Cleveland Park Liquor & Fine Wines

I love this shop! While the shop itself is small, the selections are diverse and interesting. I never leave without a new wine to try!
Tony, the owner, really loves his customers and welcomes dogs in his shop (which I love)! The shop also has frequent wine tastings, which are always fun!

I love this place, I have been coming for years. Tony is wonderful. 5% discount if u buy 6 bottles and 10% for a case. They’ve special ordered for me before when you buy in bulk and there’s something specific you want. I think they have to check w the distributor to see if it’s possible. Tony travels all over the world meeting the wine makers themselves. I love the fact that there is always a hand selected variety in this shop. No snobbery, pretentious attitude here.
Santos handles the beer, he is also a wonder in picking out the good stuff. They are always changing it up and also get some of the lesser known breweries but keep the excellent Belgium beers around hallelujah! This is the best place to stock up which carries something for all budgets. Nice liquor selection as well. Get on the email listing to find out what they will have tastings of which will include everything from port, whites, reds, champagne to beer. Love you guys!!!

Highly recommended for finding some really oddball beers without having to make the drive all the way out to a place like Perfect Pour. Beers from Cyprus, Colombia, El Salvador, Argentina, Croatia et al. There is a shelf of single bottles that are mostly Eastern European but also some nice stuff like Firestone Walker Parabola. The majority of the selection is six packs with about 400 different beers. Probably not the best place for super fresh IPAs or serious rarities, but lots of fun to browse and some weird country ticks for anyone interested and in the area.
Liquor selection is quite extensive as well with some harder to find bottles. Staff has always been helpful. Glassware selection is limited.

Grumpy men; I found a poor selection of wines but a varied and interesting selection of beers.
They need staff who «like» helping customers.
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As its name indicates, this is a neighborhood place, and probably shouldn’t be compared to larger place like MacArthur or Calvert Woodley. Used to live a few blocks up Conn Ave, and found this place to be delightfully unpretentious and down to earth. Not afraid to carry wines from off the beaten path. As Tony used to say, 95% of wines don’t get reviewed, they can’t all suck.
Not only did they have free tastings in store, for a nominal fee they used to put together tastings in the lobby of our condo building.

Decent Stock …

When these guys first decided to offer Sunday hours it seemed awesome. Such a great and welcomed concept. When I visit my friends at Quebec House, I fight them tooth and nail to not go to Weygandt wines which is much closer and much more a viable option. Especially since Weygandt closes at 6PM.
Well after a few Sunday’s here, it’s come down to one of two things, I need to remember to purchase my wine earlier in the week when helpful guys like Tony or Chris are there or Sunday’s go to Weygandt. The two gentleman here don’t know the ideal food pairings with wine or get irritated when you ask them simple questions about regions and taste preferences. It’s one thing to take my money, it’s another thing to be annoyed when im simply asking a question or two.
I really wish they would hire a weekend sommelier or ask one of the other two to be there for the prices they’re charging on products because honestly there’s nothing more painful than going to buy wine and having to use your smartphone because the salesman doesn’t have a clue. I guess next weekend it’s Weygandt for me.

Not to sound like a total boozer, but this is my favorite place in the neighborhood! Great selection, frequent tastings, and fantastic staff!

Friendly, appreciate your business. Stay open late on Holidays instead of closing a few minutes early and cussing out potential customers like Chevy Chase Liquors.
Here is the story of CC liquors.
I drove up on Thanksgiving. Saw the «OPEN» sign was on and parked in the back and walked directly to the back door. There was a man standing by the door looking down at his phone texting away. Before I could reach the handle he said something in a gruff voice that sounded like «they closed». I had no idea who this guy was and I said «Well the open sign is on and there are customers in the line.» then he practically yelled at me «They closed SIR!!» They closed at 4 clock!!” Still looking at his phone.
I looked t my watch and it was maybe 4pm, maybe a hair before. So I asked this guy «Do you work here?» and he said «Yes I do SIR!!» to which I replied as civilly as I could considering this ass thinks that screaming SIR at people is being anything close to polite «I can see why you take it so personally then.»
I walked away but on impulse turned around and asked him «So this store seriously doesn’t want another $ 100 in business from a customer who may or may not have arrived 15 seconds late?»
Then this guy started screaming and cussing at me at the top of his lungs. «You go off on me!!» blah, blah, blah «I dont make the fu$cking rules blah blah blah».
Top of his lungs on Thanksgiving at a customer.
I went to Cleveland Park Liquors and spent $ 150…those guys are cool.
I will never spend another dime there and I doubt any of my family will either and for some reason we USED to go there a lot.
So in conclusion… I went to CP and spent a lot of money. They were open and friendly and had a great selection.

