The Local Vine Cellar – Wine & Spirits

If you would like
–To be scolded for a mistake you made in timing
–Asked where you live to ensure that you come as soon as possible
–Threatened that your order will be sold to somebody else unless you right this moment give them your credit card number
–Then looked at like you are non-​worthy bug once you come in
do go to this store.
I have ordered a bottle of bourbon for my husband and could not make it on the day it came in, called the next day to apologize and was put through the above mentioned experience.

Amazing wine collection and great service. A place where you can get a wine pre party for $ 25 per person with cheese !

Fun selection of wines that is a nice addition to DC! The guys were knowledgeable and very helpful. Put together a nice mixed case of wine for me, as well as having four open bottles for tasting. I am looking forward to returning for my next wine restocking, as well as trying some of the interesting spirits that they have!

A wine store made fun? Yes! They have the ‘best’ wines and spirits.

Wow. At first I thought this was just wine. With the recent closing of Zola’s wine shop in the area, I was glad to see another wine-​focused shop. But, I noticed a display of gin in the window the other day and went in. Service was top notch. I was offered some samples of what was open and given just the right amount of guidance and advice during my purchase. Not the kind of place to buy name brand or nationally sold spirits, but for the special handcrafted spirits, a great spot.
Went back the next night for the apéritif tasting which was welcoming and informative.
Didn’t look at the wines in depth.

This place slipped under my radar! A block from The Old Post Office Pavilion.
Whiskey tasting at a wine and spirits shoppe! The first was the most unusual… I think of scotch and I think of Scotland… Distilled twice and aged in oak…
Amrut Infusion… Amrut distillery in Bagalore, India… INDIA??? Key word… Infusion. Made mostly from barley grown at the foot of the Himalayas and a small part of peat barley was sent over from Scotland. The latter was distilled in small batches before its arrival. 100 proof!!! Big noose up front and rich caramel, vanilla custard. Well balanced! Toasted coconut in the back end and a little peppery. Not the same complexity of an Ardbeg or Bruichladdich but it is getting there!

Ok… Next was another curve ball with a «Virginia» Scotch… Well this whiskey was created by finishing a Highland malt whiskey from Scotland in port-​style wine casks from a local Virginia winery. So technically it can be called a Scotch. I am not a fan of Virginia table wines but the ports and desert wines from this area are pretty good. This was smooth like a Craggenmore 12 yr but a little busier on the flavor profile. Complex and luscious with acacia honey and ginger notes then finished in French Oak port barrels. A little Raspberry and dark chocolate in the back end. I’m on the fence but it was tasty just the same.
Leviathan I. Bold up front sporting 53% alcohol by volume! Whew! Similar to Virginia Highland Scotch with the chocolate Raspberry thing going on… A bit of Cinnamon and toasted wood ! Tasty sipping. I’m digging this one! Slightly Peaty and this is where things get screwy with novice. They ask for this on the rocks… FAIL! Ask for a «Rocks Back» or «Water Back»
Next stop were two Rye Whiskeys Willet 5 yr and Redemption.
The Willet is smack you in the face, HEY I’M BOLD! I think this was over 50% alcohol by volume. This will definitely need water to cut it. I really dont think that this particular Rye was intended to be made into anything but a Manhattan. A little mint and fresh cracked black pepper on the nose and wet cigar (in a good way) with oak in the back end. Bold but my least favorite of the two Rye Whiskeys.
Redemption… I like the name right off of the bat! Distilled in Indiana and bottled in Kentucky. This is smooth but I think if it were given a little more time in the barrel, it would be awesome! Nice viscosity and texture! Kinda sweet and sour at the same time! Dried fruit, caramel, cardamon, allspice and toffee! A little old leather on the nose! AWESOME!!! I think this and a Hyde Park Maduro Robusto and a glass of Redemption will be in my future!

The guys who work here are really friendly. I’ve been a few times and always brought home a great bottle of wine. I wish there was a wider selection — kind of limited in selection and price in my opinion (maybe I just haven’t looked hard enough). For example, they have great wines but $ 30−40+ which is great however… sometimes you can find amazing wines for $ 15 but I don’t see that here…

