Best Wine Store in Washington DC

What wine store do fellow Washingtonians recommend?

I buy most of my wine at Total Wine & More in McLean, VA. They have a huge selection and knowledgeable staff. But there must be other stores in DC that have a unique selection (e.g., Calvert).

The stores in Montgomery County are small and limited and usually don't have a knowledgeable staff - but I'm sure there are exceptions.

Thanks,

Dave

Schneider's of Capitol Hill
MacArthur's Beverages
Pearson's
Rick's Wine and Gourmet in Alexandria
Planet Wine in Alexandria

What kind of wine are you looking for? The Total Wine stores seem to be great for inexpensive and mid range US wines.

I strongly encourage you to try MacArthurs (aka Bassins). Of course, everything is relative, but when I lived in DC I ended up there 90% of the time. One of the great wine stores in the country, a lot of great finds there. Each of the staff members really know a few regions, find out what they are and have them show you some gems.

The best selections are probably Macarthur and Calvert Woodley. I probably do most of my shopping these days at Macarthur since they went to a policy of selling their wine at their sale prices all the time. They usually do have the best deals.

I also shop at Wide World of Wines. They buy wines knowledgeably if sometimes faddishly. When they put things on sale, their prices are very good. Get on their mailing list and in the course of a year, you'll find a fair number of things to buy.

Arrowine in Virginia is also worth getting to know.

Ditto on MacArthur -- in my opinion, easily the best store in the D.C. area due to the broad selection of wines, and the prices are better than average. One tip though, is to go online before you buy and pre-order because they don't always have all their wines at the store -- some are kept in off-site storage. That way, you'll get what you want when you come in.

Also ditto on Arrowine, which probably has a more idiosyncratic, eclectic selection of any store in the area.

Montgomery County is a wine buyer's no-man's land because the county government has a monopoly. All stores are either owned by the county or they must buy wholesale from the county. So selection and prices are usually sub-par. Which means the solution is to cross state (or what should be state) lines.

One tip though, is to go online before you buy and pre-order because they don't always have all their wines at the store -- some are kept in off-site storage. That way, you'll get what you want when you come in..

Conversely, they also have wines in the shop that are not online. The bargain bin of course, and then the last bottles of a wine. Once that hits the floor they take it off the website.

[James Roscoe]

I go to MacArthur's and Calvert when I am in DC. I also like Schneiders and Pearsons a lot. As I live in Bowie in the eastern MD suburbs I make a point of going to Corridor which is part of the Total Wine family for the every day stuff. King Farm Wines in Rockville is an excellent shop if you are out that way. In Baltimore I LOVE the Wine Source and in Annapolis do not miss the Wine Cellar on Forest Drive, Bay Ridge Liquors is another excellent Annapolis location.

MacArthur carries a great Loire selection! I see Mabileau is stocked, you guys should pick it all up (St N de Bourgeuil).

Also think the Spain selection is superb! Some nicely priced Rioja.

I just checked Languedoc, amazing prices!

Domaine L'Hortus 2007 Pic St. Loup 15.99. Most are under $20 and there are some big names there.