Stinson Wine, Beer and Spirits

Great selection! They carry a barrage of speciality beer, wines and other spirits that are hard to find at your standard, run of the mill liquor store. The staff are always very cheerful. They’re knowledgable and happy to help each customer find a specific item or recommend something new. This is my go to place. The store is always very clean too. It feels upscale. But the prices are fair.

Best liquor store I’ve ever been to, hands down. Extremely friendly staff and a very diverse selection of booze.
Would recommend to anyone who is looking to get something thats not rail or beer in bulk. I will be sad when I move as I doubt many future places I visit will be as good as this one.

awesome shop. knowledgeable people, great selection. Reasonable prices.

This place is great! It is small but well-​stocked. The staff are always so friendly and helpful, whether I need help selecting some port wine as a gift for my brother (he has specific wish lists) or some bourbon to make a hot toddy (for my summer time cold). They always treat me with respect even when I look like some random underage kid (which I am not). They also provide free gift wrapping!

I love this place! I have stopped here every few weeks since they opened. Daniel, Bob, and Tim rock and now I’m getting to know the other employees as well. They are always helpful and help me carry things to my car. They are always friendly.
They also have a great selection of wine, beer, and liquor. They are constantly getting new and different types of selections which I appreciate.
The parking lot is part of a strip mall and pretty narrow, however, I’ve never had an issue finding a spot. In fact, in the 2.5 years I’ve been going here, there has only been one time I couldn’t park right in front of their store.
Seriously love this place and the people that run it!

This is the closest liquor store to my house and I can say I have always been pleased. Their staff is super nice and knowledgeable, they regularly have tastings in the store. The beer selection is top notch. They have a big bottles section, build your own 6’er, standard cooler windows and a walk in for larger boxes. Not much into wine but they have what I am looking for, decent box wine and cheap spanish reds. They have all the whiskies that I have ever been looking for. The only thing keeping them from a perfect score is that their parking lot is small, weirdly shaped and busy.

First time to this fairly new place. I like obscure beers and locally made fruity wines. The clerk quickly explained the wine layout and I was impressed by the growing collection of Mn made wines. The entire selection of wines neatly categorized could keep me going for hours but we need to move on. Craft and beers with weird names and labels is a fast growing industry and I’m sure this store has just about every brand they can find in distribution. I know distribution is a huge problem in Mn so I applaud their effort to pull brews I haven’t seen elsewhere.
The only drawbacks to the location which isn’t the fault of the stores is the lack of traffic control for this little mall. A left turn on 18^th from Stinson is a dangerous move, it’s better to enter from the West on 18^th. Another odd thing there are people just hanging out it appears in the parking lot.

I go mainly for the beer and I like to make my own 6-​packs. They have a huge/​outstanding selection of single bottles of beer. Plus the staff is knowlegable and super helpful. There are a lot of liquor stores closer to where I live, but I go out of my way to shop here.

We came to Stinson very specifically because we heard they had Bent Paddle beer in stock, and indeed they did. Hooray!
But in general, I thought it was a very nice little wine and beer store. There was actually a very large wine selection (probably a little more than half of the store is wine), but we all know I’m a beer gal. The beer selection was good, surprisingly deep for the amount of cooler space they have. We found the Bent Paddle we were looking for and picked up a couple of other surprise finds as well (we just can’t help ourselves, can we?). Pretty much all six packs unless you want a case of something. Prices were a bit on the high side but not ridiculous. Staff was friendly and fairly knowledgeable.

Have stopped in here almost weekly for several months for their weekly beer tastings… Pretty much always the same friendly staff working! Have found several great tasting beers along the way too… Have stopped in on a few random ocassions to pick up beer as well! Stopped in today for their anniversary sale of… Bent Paddle! Picked up a sixer of some and also grabbed some Brecekenridge Ameber to try out! Glad these guys are around and support Sunday Sales! Thanks for the past year, may you celebrate MANY more!!!

After a lifetime of lite beer I’m glad to have found a place that has such a wide selection of local and not so local beers. I’ve done the wine tasting and spent too much money. Haven’t checked the section of liquor so much.

