d’vines

OK, OK, I know that with a name like d’vines this place is going to have plenty of wine in stock, but as a beer guy every time I see wine in their fridge I think «hmm, you could fit some more beer in there.» Their selection isn’t as massive as some bigger bottle shops, but it’s certainly high quality, with some great six-​packs and a decent selection of large-​format bottles, including some of the best Belgians. Although I haven’t taken advantage of this feature they also have several taps for growler fills, which can be a convenient way to get some local brews without having to find their far flung taprooms in the industrial parks of northeast DC or the (shudder) suburbs of VA or MD. They even post the tap list on their website with an indicator of how close the keg is to kicking. What more could you ask for?
The only downside is they do seem a little pricey to me, but maybe I’m just spoiled from finding cheap bottles of Three Philosophers and Chimay Blue at Costco. DC has some primo places to buy high-​falutin’ beer, and this is definitely in the top tier.

Yeah, it’s fine, but you’d think the staff could SPEAK to you. I made a purchase tonight and the guy at the register didn’t say A WORD to me except «do you need a receipt»? Not a single solitary word. Not hello, not «is that all» not THANK YOU. WTF?

This place is right by the metro, which is very convenient, but the customer service sucks –someone in another review used the word «pretentious» which sounds about right. I’ve been several times since I live in the neighborhood and only once have I had a good CS experience here, not to mention for all the pretentiousness, the selection isn’t very good. I’d recommend Lion’s Fine Wine and Spirits in Petworth, it’s the best in this area, and Whole Foods for wine. If you need to pick up some drinks on your way this place will work just fine, but it is not worth a special trip — you could just as soon go to your corner store and get the same selection and experience.

This place is right outside Columbia Heights Metro Station. It really couldn’t be anymore convenient — get out of the station and walk right in to this cozy shop. The price range for the drinks vary — some in the teens and some well over 100 bucks. I didn’t explore all too much. My visit was quick — in and out. I thought the guy who rang me up was pretty nice. He saw me wondering around and asked if I needed help. How nice!

Great location with a fully renovated interior. Very tiny selection though. And the markup, at least for beer, is a solid $ 1 – 2 more of comparable bottle shops. Staff is very outgoing and talkative. The space is nice, but mostly empty. Beer variety leaves something to be desired. For wine, they sometimes have good bottles for sale at a fairly good value.

Good beer selection.
Sign says they open at 10am on Sundays. It’s 12:10 and he’s just now inside opening up shop.
And the guy who was scheduled was not very friendly and clearly too hungover to be working.

Not the best liquor/​wine shop, but it gets some stars because it is damn convenient (right by the CH Metro stop, across the street from CVS and Target) and the only non-​shady liquor store in the area that I feel comfortable browsing alone.
The selection is small and a bit overpriced. I usually go for the specialty beers or the «drinkin’ wine» sold in the 2 for $ 20 bins. They do growlers here, too. The big guy who often mans the growler station is friendly and helpful. The rest of the staff is marked by… well, let’s just call it a more laissez-​faire approach to customer service.

I have visited D’Vines numerous times since they opened a few years ago. At first, I was delighted to have a convenient place with a good selection of craft beers. However, the customer service is unpredictable and leans heavily toward pretentious and thoughtless.
Yesterday I called to order a couple sixtels for a party. The person who answered the phone was rude and helpless to the point of me eventually becoming exasperated and saying, «well, I guess I’ll just go somewhere else.» His response: «Bye.» That’s how much he cared about serving a customer.
The root of the sixtel purchasing problem revokes around the fact that he wanted me to know exactly what I wanted and I wanted to know what they had available. He started by insisting, «I can get whatever you want, man.» I said, «I don’t really know what I want. Can you tell me what you have?» He said, «No, just tell me what you want.» I said I would like to look at some options and compare prices. That is not possible, according to him, I would have to start naming things and he would look them up and tell me if they had them and how much they would cost. Given that there are dozens of breweries making hundreds of beers — just in the greater Washington metro, you can imagine what a strange process this would be.
He showed more interest in being obstinate than in helping me understand how to navigate their information-​less process. So, I figured I would try someone that was more friendly and helpful. I called AB Liquor on Columbia Road in Adams Morgan. The man who helped me explained pretty much the same constraints — I can get anything my distributors have and I don’t have a list but give me an idea and I’ll see if I have it. It was basically the same issue as D’Vines but at least the guy explained it and was nice about it. It didn’t make the process any easier but I did end up ordering two kegs after he gave me a basic price range to expect and we narrowed down our criteria for making a selection, e.g. style, price, location, etc.
It’s a pretty frustrating process. «I can’t tell you what we have, just tell me what you want and then I’ll tell you if I can get it and how much it costs.» With that approach, the process could go on a long time. But at least the AB Liquor guy tried to help whereas the D’Vines guy couldn’t have cared any less.
A final note: my housemate called D’Vines the same day, independently of me (we were both investigating for the same party but didn’t know the other was calling), and he had the same experience with the same conclusion, «Okay, well if you can’t tell me what you have, I’m not sure where to start, so I’ll try somewhere else.» The same guy replied, «okay, bye.»

