Maple Shade, New Jersey, may be only 90 miles from Brooklyn, but it may as well be on another planet. “Nice Town, Friendly People,” says the sign you see as you enter this wholly unremarkable suburb of Philadelphia, sandwiched between the Cherry Hill and Moorestown malls. Yet unassuming Maple Shade is home to one of my favorite wine bars—Versi Vino—though you might miss it along its busy, nondescript stretch of Route 38. Versi Vino is located in a strip mall, flanked by a place where you can donate plasma, and counts a Dunkin’, a nail salon, and the 38 Tobacco Mart among its immediate neighbors; across the highway you’ll find a Maaco auto body shop and Western Pest Services.

Once you walk inside Versi Vino, however, the quotidian traffic, noise, and commerce disappear. In calm, low light, you’ll peruse a list that leads with 45 wines by the glass (including six sparkling wines), all of which you can order as a two- or four-ounce taste. Immediately, you’ll see that you’ve left behind the Pinot Grigios, buttery Chardonnays, and big, oaky reds of typical suburban Jersey menus. And that you're in one of the best wine bars in New Jersey.

Versi Vino’s wine list is deep, diverse, and of the moment. How about a full-bodied Burgenland Gemischter Satz from Prieler (with Gelber Muskateller, Grüner Veltliner, Muscat, and Welschriesling)? How about a splashy Sémillon rosé from Australia’s Yetti & The Kokonut? A bright, vibrant Albillo white from Spain’s Sierra de Gredos? A complex Cabernet Franc from Loire star Bernard Baudry?  An elegant Lagrein from Alto Adige? A sparkling País from Chile? Cool, savory red Schioppettino from Friuli?

Over a glass of Listán Blanco from the Canary Islands, I recently asked Versi Vino’s owner, Christine Zubris, the obvious question. 

“Why Maple Shade, New Jersey?” she replied with a laugh. “Well, the less glamorous reason is it’s the only place I could afford.”

In New Jersey—as in many other states—liquor licenses are prohibitively expensive. A half-million dollar asking price for a license is common here. A recent liquor license in the nearby town of Mount Laurel sold for $1.3 million. Zubris paid $300,000 for her license, a veritable steal. “It’s mind boggling— it’s truly insane,” she says. “But that’s why there are only chain restaurants or BYO around here.” It’s also why, this winter, New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy signed legislation to overhaul its arcane liquor laws.

Zubris, who grew up in Brooklyn and Ocean County, New Jersey, says she drew a circle around her home and looked for locations within a half-hour drive. “I didn’t know if a wine bar would work in the southern New Jersey burbs,” she says. “I was worried. The suburbs are a different beast. We’re near massive restaurants: Olive Garden, Capital Grille, the restaurants at the Cherry Hill Mall.” Within two miles of Versi Vino, there’s also Carrabba’s and Maggiano’s, as well as Outback and Longhorn steakhouses.

“That’s why we have a kitchen,” she says. “Originally, I just wanted it to be a bar. But I realized that in the suburbs you couldn’t pay the bills without being a restaurant.” There’s a solid roster of upscale bar snacks here—dumplings, grilled octopus, mussels, flatbread—as well as a deep selection of cheeses and charcuterie.

There’s also a small retail area, where guests can buy the hard-to-find bottles they’ve tasted. Zubris says this retail space kept Versi Vino alive in its early days. It was originally set to open in March 2020. That didn’t happen for obvious historic reasons. “Instead, we opened as the world’s saddest wine shop in July 2020, with no indoor dining,” she jokes.

These days, wine by the glass is the main attraction. Zubris changes her wine list every 60 days. “There’s always an element of the season,” she says. “Some of it has to be fun and interesting, unique grapes and unique regions. But some have to be ‘comfort wines.’” She defines “comfort wines” as “something for someone on a first date, who’s nervous, and they can order a wine they know. It’s never just weird and funky.” Which is why there’s always something like a Super Tuscan blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot from Bolgheri. Or a Chardonnay—though it may be a unique rendition from Beaujolais. Or a Pinot Noir—though it may be from an off-the-beaten-path source, like Corsica.

Still, her 60-day rule for her list means that it turns over six times per year. And with the logistics of offering mix-and-match flights of all 45 wines, she admits this is “really hard and expensive to do. It’s also hard on the staff. But Versi Vino is an experiential place. That’s why I like to change the list and keep it fresh.”

Before opening Versi Vino, Zubris had no background in wine or hospitality. She has a degree in chemistry, and for many years sold software for a biotech company. For that job, though, she traveled widely in Europe and spent her company per diem on great bottles from the major wine regions. By the early 2000s, she started collecting wines, first from Tuscany, then elsewhere. 

By the mid-2010s, she’d begun several certifications, including WSET. (She’s nearly earned her diploma.) “I was all in on wine as a hobby,” Zubris says, “but I was still selling software. I told my husband, ‘I need to be working in wine.’” Her staff often begins where she did: “Most know nothing when they start here. I teach them everything.” She also teaches a regular schedule of wine classes for customers, which are always packed.

“Hospitality is not just knowing wine facts. There are real people, and there are wine people,” she says. “I get way more real people here.”

As it should be in this unassuming strip mall on Route 38, deep in the 'burbs of Jersey.

Top Picks from Versi Vino's Current Wine List

2021 Marco Sara Friuli Colli Orientali Schioppettino ($25)

Schioppettino is a native grape of Friuli in northeastern Italy. This light, tannic, and joyful high-acid red bursts with notes of purple flowers, wild berries, and white pepper.

2021 Prieler Kalkterrassen Gemischter Satz ($25)

Gemischter Satz is the Austrian name for field blends, which in this case encompasses Gelber Muskateller, Grüner Veltliner, Muscat, Sauvignon Blanc, and Welschriesling. Lively and refreshing with fresh stone fruit and white blossoms, and a dry, chalky finish.

2022 Accadia "Evelyn" Verdicchio ($25)

Thanks to 40 days of skin contact, this orange wine from Italy’s Marche region is floral and juicy, with bright tropical and stone fruit, and underlying black tea notes. A great intro to skin contact wines.