Prima Vini Wine Merchants

I want to give 20 stars! I emailed requesting a certain bottle of sparkling wine and the owner himself emailed me back with news that he dose carry that wine… well I was happy.
So I took a bart ride to Walnut Creek and it was nice and walked in and was greeted and I meet with super nice employees and meet the owner.
I will be back sooner than soon!

Walked by this place often while in WC and always wanted to go in and finally did. Oh boy, I am glad I did. Last night, husband and I plus a few friends went for the wine tasting and had a taste of amazing reds from Tuscan vines. Absolutely delicious wines that we left with a bag full and more on order. I think what really makes this place special is John, the wine guy co-​owner. He is very knowledgeable, nice, open and accommodating! He even moved several racks of wine to make room for the folks in the tasting room. Being a Cali wine lover, I was introduced to amazing Italian wines. Oh, and the finger foods were incredible, too. Great place, fun location in WC, great wines, great food and great owner!

We have been enjoying the food that Peter cooks at Prima Ristorante for at least 20 years and are loyal customers of Kermit Lynch Wine Merchant in Berkeley for just as long, almost exclusively.
Then, about ten years ago I got a job in Walnut Creek and noticed the wine store next door to the restaurant.
Peter and John, who owns and manages the wine shop, offer amazing food and wine tastings featuring the food and wine of various localities of Italy. These are truly awesome.
Now I have learned that John and Frank (and, really, all the staff at the wine shop) are truly amazing in their knowledge of wines from all over the world, with a strong emphasis on Italy and California. Though they can find truly interesting wines from anywhere in the world if challenged to do so.
So now, I probably buy three bottles of wine from Prima Vini for every bottle I buy from Kermit. Both are amazing, but the focus at Prima is much broader.
Good value and great service are their trademarks. Worth every penny and we have enjoyed every drop and every insight.
Try them, they will not disappoint. If you have a budget and a vision of what you want to eat and drink, tell them, they will give you the best at your price-​point.

I never realized this little place is next to the restaurant. It’s a nice store!
Last night I came here and I fell in love. They were giving out an Italian wine that was slightly sweet with bubbles. I love bubbly so I was in. Then they paired it with prosciutto wrapped pears. I was reluctant to try since I’m not a fan of prosciutto but damn, it was good!!!
I’ll be back to splurge one of these days :)

Great food, great bar and knowledgeable servers, but REVIEW YOUR BILL CLOSELY! We had a wonderful meal here recently to celebrate my B-​day but our waitress mistakenly added an extra item to our bill. When my husband pointed it out, she was apologetic and very nice about the whole thing. But, she left a new check at our table and it had the exact same error on it! Hubby went looking for her since she hadn’t come back in awhile hoping to finally get a corrected check. In the process, he ran into the manager or asst. manager who debated the extra charge with him for 5 minutes — UNREAL! The waitress explained it was a computer error (an item from a nearby table was added to our bill) and she finally corrected it.
Not that we look for freebies, but after all the confusion and delays, it would have been nice if the manager or waitress offered a comp dessert or cocktail OR maybe a sincere apology from management. The worst possible way to handle the situation was to openly debate it with the customer who was there for a special occasion… tacky!

I love Prima Vini. I’ve cheated a few times with other wine establishments, but I always come back. Frank, who earns the «Pure awesomeness» award from me, always has the value wine that is incredible. Makes me look like someone who knows wine. I don’t, but lets keep that our little secret :)

Nice selection from Italy, France, California and the Pacific Northwest. Knowledgeable staff.

So I’m no wine connoisseur. I’m happy with a bottle of riesling. I would normally feel intimidated at these kinds of places but not here the customer service was excellent! I don’t know the gal’s name but she looked like Annette Bening so we’ll call her Annette. I wasn’t the purchaser this time around but my boyfriend was looking for a wine to get his dad for Dad’s Day. My boyfriend and I know nothing about wine but all we had to tell Annette was budget, white or red, and that his dad is a chef. She didn’t make us feel stupid for our lack of knowledge and she was very friendly. If I lived in Walnut Creek (when pigs fly), I’d holla at Annette at least once a week.

I went to a wine tasting at Prima, courtesy of a Prima wine club member. My husband’s a bit of a wine snob, the wine club member friend as well, and we each found at last two or three selections at the tasting we thought were quite good. I rarely go to a winery actually liked at least three of the selections there.
The staff is knowledgable, friendly, and not pushy. Price is ok, not cheap, not expensive. I’d definitely go back!

You would be VERY hard pressed to find anyone with more global knowledge about wine than John Rittmaster at Prima Vini. He is a walking encyclopedia of wine, and he will gladly find you the best wine in your price range no matter what that range is, and you can be sure it will be spectacular. When I want to send wine to a friend as a gift I simply call and say something like «Send a bottle of white and a red to so and so and keep it at a total of $ 60», and I simply wait for the phone call from my friend or family member thanking me for the amazing wine.

These are the smartest men and women in wine! Got a question? I PROMISE you this staff can answer it! The owner actually teaches as well, so he used to dealing with us feeble minded idiots. HUGE selection! And the kicker… a cellar where they age a lot of wine. Got a vintage in mind? Just ask…

My wife and I walked into Prima Vini after a lovely lunch at the restaurant next door. They have a stunning selection of wines with, evidently enough, a strong focus on Italian wines, categorized by region: Southern Italy, Central Italy, Northern Italy. I know they had plenty of Barolo, Brunello di Montalcino, Sangiovese and Chianti on hand. I *didn’t* see any Primitivo wine, but then again I didn’t look too hard either and I didn’t ask them, so it’s very possible they got a couple of those. In case you don’t know, Primitivo is a red wine from the Sicily region with grapes identical to Zinfandel.
We could have walked out of here with over $ 500 worth of wine, easy. As it was, my wife found a nice bottle of 2005 Hendry Block 7 Zinfandel. She’s been looking for this wine forever and finally found it here at Prima, and at a very reasonable price: the same price, in fact, you’ll find it when buying directly from the winemaker.
As far as wine shops are concerned, these guys are absolutely 5 stars!