Stinson Wine & Beer makes it just so easy for me to pick up a bottle of wine or a mix-​and-​match 6-​pack filled with craft beers local and non. This somewhat small but very efficient space is a welcomed addition to a neighborhood that has been dry since the Prohibition! They carry an impressive selection of 22-​ounce bottles, with everything from Belgian lambics to deliciously hoppy local brews. A huge assortment of individual cans and bottles lines the pick-​your-​6 wall, where you can mix and match as much as your little heart desires! You can get anything from Stella to Indeed with Chuck U’s awesome art on the cans (a little Northeast pride in this girl!).
Now for the wine. My husband is always embarrassed by me when I have to ask for wine: I detail the flavors I do and don’t like and look with pleading eyes at the server to bring me something that fits. Well, the guys at Stinson have never steered me wrong! I recently went in and asked for a bottle of wine that tastes like a barnyard. And they understood me. The wines are multifarious and there’s without a doubt something for everyone, no matter your price point or palette. There’s a wide assortment of sparkling wines as well as a whole lot of booze, but I mostly stick to the wine + beer.
I am so glad this shop is in my neighborhood. The staff is helpful, unpretentious, and always friendly, and it’s a perfect locally owned alternative to that cacophonous big-​box hub across the street!
Stinson Wine & Beer, you get me.

While I was sad to see the coffee shop/​restaurant go, the liquor store that was put in is fabulous! The folks at Stinson Wine, Beer, and Spirits are friendly and knowledgeable, and there is always enough staff floating around to answer your questions or look in back to see if they have a requested item in stock.
Their shelves are always full, and they have a great selection of everything — beer in particular. I think my favorite part of Stinson WBS is their beer selection, mostly due to the fact that there is one tiny, sad little cooler door where the Bud Light/​Coors Light/​Michelob Golden Light lives, and about ten bright, happy cooler doors where the craft beer lives. They’ve got plenty of well known craft beers (Surly, Boulevard, etc…) and an awesome selection of stuff that I’ve never even heard of.
Stinson’s pricing is good — consistent with other stores I’ve seen around town. Stop in the next time you are at the Quarry, and grab a sammich at Jimmy John’s next door. Two birds with one stone!

I’m an avid wine & beer snob who frequents the big name wine shops and happen to run across this shop after a friend told me about it.
I wasn’t Wow’ed by the volume of wines to choose from but did find the wine prices between $ 6.99 — $ 25.00 very affordable for a good bottle of wine. In comparison to the other varietals — their French & Italian wines were quite expansive & broken down by region which was very helpful. I had many of the wines they carried and consider them to be my good standbys when I need a quick wine for a party — yet they have many wines I haven’t tried before and they were very impressive. I can be assured that of the wine’s I’ve tried none of them have been wines I didn’t like (except I don’t understand French wines).
I don’t know about Jennifer’s experience, but I had nothing but positive impressions of the staff. The guys were friendly, suggested great wines, were helpful and were also interested in knowing who their customers were. They even asked if I had recommendations of wines that they should consider. Honestly — I think she’s bitter she didn’t get her postcard sooner.
They also have a very nice beer selection. I don’t recommend going there if you’re looking for Coors Lite or Bud, but if you’re looking for unique beers & hard to find beers this is the place to go.
I live in SE St. Paul/​Woodbury and make every effort to come to this beer & wine shop over any others that are much closer for the experience, beer selection & prices.

I’ve made a few visits to Stinson Wine, Beer and Spirits and each time has been a wonderful experience. The staff there is very friendly, and has been willing to walk around the store showing me some of their favorite beers. They also are very knowledgeable about their product and were able to make some good recommendations based on my taste. It’s great to see a liquor store in this area with more choices for microbrews and local beer. I will be going here many more times!
Also to respond a bit to the review from Jennifer S:
1. They’re perfectly entitled to drink beer after 9pm, just not sell it.
2. How is it their fault that the parking lot is busy? Also every time I’ve been there, I’ve gotten a spot right away.
3. The staff has always been incredibly friendly, helpful and knowledgeable when I’m there.
4. What the hell do college kids in the parking lot have to do with anything? You’re knocking the place for things that are totally unrelated.
So in other words, don’t listen to the complaints of an old lady who clearly just has a bone to pick with the world. This place is awesome.

