Best Cellars

Best Cellars is closed.
The employees were pleasant and the selection of wine was better than the average beltway establishment. Their items cost just a bit too much and they were never crowded except for their Closing sale.
Too bad.

I really wanted to like this store, especially considering the great reviews so far. My friend and I came in last Sunday after brunch, and were at the very least ignored by the two staff members inside. We slowly circled the wall of wines, reading descriptions and comparing different bottles for several minutes before heading over to the tasting table.
Apparently I didn’t exist, because not only did the staff member not acknowledge my presence, but she continued to converse with a couple who was in front of me.
Rude, much?
We left, and will not be returning.

This place does not have a enormous wine selection (about the size of one you would find at Safeway down the street) but what it does have is wine that’s very good for the price. I find this wine shop the perfect place to go if I’m looking to buy a gift or find wine for a special occasion. 95% percent of the time I have no idea what I’m looking at so I ask someone who works there. And they are always very helpful in helping select a wine.
The people that work here are quite knowledgeable about food and wine pairings as well and have not failed me yet. Nor has any bottle of wine ever failed to impress a gift recipient or dinner party guest. Other pluses include wine tastings and an interesting beer selection.

We have to stop here anytime we go to Clarendon because… they have free tastings everyday! And sometimes you’ll try something new that is really good.
they have a great variety of grapes and the people there have tried most of them so they can give you a good recommendation.
A great little wine store.

They don’t have a huge selection of wine but they always have my favs. The staff is great and they are more than happy to let you sample!

Dude, Best Cellars — where have you been all my [legal drinking age] life???
A friend of ours won/​paid a lot of do re mi for a private group tasting here at a charity auction, and was kind enough to include husband and me. It was the first time I’d been inside Best Cellars, but once I stepped through the doors I instantly regretted not checking this place out sooner. The concept seems — to me at least — like pure genius: making wine affordable and accessible to the masses («the masses» being young professional folk who love vino but aren’t interested in dropping hundreds of dollars a pop for it, and haven’t taken sommelier classes in order to appreciate properly the legs and bouquet of each wine). Like, *duh*.
Others have mentioned the exceptional ease of buying wines here. It’s all true. Wines are separated out and organized by flavor profiles: «Fizzy», «Luscious», «Smooth», etc. Really it means that varieties are grouped together like anywhere else, but it does make approaching your selection a bit more of a breeze. Feel like a light-​bodied red to go with «Glee»? Head on over to «Juicy.» Looking for something dessert-​y to accompany the biscotti at your dinner party? You can’t miss with the «Sweet» section. Wines are presented charmingly, slid into their own backlit slots vertically on the light wood walls. Best Cellars is modern, bright, and open, showcasing those wines like fine art.
But unlike some uptown gallery, you won’t have to sell your first-​born to afford wine here. All the bottles displayed on the walls are $ 15 and under. Wines in the center of the store get pricier. So there is truly something for everyone. Including a vast array of microbrewed or artisanal beers and ciders (they even sell growlers!), from Delerium to Abita to Climax. On our visit they had all kinds of seasonal brews, which sent husband into a rapture as he filled his arms with Pumpking and Heavy Seas pumpkin whiskey beers.
The staff is supremely knowledgeable, helpful, and friendly. Themed tastings every Tuesday in the store. You get 5% discount on any two bottles of wine, 10% off six, and 15% off a case. *And* you can mix and match wines. Deep discounts on a mélange of wines? Thank you, BC!
–1 star for: the very limited and fairly expensive selection of Virginia wines; and the fact that our tasting (while quite nice with five different selections) featured microscopic pours, despite someone paying a tidy sum for it. Major props for introducing me to the Austrian zweigelt grape, tho. Horizons = happily expanded.

New Favorite: Bitch Bubbly! Excellent– on the sweeter side.
My favorite and only place I buy wine now. They have tastings often. Discounts are given for 6 or more bottles that you buy, along with different holiday sales. You will be so happy when you go to this place, you can get red, white, champagne. They do have some specialty beers.
The staff is wonderful and if you tell them what you are in the mood for, they will find it for you! You can also get wines from a variety of prices. The cheapest bottle I have gotten was $ 8. They do have more expensive bottles. Excellent experience you will enjoy.

I love this place! I found a wine awhile back that I completely fell in love with, but I couldn’t find it any ware but Maryland:(Because I live pretty close to Best Cellars, I asked them about ordering it for me and to my surprise, I had my bottles (you don’t even have to order the case!) within a week:) This could be dangerous now, but I appreciate their help, friendliness and overall atmosphere of the store.
Thanks Again!!!

