Down East Wine Imports

Passionate, friendly, unpretentious, and helpful staff with wines that are not available at a lot of other places — really happy about their selection. Their prices aren’t cheap though. I think they can get some better prices out there.

This place sells wine. Lots and lots of varieties and price points of wines from all over the world and the store is laid out in a very easy to navigate manner.
They also sell some cigars. And a touch of cheese, too.
It’s important to note the verbiage there, because I was initially lured in by the promise of wine and cheese (admittedly one of my favorite food groups). However, there are only a handful of cheese options offered in a small cooler in the corner of the store. Not what I was picturing when I read their sign outside. I also thought it would be more interactive with wine and/​or cheese samples… But it was (atmospherically speaking) kind of stale.
We spotted a couple bottles of things we were interested, and after bopping around town for a while, we came back to buy one of the reds we saw. There were no explanations of the wines (am I just spoiled by Trader Joes and their descriptive tags for each bottle?) so we asked the woman working what we should expect, hoping for an informative, interested dialogue with her. «Well, it’s a Cabernet Sauvignon.» That was her response. I said, «So we should expect a thicker red more appropriate for winter and probably not super refreshing in the summer? Do you think it would make a good sangria? What are the prominent flavor notes?» She finished ringing me up and said, «Again, it’s a pretty typical cab.»
(It was a hot Sunday afternoon in August, so maybe she was just dreaming of drinking a glass of vino by the ocean?)
So I’ve got this bottle of wine that I have no idea what it tastes like (lie: I did some research on Ye Olde Google and am now well informed). Would I come back here again if I was in the area? Sure! I would just make sure I was coming here for something very specific (like the Cavicchioli 1928 Prosecco, which I’m so glad they carry! What a creamy, delicious prosecco that is — definitely try it if you’re a fan of bubbles!) or have my phone handy to answer the questions I undoubtedly will have about what goes good with what, the viscosity, the notes, etc.

Was in the area on vacation… This wine store is under new management as of a week or so ago. Supposedly this store was a little shaky under the previous owner but now they have a solid selection of good wine. Staff seems knowledgeable too and the store itself is in a great location. The area definitely needs a store like this.

This looks like a nice enough little wine shop. If you’re in the area and you want to pick up a bottle of wine, you’ll probably find what you’re looking for here. Personally I think Charlie T. is being a little harsh by giving the place one star because his tastes didn’t match those of the person working in the store. Seriously, if a wine is undrinkable, bring it back. Ah well, most people know better than to pay attention to a newbie who’s only written two reviews.
I saw some familiar labels and a lot of new ones, but we didn’t ask any advice or buy any wine because it was a hot day and we would have been carrying it around for a while. Maybe next time.

Let’s put it this way — whoever the lady was that sold us three bottles of wine — don’t quit your day job. Oops — this is your day job. She sold us two of the worst bottles of wine I have ever encountered. They were undrinkable — and — she cooed about how wondrous they were. Maybe she has a limited palette — or maybe she has none.

This wine shop is just what Kennebunk needed. It is the perfect place to pick up an affordable bottle of wine. Their staff is friendly and is full of helpful suggestions.