort of business in hospitality, and when she got the idea to open a wine shop, it seemed like the perfect fit. “Everything just kept falling into place once that idea came about,” she said. “It really just seemed like the universe was blessing it.”

The couple relocated to Connecticut, where they both have family, and little by little the pieces fell into place. After finding the space, Rorison designed and installed much of the store’s Prohibition-era decor, with lavish wallpaper and vintage floor tiles, inspired by the time she’d worked in the city when classic cocktails and speakeasies began to become popular. Fittingly, the shop officially opened on Repeal Day in 2025.

New England Spirits & Wine Purveyors works with more than 30 distributors to curate the shop’s collection of unique bottles, specializing in wines from small, organic and biodynamic producers, unique craft spirits and liqueurs, with a plentiful collection of soju and nonalcoholic offerings. The emphasis is on quality and showcasing unique items with a story over stocking mainstream brands.

Rorison said the store has found its niche with clientele from the neighborhood, who are more likely to purchase a boutique brand over a big name.

In just over six months, New England Spirits & Wine Purveyors has become more than a store; it’s a place for the close-knit Whitneyville community to congregate, a “third space” like a coffee shop, as a customer recently mentioned.

“What people love about this neighborhood is that they have a post office, a library, a pub, a soup shop and a grocery store all within walking distance and now a package store as well,” Rorison said. “I have regulars at my tastings where they come to see neighbors they wouldn’t normally see and they all talk and hang out.”

Rorison serves as president of the Whitneyville Civic Association, which helps with economic initiatives around the neighborhood. New England Spirits & Wine Purveyors keeps in touch with customers through its social media channels with news of their upcoming tastings and educational events.