If you love wine you cannot walk past this place without heading inside. The fact that they always have tastings of interesting and reasonably priced wines, as well as their unique system of categorizing wine (by type, how it tastes, etc as opposed to rigid systems like country of origin or grape type) makes this a very approachable place to experience wine and find something that you will like based on your personal taste. My GF and I somehow always seems to walk past, and and then into, this store.

What I should probably note ahead of time is that I am not a wino. I probably couldn’t tell the difference between a fine aged red wine from one where you smushed the grapes with your feet and bottled it in your own basement. But, since I normally buy most of my wine from specialty shops, I operate on solely staff recommendations, which has worked out pretty good so far.
I came to Best Cellars since I was in the neighborhood and was quickly helped by a staff member who could somehow read it on my face that I had no clue what I was looking at. He and I talked about flavors and textures I do like since I couldn’t quite make heads or tails of anything they had in stock (told him I like lighter wines, with fruity notes and oh, nothing that’ll break the bank). The staff member quickly picked out a lovely French wine that (surprisingly) only had a price tag of $ 12. I can’t remember the name of the wine but when I go back, I’m sure they’ll be able to find the same one or recommend some new ones to try.

I like this place. They have tastings every day of the week and they usually offer a good selection on the tasting bar. Their wine selection is varied and largely well priced (I can’t comment on the beer, since I can’t drink it – celiac disease). None of their main selections costs more than $ 15, though they do offer about 20 – 30 wines that cost more than that. The tasting notes are extensive and simple (and mostly accurate, but not always). And I’ve never met a Best Cellars staff member who was anything but friendly and accommodating.
You can get good-​quality wines for lower prices at Whole Foods down the street (and many more if you’re willing to drive to Trader Joe’s), and this place can’t hold a candle to specialty wine shops like Arrowine. But if you’re in the neighborhood and you’re looking for a $ 10 bottle to liven up your evening, chances are you’ll find something to fit the bill at Best Cellars.

Best Cellars– two stars right off the bat, you carry local craft beer from VA & MD AND you allow dogs in your store.
The prices are reasonable and you can always find a nice bottle of white, red, rose or sparkling for under $ 10.
Beyond that, the beer buyer (an awesome and knowledgable guy) gets bottles that neither Total Wine, nor Arrowine can obtain (for example, they recently got a shipment of Simple Malt from Montréal). They do a reasonable job of showcasing VA wines, for what they’re worth (some much more than others).
BC exudes no snootiness and with its doggie-​friendly-​ways can appease any Francophile.

Being the responsible community member that I am, I try my best to stay away from the big boxes when there’s a locally owned option in the vicinity. And since I’m a total wine whore, I find myself going into Best Cellars about twice a week for my Sauvignon Blanc fix (in the summer) and to get my Cabernet on (year round). Even though there are stores with more variety nearby, the prices in BC are very reasonable and the staff is ready to suggest a wine if you ask. They have a good range of wines, although I wish they’d stock less of the organic junk and just give me good old fashioned European juice full of sulfites, real corks and exorbitant prices.
I’ve never bothered doing a tasting because I do my own tasting back home when I finish an entire bottle while watching Top Chef by myself.

This is such a great place, whether you’re completely clueless about wines or are quite the oenophile. The staff is very friendly and knowledgeable so don’t be afraid to ask questions. They always seem to have tastings going on – usually two whites and two reds.
This past weekend, alongside the wines, they also had the Purple Haze raspberry wheat beer as part of the tasting. I’m actually trying to develop my beer palate so it was nice to see them expand in that direction. Although their beer selection is small they seem to have a really well edited selection with some interesting offerings. My friend was really excited to see that they had Longboard beer, which she hadn’t had since she was in Hawaii.
The setup in the store makes it really easy to get to know wines and to pick one you might like. Wines are grouped as «soft», «sweet», full-​bodied”, etc. instead of by grape type or region. Most of their wines fall under $ 20, while there is a small center rack with pricier items like Dom. There are small placards that give a helpful description for each wine, so even if you’re unfamiliar with the labels or the type of wine, you can get a good idea of the flavor and feel of the wine before purchasing instead of blindly guessing based on a vague label description.
I was impressed that they actually had five or six roses – beyond the white zin you usually find in a lot of wine stores. They also had a Sauterne, which can also be hard to find, at least not at such a bargain. Plus, they had a honey mead that I was very tempted to try.
In addition to the store tastings, I’ve come for a specially organized wine tasting to support a charity organization. For this tasting, we had a half glass of each wine we were tasting, instead of just a sip from a little plastic cup, and there were cheeses, chocolates, and fruits to go with the wines. It was a great event, and I really enjoyed the explanations the staff member gave about each wine.

