Will be visiting Baltimore and Washington DC. Looking for recommendations of wine shops worth visiting near Baltimore’s Inner Harbor or Bethesda outside of DC.
Good people.Good selection.
Ask for Paul or Ian.
+1
Isn’t that Big J’s old stomping grounds?
MacArthur Beverages is just over the DC line from Bethesda and is an outstanding shop.
MacArthur Beverages is one of the best wine shops I have been to. I am originally from Bethesda, and every time I visit, I visit MacArthur.
Here is the website: http://bassins.com/
Yes. Great shop, great people.
+1 on MacArthur in DC. Good selection and well staffed.
Thx all!
MacArthur’s is very good, but it is also a good 20 minutes away, without traffic.
Calvert Woodley.
http://winemarketbistro.com/ I have enjoyed several lunches here and have purchased wine. It is near Fort McHenry, not too far from the Inner Harbor. The two DC wine shops I have been to on a somewhat regular basis are Macarthur Beverages/Bassin’s and Calvert Woodley. I know some of Macarthur’s wines are stored off site and the same may be true for CW. You might want to peruse the website and order ahead so that your wines will be in the shop on the day of your visit. For example, if you are interested in backfilling some Burgundy vintages, those might need to be brought over to the shop from a warehouse area.
(The first one I listed is the same as The Wine Market already noted above.)
In DC, Calvert Woodley has the advantage of being on the same block as a Metro stop (Van Ness/UDC) on the Red Line, just a few stops away from Bethesda. Bassin’s, which has the widest selection and is the second most convenient, has already been mentioned; the other shop that comes to mind is Schneider’s on Capital Hill, not far from Union Station, which is tiny but sometimes has worthwhile deals and back vintages (they buy/sell cellars).
Depends on what you want to drink. Bassins/MacArthur is great. If you were going for Good Friday, Blacksalt next door has great seafood. (It’s a fish market during the day.)
Weygandt Wines is off the red line in DC and specializes in Burgundies, but Peter the owner is branching out to many other areas in Europe. Tim who works the shop is a denizen on WB.
Calvert Woodley is great if you are looking for imperials of Yquem, but generally speaking expensive for what they have. (Selection is VERY well curated and the long time staff is very knowledgeable.)
I didn’t drink much wine in Baltimore when I lived there, but find the shop where the Wine Guys on WYPR (public radio) work. That would be the shop I would recommend up there. Otherwise, I’d default to Eddie’s in Roland Park. (Must be Roland Park! Not the one near Hopkins) Or Wells Liquors which despite the name, carries a lot of wine.
For Baltimore, +1 on both The Wine Market (great corkage policy; buy from the shop and they’ll pop it in the restaurant for $10 or 15 I think; they’ll also pop whatever you bring from outside so long as they don’t sell it; I think corkage on that is $25). Bin 604 is the closest decent wine shop to the Inner Harbor. The Wine Source is up in Hampden, which is a very funky and eclectic little neighborhood about 5 miles from the Inner Harbor. Worth a visit in its own right; take the bottle to the Corner BYOB to pop it with some crazy game meats, like Kangaroo.
DC: +1 on both Macarthurs and Cal-Woodley. Both are excellent options.
Correct, but the Bethesda options are non-existent, no?
None worthwhile in Bethesda. Do Weygandt.
I have found the prices at CW to be very competitive with other DC wine shops - not cheap compared to places in other states, perhaps, but comparable to MacArthur and others around. (The sales make things a lot better, though).
Calvert Woodley generally has at least a few dozen items on sale, sometimes at the lowest prices in the country. Also, here’s a special tip: The Giant Food grocery store on the same block often has CW sales coupons on the back of its receipts. You can go into the Giant and look for castoff receipts in the grocery carts (or even buy something!) If the coupon is available, the sale is buy three bottles, get a fourth of equal or lesser value free; sale and sparkling wines not included.
+1 on Weygandt Wines as well – they are one Metro stop south of Calvert Woodley. Although there isn’t anything worth looking at in Bethesda itself, the Metro’s red line is right in the heart of Bethesda, and it’s a short ride to either Van Ness/UDC (for Calvert Woodley) or Weygandt (Cleveland Park). You could easily stop at both places and be back in Bethesda in two hours (depending on how long you spend shopping, of course). ![[cheers.gif]](/uploads/db3686/original/2X/0/0ff9bfcdb0964982cd3240b6159868fbdf215b1a.gif "cheers"){kind=small}