I just made my first visit to this establishment and I was incredibly impressed. My cousin lives right up the street and told me a while back that this store was going in soon. We decided to check out the Grand Opening as they we’re offering a beer and wine tasting as well as a special discount in honor of their new business.

The beer and wine selection is impressive, and I got the impression that questions and discussions regarding such was more than welcome. I also really appreciate the aesthetic feel of the space as well. It’s laid out very cleanly and doesn’t feel at all too stuffy. I bought some of the craft beer I was introduced to at the tasting and the price was very reasonable.
I would like to directly address Jennifer S’s comment and counter by saying that every employee we encountered was nothing short of enthusiastic, knowledgeable, and professional. I’m a regular guy just going in to find some good beer and don’t need a stiff formal welcome. I appreciate a friendly exchange with a small business owner and if that makes me a «douchebag», then so be it, bro.
I will definitely frequent this place, and recommend it to any and all of my friends and family in the neighborhood. Thank you for a great experience!

This store has been on my radar since I got a postcard in the mail asking me to come to a neighborhood meeting supporting their proposal to open a liquor store in this space. Apparently, it was zoned as such, but the neighborhood had a small, vocal opposition that had prevented this in the past. The postcard was told a story of a couple with wine and marketing backgrounds who were looking to fulfill their dream of opening a small, specialty liquor store. Nice idea, right?
I guess it went through, because soon I saw signage and found their page on Facebook. I was a little surprised to see, after following them, that they were doing late night beer reviews from the store after closing and posting pictures to their FB page. My understanding is that there is some pretty strict regulations surrounding the sale of liquor in MN, and that practice seemed particularly suspect. At the very least, the use of the photos for marketing purposes probably wasn’t a great call.
I was still kind of jazzed to have them be so nearby, though, and open until nine on weeknights. I stopped in for my first time this afternoon.
Meh.
The parking lot is abysmal. It has never been a very good spot in that respect, and with the constant traffic that a liquor store generates it’s downright dangerous. I saw two cars nearly have an accident on my way in, and I nearly hit an incoming car on my way out. If I were one of the neighboring businesses, I would be pissed.
The next part of my experience I’m struggling to describe. I was greeted as I entered the store, but in a weird way. It wasn’t what the guy behind the counter said so much. It was more about body language and tone. Just to affirm my first impression, the same clerk greeted the gentleman that came in right after in a totally differently. To that customer, he was super friendly (albeit still a douchebag — I believe word «bro» was used in earnest). I don’t know what that was all about, but it didn’t leave a very good taste in my mouth.
After I was able to locate the bottle I wanted, I went back to the counter and the cheeky counter guy had acquired a new friend who was hanging out and keeping him company. I had to sit and wait while they shot the shit to pay for my booze, and even after the counter guy told me he could ring me up «right there» his friend didn’t move.
Then, when I left, there was a group of college aged boys rough housing out front and screaming pervert at each other.
So, overall? I probably won’t be back unless I absolutely have to. That’s too bad, since the bottle I wanted was two bucks less there than at the St. Anthony store where I usually stop and it’s only five blocks from my house. That said, I would rather go out of my way to give my money to nice people than conveniently give my money to jerks.

Like others in my neighborhood, I couldn’t understand why they were putting a liquor store in here. I understand now that their intent wasn’t to have the typical store. They wanted something ‘warm’ and ‘focused’. It’s kind of nice. And its got that new wood smell from the wooden wine racks. Selection isn’t too stellar, considering it is so small. Prices are also on the steeper side; their pick 6 is $ 9.99! So don’t come here if you’re going on a bender.
I’ll spend some time in here though. They seem personable and I could go for a unique bottle of wine on occasion.