The Wine Specialist

Definitely overrated. Not better or worse than other liquor stores in the area. Plus they don’t carry any 12-​pack beer bottles. It’s all 6-​pack bottles probably because it’s more profitable? You might say they focus on wine but it’s really bad for a liquor store to not carry something you can buy at any grocery store with an alcohol license. My two cents. Thought the current rating is a bit misleading.

When I don’t want to buy cheap-​o wine, I always go here because…
Service:
I LOVE the guy that owns this place. He is so nice, like the old wine-​loving grandpa I don’t have. Whenever I go in, he asks if I need help and gives great advice, but if I just want to browse, he does his own thing. I’m budget conscious, and he always recommends great wines and champagne in the price range I can afford. Plus, they always have lovely classical music playing.
Selection:
There’s a wide variety here. I’m sure wine aficionados would be pleased. I have a soft spot for Chilean wine and can always find something I enjoy (I recommend Cabernet Sauvignon from Chile). You can get beer and liquor here, as well, but I’ve never looked to see what’s there.
Price:
There’s a decent range from under $ 10 to over $ 100.

Good selection with knowledgable staff. Guy was reading at the register while I initially browsed. Did have everything for which I looked — Italian white plus (California) Mendocino sparkling wine.
Pricey but maybe typical for the downtown location.

Good selection. Friendly staff.

I can’t say enough good things about this place. Most importantly, they have the cheapest liquor in the area. Seriously, the same bottle of bourbon will be $ 5 – 10 less here that at any of the other stores in the area– on P, M, and I. The owner is great– very helpful, very friendly, very funny. And his sidekick doesn’t say much but I think I just like him because he’s always there, being the sidekick. They obviously have a large wine selection, but they also have a sizable refrigerator of beer, including some of my favorites from Chicago, and the bourbon my girlfriend likes among many others.

I don’t get the sense that the staff know much here. I twice asked questions but the big guy inexplicitly harumphed and walked away.
Now, I’m no pro, but I’m not a dandy either. My questions about their scotch were not ridiculous enough to merit summary dismissal. So I’m thinking he was just ignoring the questions because he didn’t know the answers.
Still, the prices were decent so whatever.

FYI — this liquor store is very much still in business! Very friendly and helpful staff, seemingly average prices.

Hey everyone,
Just so you guys know. The wine specialist has moved to a new location. Not much further from the old location. It is now on:
1133 20^th St. NW
Washington, DC

I googled to find the best booze deal on the internet, and lo and behold it was here in DC, just a hop skip and a jump from home! So tonight, with an intense fear that I’d be stuck at home without alcohol over the let’s-close-everything holiday I came in two hours before closing to stock up on things to warm the soul…
I stared blankly at the Amaretto (for about 12 seconds) until a man jumped up from behind his desk and hollered to me, «Can we help you find anything ma’am?» (In the South, «ma’am» is polite… and we’re in the South… so…) I asked if they had a larger bottle. (I’ve realized I like Amaretto better than any other drink ever, so I should have it around.) He pointed out the larger bottle that came packaged with two glass bowls. I don’t need two glass bowls, but I took it. The man did offer to remove the bowls if I preferred…
Then I grabbed some Chambord for my hot chocolate, and ran for the hills. The transaction was smooth, and the staff friendly and helpful. This place has some real estate that I didn’t get a chance to fully evaluate, but if you want it, they got it.

Those of you reading my old reviews or my wine blog might have noticed my unabashed affection of Mission Wines (South Pasadena, CA), a neighborhood shop that featured wonderful, often idiosyncratic wines and friendly, knowledgeable pourers. Well, I’m in DC now, and I’ve been forced to find new drinking grounds.
Luckily, there are quite a few in a five– to ten-​block radius of where I live in Foggy Bottom. My favorite is The Wine Specialist, an unassuming storefront on the corner of New Hampshire and M.
It might be because DC is a young-​person town, but The Wine Specialist is completely unpretentious. Rob, the proprietor, and J.C., the Spanish/​German wine buyer, are both extremely well-​versed and approachable. In fact, they’re so approachable that they will approach YOU if you’re looking around for… say, a wine to go with Hungarian paprika chicken.
They offer free wine tastings, usually multiple times a week. They have a wide range of selections from France, a large number from Spain and Germany, and a good collection of California wines. They have the ubiquitous wines there, but what I like more is that they have a great deal of delicious, inexpensive wines that are perfect for the college or grad student budget.
If possible, try to get a few friends to go and buy a case: you get 10% off!

