University Wines

The owner is so knowledgeable without being pretentious. He helped me pick out a few wines in my price range; one of which I’m drinking right now that is delightful! I will definitely be back.

Guess I can’t check in from where I am… but I just placed an order for 6 bottles with Gordon. Excellent service, super friendly and so not your typical snobbish wine merchant. Gordon knows his stuff. He knows it so well, I tell him what I like and he recommends 6 wines for me to try. This is my second batch of 6 and I usually tell him to surprise me.
I’m in the Vancouver, BC (Canada) area. Wine is not cheap here. In fact, to get the level of wines I’m seeing at University wines, I’d have to pay through my teeth. I have some friends heading down and I placed the order. A day later, the selection was ready and packed for pick up. A $ 40 bordeaux is easily $ 90-​$ 120 here IF I can even find the label. So well worth whatever marginal expense there is to have it picked up or shipped/​delivered — which I believe they do.
Their selection of wines, at least what I’m lead to believe, is from a few select producers in France where Gordon travels to, samples and selects. Sounds like a hard life but I take solace in reaping the fruits of their labour. Sigh. Their selection, I’m guessing, is updated year over year and that’s a good thing.
If you’re in the area, check them out. You don’t know how good of a neighbourhood wine merchant you have until you live far, far from one.

Please note this business has changed their name to University Wines.

This wine shop is tucked behind City People’s at that intersection where the bus stops, and I had seen it many times while sitting on the bus, then finally decided to try it. I’m glad I did!
The Saturday I went in, which was several weeks ago now, and the man working there was super nice and helpful. He explained the owner specializes in a certain type of wine. .. now I can’t remember which type. .. ugh. .. but anyway it’s not a type I drink so I didn’t buy any. If anyone finds out, please let me know and I can update my review.
The walls were lined with all different types, and the employee there gave me a great recommendation for a $ 13 bottle of Champagne which was really, really nice. I’ll definitely be back.

I agree completely with the earlier reviews of La Cantina, so I will not be redundant. I feel fortunate to have found this place. I cannot say enough good things about La Cantina.

The wines here are in great condition. You can trust the merchandise in this store. This is a fun place to be if you like wine. Personally speaking, this is the best wine store in Seattle. The selection is great. Also the people here are very helpful. They won’t recommend you a big name champagne or wine, but instead a wine made of the right grape for the right occasion. Again, the best wine store in Seattle, hands down.

Maria’s review pretty much hits the mark. It would be hard to give a wine shop this small a five star review, but the place is excellent in all other regards. The gentleman who helped us knew all the wines and made a great recommendation of a white Burgundy to take to a friend’s house for dinner. The pricing seemed a buck or too high on the domestic, but they had good value for their large French selection. Like all my favorite wine shops, the key here is they clearly love wine and they buy what they love.

I love this place. The owner has great taste and is committed and generous enough to offer suggestions for the less expensive bottles. He suggested two $ 10 bottles of French wine for me to serve to winery owners. He knew who i was serving and he knew what he was recommending. Everyone liked the wine.
He can also offer good conversation about fly fishing and where to go in France. A gentle, low key, intelligent guy with a thoughtful selection of wine.

Small but worthy. Since they don’t have the room to carry every single wine made in the world, the selections they do have need to matter and be distinctive and they succeed admirably. I actually went in looking for something specific someone recommended I try and they didn’t have it, BUT they offered to order it for me. Now that’s great service.