Super friendly and knowledgeable stuff always wiling to help you out. The store care lots of rare wines. And if you tell them what you like or what you looking for they will find and order it for you.

I’ve only lived in the area for about two months, and only been here once — but I definitely plan to return! This will be my number one stop for liquor and beer (I usually get my wine at Trader Joe’s — but I did pick up a lovely double bottle here to take to a dinner party). SUPER friendly staff, helpful but not pushy. Wide variety and well-​priced selection. Happy to have found a great neighborhood business I can count on!

Really great selection of both liquor and wine. Many countries and regions represented.
But perhaps most useful of all is the staff who are always willing to find a bottle of something interesting at the price you want. A great reason to keep going back.

Great place to hang out with friends. Good food selection and has a nice upstairs deck area.

Update:
They also have Carpano Antica, a good selection of bitters, and some great beers — all of which can be hard to find in your average neighborhood store.
Now if only they carried the smaller bottle of Carpano…

Great place to stop in for a bottle or a sixer — a decent selection of things pre chilled which is always handy for last minute needs! I’ve spoken with a couple of the staff there and they are really helpful in finding something no matter how little or how much you have to spend. Really knowledgeable, and I enjoy the tastings as well. 10% off bottles over $ 20 on Wednesday evenings! Good time to splurge on that special something you’ve had your eye on.
So glad this place is part of my neighborhood!

If it wasn’t obvious from my other recent reviews, I’ve been going through a «drinking phase.» And drinking out at bars gets a little expensive on the typical not-​paid-​nearly-​enough DC salary, so sometimes my «drinking phase» happens at home. Luckily, my home is near this fantastic liquor store. I went in asking about pumpkin beers this week and had them explain to me they had sold out of a lot of their varieties, so they «only» had 15 or so different types. If they know you’re serious, they’ll bring out things they’ve been hiding behind the counter, rationing for people who obviously know what they’re doing. They even stock some of the more obscure stuff, like the Ransom Gin (aka the Gin of Regret), and can give you a good recommendation for the solution to whatever ails you.
I wish I didn’t know that they deliver, I may never get out of this phase.

This is my go to place when I lived here and when I come back to visit. Why? Because Tony is right on the money for his description of a wine which helps me shop. Nothing snooty about this place. My friends who do frequent those type of establishments are surprised to hear that I come here for all of my wine. I tell them I can do with less attitude in my life when it comes to shopping for wine. There are a number of places with «tude» about their shop when you try to buy a bottle of wine.
Anyhow, Tony manages to bring in excellent wine makers of the wine he sells. Very impressive. Some of the best wine I’ve had outside a vineyard is from this shop. I also like how Tony travels out to the regions himself to find the wines he wants to sell. Seriously, who does that!!! i love this place.
oh yes and they deliver for free!!!

Yep, I’m reviewing a liquor store, but there’s a reason for that. First — the owner, Tony, has to be one of the most friendly and informed shop owners (or employees for that matter) that I’ve met in my life. He’s always got great recommendations and doesn’t pressure you to buy anything out of your range. In fact, it’s one of the only places I feel comfortable asking for a bottle of wine in the 10 – 15 range because Tony and his staff never treat you like you’re second rate for not wanting to spend next week’s rent on a single bottle of wine — especially one you’ve never tried or that you’re just giving to someone at a birthday party.
The store is clean, well-​organized, and has a great selection.
If you’re in the area and shopping for wine (or beer from what I gather from other reviews), this is the place to go.

Only docking a star because the website is impossible. They don’t seem to post the big tasting events on their calendar and sometimes you just have to hunt way too long on their website for information. Frustrating.
Ok, that aside, the place is gold. Steps from the Cleveland Park metro – go out the right exit. Tony, the main wine buyer I believe, is fantastic – chatty, knowledgeable, and eager to help. He’s also got a great sense of humor, helpful when dealing with a store full of merry people due to:
AMAZING big wine tastings. Seems like every month, usually on a Wednesday, they’ll do a themed wine tasting. Go early. Go often. The aisles get crowded so head toward the back first to avoid the throng at the front. The sparkling wine tasting was epic. The next one on 8÷18÷10 will be Greek wines and rosés. Rumor has it there’s a sake tasting coming up. Six or seven suppliers show up each time with several wines each so there’s tons to sample. And the tastings are delightfully free. There’s a discount if you buy one of the wines from the tasting that night.
In general, they have a great selection of wines, good selection of liquors, and lots of harder to find beers as well. If they don’t have something, they’re happy to order it in for you.

Awesome