The youthfulness of the staff at the Wine Specialist cuts through a lot of the snobbery associated with wine. You like fruity New World wines? No problem. You want a low-​priced bubbly to celebrate with? They know just the thing! You’re in search of an obscure wine you had with dinner at Citronelle? They still have one case left!
Whether you read about it in Wine Spectator or had it with dinner at a friend’s studio apartment, the friendly, knowledgeable folks at the Wine Specialist will help you find it. And they’ll do it without a hint of judgment or superciliousness. Now that’s my kind of wine store!

Went here for the Unilocal event oh so long ago. First, I was very impressed with the tasting. The lady serving wine was very friendly and knowledgeable about each selection. I can’t tell a box wine from a Bordeaux, but enjoyed each wine.
The sakes available for tasting were excellent. Excellent in the fact that I liked them enough to buy a bottle. All previous sake I’ve had tasted like rubbing alcohol, so I was surprised by the taste and was glad to find something better.
The rest of the store looked to be stocked with a decent selection of wine, beer, and liquor. I grabbed a bottle of english ale in addition to my sake. There was a decent and interesting selection of brews.
The store had plenty of choices, and I would definitely head back for another tasting.

TWS has been a huge influence on my life in wine. Around the same time I was ready to start drinking more than chardonnay, I was blessed to work a few blocks from The Wine Specialist. It’s was those damn Thursday tastings that really opened my eyes and tastebuds to some incredible things.
I wish I knew the guy’s name who I always tend to shop with, but he rocks. Kinda young, VERY knowledgeable and fun to talk to. I described something I had in Napa and we went back and forth until he found something pretty special for me that met the description. Nice to be listened to and get a true personal recommendation. The selection is so big that you can get excellent bottles on any budget.

This is the wine shop I have been looking for since moving to D.C. from wine-​obsessed San Francisco. They recently hosted a great Unilocal sake and wine tasting event and poured some nice wines and even nicer sakes.
As seems to be the case throughout DC, they have a heavier emphasis on old world wines than California wines, but they had some gem California wines — including older vintages — that I had trouble finding in stores even back in the Bay Area. The staff was very attentive, too.
I’m definitely looking forward to spending more time and money here.

The Unilocal event was a blast. Thanks, Wine Specialist, for all that delicious free (!) sake, served with a smile. They also prepared fact sheets about the wines and sakes we tasted. (I’m glad I waited ’til later to read of sake’s history: Early versions involved «the communal chewing and spitting of rice into a large tub…»)
They do lots of these free tastings. Calendar here:
It’s next to Meiwah, about halfway between Foggy Bottom and Dupont Circle (maybe a 5-​minute walk to either metro station).

A huge selection of wines, liquor and beer in a convenient location.
I haven’t been able to find any stores with this large of a wine selection inside of DC, and they have a lot of excellent wineries available. There’s also an amazing selection of microbrews and trappist beer available, as well as a wide array of sake.
The prices also seem pretty reasonable, so I will definitely be back.

These guys host a great sake and wine tasting event. If I had the opportunity to try different varieties of sake before, I wouldn’t have limited my sake drinking to dropping sake shots into large glasses of Kirin.
They also have the largest selection of whisky i’ve ever seen. Once I figure out what to drink, I’ll be back. Of course, having a wiskey tasting event wouldn’t hurt.

OK, so I’m attempting to be the first one to talk about the Unilocal Sake and Wine Tasting Event here this evening, otherwise Miriam is going to do bad things to me — she has a vicious streak that not many people know about!
I had never been here before, and must admit, despite hearing about it, I didn’t realize it was in this location. We arrived at 5:30 and of course were greeted by Miriam who had organized everything wonderfully — name tags of course, a raffle for a sake basket, and all of the fun Unilocal goodies. On top of this, she had even put together a tasting brochure, including an education on sake (which I sorely needed).
The store, including the ‘tasting section’ set-​up, made for a crowded atmosphere — what better way to get to know other Unilocalers — and if you needed space, there was always the rest of the store to browse around, or some fresh air outside.
The wine tasting included a selection of whites, reds and roses (not the flower, but you get the idea without accents!), and the sake tasting contained a fairly extensive selection, including unfiltered, which of course Miriam had advised me to ask for.
The staff were incredibly knowledgeable and friendly — and patient too considering the swarms of waving empty glasses. The wines we were tasting were good — certainly not outstanding, but in the 3 – 4 star ‘Yelp range’, and all priced under $ 25 (with an extra 15% off for the event). I’ll leave the true sake experts to give the general impressions on what was offered, but as I’ve never been a sake fan, probably due to having lots of cheap, bad sake, I was actually pleasantly surprised that I liked all but one. And if that wasn’t amazing enough, I ended up buying two of the bottles, including an unfiltered sake — maybe this Miriam knows what she’s talking about!
It was a fun evening in a great store — I was particularly impressed with their selection of single malts which made me a little home-​sick! As usual, it was an absolute treat to meet the Unilocalers, those I’d met at Poste, and people I hadn’t met before. It was also great to finally pull Simona away from her studying for a night, and introduce her to the group.
I will certainly return to The Wine Specialist, and would recommend it to others who may not have stumbled across it yet. I would also recommend checking out their website — very informative, detailed descriptions of all their wines, sakes and spirits, and you can even order online for delivery.
And of course, a huge thanks to Miriam for organizing the event to her usual incredibly high standards.
(OK Miriam, am I safe now?)

