Yesterday I visited a bar and the menu had a category called:
Selection de vins
After trying to google it myself, stumbled upon a name of a shop, which added to the confusion:
"Le Comptoir des Vins - Magasin de Vins"
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And a bonus question, in case it's not same case with the previous ones:
The words de and des are complicated because there are in fact several words spelled de/des and each has subtle rules. So I'll explain the specific cases here. Additionally, there's a subtlety in the use of the noun “comptoir”.
This is one of the few times where I think trying to formulate the idea in a different language can be helpful. English has its own difficulties with articles, but here it does help to illustrate the differences.
Sélection de vins
(I corrected the spelling) This is a selection of some wines. Here “de” is the preposition de followed by the plural indefinite article des. The singular form would be “sélection d'un vin”, which of course would be quite useless as “list of one wine that's available”, but is perfectly fine for the meaning “act of choosing a wine”.
The form “sélection des vins” also exists, but it has a different meaning: that's the act of choosing the multiple wines for a particular purpose that comes from the context. Here “des” is the preposition de followed by the definite article les. The singular form is “sélection du vin”.
Examples with context:
Notre restaurant offre une sélection de vins. (Our restaurant offers a selection of wines.)
Albert est chargé de la sélection du vin pour le accompagner le plat. (Albert is in charge of the selection of the wine to be served with the dish.)
Béatrice est chargée de la sélection des vin pour le dîner (un blanc et un rouge). (Béatrice is in charge of the selection of the wines for dinner (one white and one red).)
Carole est occupée par la sélection d'un vin. Je crois que c'est pour un mariage. (Carole is busy with the selection of a wine. I think it's for a wedding.)
(Vocabulary note: in most of these sentences “choix” would be more idiomatic than “sélection”. But that doesn't affect the construction of the sentences.)
Le Comptoir des Vins
Here des = de (preposition) + les (definite article). Originally, a “comptoir” is the table where a merchant counts money and, typically, hands the goods in return. In some markets, or at a large trader with multiple types of goods, there would be one table for wines, one tables for cheeses and so on. The “comptoir des vins” is the wine stall. We use the definite article because in that specific trading place, there is only one stall for wines.
Today comptoir is not much used in the sense of “place where the trade of goods happens” anymore (except in bars). So a place called “Comptoir des vins” is likely a separate shop. But due to the history of the word, “comptoir des vins” remains an idiomatic name.
Magasin de vins
Here de = de (preposition) + des (indefinite article). This is a shop that sells some wines.
Marchand de vins
Marchand de vin
In “marchand de vins”, de = de (preposition) + des (indefinite article): that merchant sells some wines. In “marchand de vins”, de = de (preposition) + du (partitive article): that merchant sells some wine. Both are equally idiomatic. The noun “vin(s)” can be singular referring to the substance which is not split into discrete objects, or plural referring to the multiple varieties of wine. (It could also be plural if “vin” referred to a discrete object, like bottles of wine, but that's not happening in this particular case.) In this example, both have the same meaning and are equally idiomatic.
“Magasin de vin” is also correct (it's exactly the same construction as “marchand de vin(s)”), but I don't find it idiomatic. I don't know why.