Had a wonderful time at a wine tasting event here to benefit the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. So here’s how it went: Everyone came in, was handed glasses to which the host came around and poured in some wine from wine#1. Then as you’re tasting he explains things like the background and origin of the wine, what it tastes good with, the different flavors and textures you are currently experiencing in your mouth. Very insightful actually. Then when everyone is through with wine#1, we do the same thing with wine#2, etc. There were 5 wines tonight. It was so enjoyable because everyone was having a great time talking with friends, meeting new people, eating the cheese & crackers and drinking these wonderful wines. I went with 3 friends. When we left, we came out with 4 delicious bottles of wine (and you get a wine tasting discount). I would definitely come back again. Highly recommended.
I’m still pretty new to wines so this was definitely the perfect event to attend.

This review is partially a thank-​you to a wine shop that has treated me well for over three years.
Since I discovered this place in the middle of Clarendon, I’ve come back again and again and never been disappointed with either the recommendations or my personal selections. In my humble opinion, this is the best wine store in Arlington (and for those who would argue on behalf of Arrowine, I’ll not be returning to that establishment (see my Arrowine review for details)).
For those who criticize the idea of Best Cellars as «not-​a-​store-​for-​real-​wine-​buyers», by all means, keep patronizing your favorite local shop. This place carries some of the best quality wines of numerous varietals and is willing to embrace the idea that price-​tag doesn’t neccessarily equal a wine’s measure of superiority (read: most of the wines in the store can be purchased for under $ 20). The staff are willing and able to help those with even the most elementary knowledge of wine-​buying/​drinking.
I don’t claim to be a connoisseur, but I know a few things about the wine’s that I tend to buy and enjoy. I won’t swear off larger and more expensive wine stores like Planet Wine in Del Ray or Paul’s in DC, as they absolutely have their merits, but I firmly believe that the best bang for your buck can be found right here in Clarendon (and apparently in Dupont; the location of another branch which I’ve yet to visit).
*Note — These folks carry two of my all-​time favorites (of any price range): Frederic Esmonin Bourgogne (from – you guessed it – Burgundy Region of France — the ’05 was the best, but ’06 and ’07 aren’t too shabby) and Trapiche Pinot Noir (an outstanding, fruit-​driven wine from Mendoza, Argentina). Both of these bottles are under $ 20.*

I was cautious that I would walk in and feel way under dressed or be shunned for my only sub par knowledge of wine, but thankfully this was not the case at all. I’m sort of just using Unilocal to help me metatag and always we able to look this up again by mentioning a wine I got there and have loved for a long time but always forget the name, so here goes, try it out sometime.

Wine really liked good, Sipavola Rossa di Sicilia Red
1. Sipavola, Rosso di Sicilia (Nero d’Avola & Cabernet), 2006
A blend of 65% Nero d’Avola and 35% Cabernet Sauvignon. Aromas of black cherries, blackberries, spice and floral notes. It is medium-​bodied with moderate acidity and soft tannins.
How does it feel to be used? HOW?

Best Cellars is by far my favorite local wine shop. The staff are always engaging and friendly, the tastings are fun and easy-​going, and of course the fact that all the wine is reasonably priced is a bonus.
I have had a few total misses from here, but on the whole everything I’ve tried has been great. And they carry Oliver Winery’s mead– I worked there in grad school, so it always warms the cockles of my heart to see that name here on the East Coast. Even if it is by far their cheapest and silliest wine!

ADORABLE shop filled with wines under $ 15 (though they have a center isle with «classy» wines that are over $ 15). Stop in for a wine tasting to get an idea of what they have to offer.
Keep in mind this place is the exact opposite of wine snobbery. They have tons of really fun wines where you don’t need an amazing palate or knowledge to appreciate.
They apparently deliver for free to the locals who don’t want to carry back a case… but… we tried to get it delivered and it was never delivered. Instead we were delivered long winded excuses without any of the promised returned phone calls.
They carry one of my all time favorite guilty pleasure wines: Oliver Winery’s Mead. So delicious, but be careful, you can easily suck a whole bottle dry yourself!

They had Strongbow Cider and I got a free Guinness Pin.
Need I say more?
:)