I can’t believe I stayed for over a month just round the corner from this place before I noticed it, although it is currently tucked away next to some construction work and you could be forgiven for thinking that the Chinese Restaurant on the corner just carries on.
Even then, I was nearly put off by the name. I was looking for somewhere to buy a few beers, and «The Wine Specialist» didn’t sound too promising. But I decided to check it out anyway and I’m very pleased to say I wasn’t disappointed.
I can’t comment on their wine or spirit selections (but the other reviewers have covered that) but I can say that their range of beers is very impressive, as well as the usual suspects there’s a great range of beer from smaller breweries (including Magic Hat, a personal favourite from trips to Vermont) which will give me plenty to sample during my time here.

I don’t know much about wines (other than the fact that I like reds, especially sweet fruity ones) and don’t really enjoy whites. Whenever I am going to a friend’s for dinner in the city, I stop here to grab a bottle of wine to bring. The staff knows a bunch about wine, and will answer all of my stupid questions. That’s a good thing because the selection here is a tad overwhelming.
The offerings here do not stop at wine. The store also carries a good selection of sake, cognac and single malt scotch. My dad is a scotch snob so it is always nice to know I can come here in a pinch. We haven’t decided on whether we are going out on New Year’s, but either way I think I am gonna spring on the champagne sampler from this place.
The prices are a bit on the high side, but they often host free wine tastings and other events here– probably to loosen you up, and your grip on your wallet.

3.5 stars
March 08
I dropped from 4 to 3.5 stars based on my last 3 visits to the store. On my last visit I may have been 1 of 2 or 3 people in the store. Staff had the music turned up and were at the back bar talking about how f’ef up someone had been — which is fine if someone had been paying an ounce of attention to anyone. After about 30 minutes someone came and asked if I had a question or needed help. I actually do like some of the staff here and think they know their wine and spirits — but they need to learn a little more about good customer service.
Their selection is wonderful — wine and single malts. They have an excellent selection of wines from California, Italy, and to a lesser extent France — Spain and Argentina are just ok. Their prices are often a little higher than suggested retail, but you will find some hard to find wines at this store…
Nov 07 update: I recently went to the Wine Specialist — and to my surprise it seemed as though they have reduced some of their prices — a lot of the stuff is at retail and below — and items on sale as well. Plus I found a real treasure (04 Nvmanthia) — and the price was reasonable.
I really loved this place when Danny White worked here. He looked like the mayor from Monopoly — he had this big handlebar moustache and shaved his head. Then he married a chef and he got bigger too — and they soon headed off to Las Vegas. DC has never been the same. I worked with someone at Bonny Doon Vineyard that referred me to Danny — and from the moment I introduced myself I always felt like I was a close friend. OK, so I lived with 3 women at the time (Danny loved them) and he always came to our parties with a case of wine — so it may have been that Danny liked my housemates more than me…
Bill then stepped in at the Wine Specialist — he was great too — a friend once ordered wine via phone to have delivered — she didn’t live in DC but was told to call the wine specialist by the folks at the Four Seasons… so she ordered something and then gave delivery details — and he said «Tom D_​_​_​_​?! He is in here all the time — you should get him such and such instead» — she was a little concerned that a wine merchant would know me so well…
I hate to pay their prices — but time and again I stop in as they have a lot of hard to find stuff… and their scotch collection is amazing — and there is a kid there that really knows his scotch too.