I attended the Thursday free tasting 11÷15÷12. It just happened to be Beaujolais Nouveau day and I just happened to have departed from Central where I was stood up yet again. So I ambled up the sidewalk and into Local Vine where I was greeted warmly by a wine rep. We chatted briefly then started the tasting. It was almost closing so my little tasting cups were ¾ full instead of half full (bo – nusssss!!!) and that was just enough to put me over the top after 2 glasses at Central. Nice! Eventually, the wine rep packed up and left. Two store employees remained and chatted with me right up to closing time. They had some other bottles that had been opened for another tasting and the tasting continued. We discussed the Spanish/​Portuguese wine class that was to be held the next evening. I signed up for the mailing list in-​store on their iPad. I gazed at the art (the artist would be at the wine class the next day). Lots of stuff happened. During that time, I noticed one of my favorite South African Chenin Blancs on the shelf. I set it on the cash/​wrap to purchase it prior to closing. One of the wine fellows struck up a conversation with me about it. As a result, he suggested a S.A. Chenin Blanc that I’d neither heard of nor had before that was in the same general price range. Unfortunately, there was not an open bottle of –that– laying around so I purchased it on good faith of the congenial chit chat I’d had with everyone that evening. It was almost as if the chit chat had teased my inner wine personality out of me and they were able to detect thus suggest what they thought I might like. So, yes, while I can see why several prior reviewers of this establishment might think the employees were «standing around doing nothing» and wanted to rush in and grab a bottle for the cookout or whatever, selling wine is very much like fine wine… it takes time.
Tasting, talking about, and purchasing wine at The Local Vine Cellar is as good as it gets.
Original Visit 11÷15÷12

I’d give it ZERO stars if I could. As soon as I walked in the door, the clerk nearest me IMMEDIATELY got on his cell phone, ignoring me. Another clerk, sitting in the back, asked me what I wanted. They didn’t have it– i suspect that even if they DID have it, I would not have bought it there.
miserable customer service. I hope they go out of business.

I can see where the other Unilocalers are coming from, but first impressions can be deceiving. In my experience, the employees have been extremely friendly and helpful (and I’m in my mid twenties). Once, during a conversation, the sales manager let me know that as a new business, they’ve been wary of government officials checking their carding/​IDing policies — which is why they’ve been extra cautious on that front.
They actually go out of their way to host wine tastings, offer coupons to members of their mailing list, and accommodate their customers as much as possible. I’m a fan, and will be back!

We stopped In to pick up some wine for a week at the beach with our family. After being treated so rudely by the loudmouth lady working we left angry without any wine. I would rather give my business to someone who actually respects and appreciates people rather then degrades and belittles! Some wine descriptions and knowledge would be helpful!

To echo Sissy’s previous review, I’m in my upper 20’s and am gainfully employed, yet when I stopped in to visit I felt like the employees treated me like a 15-​year old getting my grubby prints on the display cases in Tiffany’s.
When I first came in, there were three employees chatting around a table near the front, and one employee behind the register helping the ONLY other customer there. I tried to smile and make eye contact with the three employees at the front but was thoroughly ignored. I walked around the small store and looked at the racks of wine that have NO descriptions about the wines, other than their regions, and after about three minutes of feeling stupid and unwanted I turned to walk out. I figured that if I was going to spend $ 20 on a bottle of wine, I should expect better customer service than I’d get at 7-​Eleven. I was at the door when one of the women at the front was like «oh, did you need help?» After I warily said yes, she told me that their resident wine expert (the woman behind the counter) would take good care of me. Which makes me wonder at the job descriptions of the three who were having a tea party at the front of the store (i.e. doing NOTHING), but regardless.
So the resident wine expert finishes chatting with the other customer and then the customer leaves, making me the only customer. I explained that I was looking for a nice wine to bring to a Fourth of July barbecue and was looking to spend roughly $ 20. She stared at me blankly. I tentatively offered that I usually like sauvignon blanc. She lit up at this, and briskly rushed off to one of the racks. At this point I’m thinking that maybe I misjudged the place, and that perhaps I would get helpful input after all.
The resident wine expert then plucked a bottle off a shelf and said «we have this, which is $ 13.» She plucked off another and informed me that it was $ 16, then another that was $ 15. I’m not recalling the prices exactly but she was just throwing prices at me. I asked if she could tell me anything about these wines, like their tasting notes (trivial details, right?) and she looks like I’ve just asked her to do a somersault through a flaming hoop, then slowly informs me, in her why-​are-​you-​such-​an-​idiot voice, that one of the wines was aged in steel barrels. Then she re-​shelves everything and shoves one random bottle at me and says «I think you should try this one, you’ll love it.» Eager to get out of that uncomfortable environment, I took her word for it, and booked it to my barbecue, where I promptly felt like a moron for spending $ 16 on watery, tasteless swill that I’d pass up for three buck Chuck any day.

I would HIGHLY NOT recommend this place to anyone. Service is really poor and the employees REALLY need to learn a thing or two about customer service. Really snobby and pretentious employees. Apparently, if you don’t look above the age 30, you will be judged and written off as «free loaders». Because obviously no one under the age of 30 has a legit job or can afford to purchase wine? This place hasn’t been open for long and at the rate that they’re going, I wouldn’t be surprised if they got shut down. There are PLENTY OF OTHER local wine stores close by with good wine and a lot better service.