I went to a party a few weeks ago at my friend’s place who lives around the corner from d’vines. The keg they got was nothing but foam! You couldn’t drink it at all and it was a complete waste. It was my friend’s birthday too, which made matters worse!
After the party my friend tried talking to a manager about the problem and nobody would return her phone calls or emails. They have been completely ignoring her! So not only did she get a horrible product, she’s now dealing with horrible service. When something like this happens, you do everything to make it up to the customer!
Never getting another keg or stepping into this establishment if this is how they treat their customers!

I went to a party and they served fancy beer from one of those adorable skinny kegs. The party was right around the corner from D’vines, so they got the keg there. It. Was. Terrible! It tasted awful (yes I love beer) and the foam was non-​stop.
Disappointment all around. :(

I’m disappointed to write this review because at first my experience with their day-​to-​day floor staff was so positive. The first keg i bought from them was perfect. Everyone at the party said how great the beer was and I agree!
I decided to purchase a second keg from them. This keg unfortunately was completely foam. I’m not sure what was wrong with it as i treated it the same as the first keg (short, slow car ride, immediate ice, and tapped same day for the party after a few hours). People at the party kept pouring out the top ¾s of their cup just to get anything they could actually drink. We retapped the keg twice and still nothing. The next day we tried to fill a growler, but still only foam.
Now dealing with the owners and managers about this problem has been so negative. As a business owner myself, I take client problems and complains very seriously. At the very least return phone calls and emails to hear their problem even if in the end I cannot give them what they want. I’ve been waiting a week + to hear back from the owner. The day-​to-​day staff says that it was my fault I must have done something wrong and they would only consider giving me a discount on my next keg — why wouldn’t they just refund me half the money on the first keg if you’re going to give me any deal?
This is so disappointing especially since we didn’t provide many other beverage options at the party and this was close to impossible to drink. I’ll save my money and buy some cheaper more reliable option next time since my business isn’t valued here.

Awesome location right off Columbia Heights metro station. Clean, small and organized shop with a diverse and tight selection of micro-​brews, wines and spirits. I like the wine bin in particular. You can pick up a bottle for $ 12 or take advantage of the two for $ 20 promotion that’s usually on offer.
I picked up TWO Skeleton (brand) Malbecs that were each 1-​liter! Much bigger than your typical 750ML wine bottle.
The employee recommended that to me as I was en route to a house party and need recommendations for a «party wine.» He came through with solid advice which I can attest to based on how the night turned out for me :)

D’Vines has a fantastic selection of micro-​beers, wines and spirits.
If your looking for a 30 pack of Natty Bos, this isn’t your liquor store. If your interested in discovering great micro-​beers along with picking up a few classier staples — this is your joint. Within the last several months, D’Vines has even started selling and filling up growlers!
For amateur wine lover the 1 for $ 12 or 2 for $ 20 wine bins are a fantastic way to explore new wines.
All of the employees are friendly and knowledgable on all their products and are always ready to make a recommendation.
With the occasional beer, wine or spirit tasting, this is a fantastic place to expand your knowledge of liquors.
Highly recommend.

Great selection. Bought a growler, and am excited to be coming back every week to choose from the many craft beers they’ll fill it with! They even offer half-​growler fills (howlers) for those who are less thirsty.

I agree with Kurt J’s review, staff here are often indifferent, apathetic, not friendly, or just seem bored. Sometimes a manager or just an enthusiastic employee will ask if you need help, but thats not the norm. For the fancy factor, its disappointing. Clerks at liquor stores with the lbullet proof lazy susan have to help you because they grab your booze for you, unlike here.
Maybe most of the clientele are wine and beer snobs and know exactly what they are looking for, but I doubt it.
3 stars for sheer convenience and relative variety (beers) in the small shop. Maybe because its not a full ABC store (is it?) and price point is higher, place is rarely crowded. unlike the the two liquor shops that line Dupont’s 18^th St or even Dvines AdMo location (where I guess there is a higher concentration of drinkers).
Also, they do frequent tastings here and sell some artisanal chocolate bars to pair with your vino.

When I lived in the area I always picked up my adult beverages here. I really wish d’vines was in the neighborhood I live in now. Every time I am up in Columbia Heights I stop into this store to see what is on tap, the mix and match wine boxes and other wine selections. The store has expanded over the past several months and now sells liquor.
The mix and match are a great deal and there are plenty of Malbec offerings in this bundle.
I came to d’vines a few days before a Halloween party I was hosting and I was looking to spice things up with a funky beer. When I saw the new liquor display I completely skipped over the beers. There were so many interesting offerings could not decide what to pick. The gentleman behind the counter suggested I try a pumpkin or apple-​spiced liquor and showed me the pumpkin-​spiced moonshine. It was a bit pricey but decided to take his word for it and I was very pleased with how well the moonshine went with my mixers.
Shopping at d’vines is always a pleasant experience and I could spend hours in here if left unsupervised. I highly recommend. Shop here early in the week and early Saturday to avoid the weekend rush.

Oftentimes specialty wine stores, especially ones with names as cute as «D’vine,» charge a pretty penny for wines with labels that you may have never seen before but are not actually meant to be very expensive. And usually, places like this can get away with it while a store like Target could not. Something refreshing about D’Vines is that it does not over charge. Their prices and selection is top notch.
Some other highlights: a really friendly and knowledgeable staff. I was once trying to find the best Gewürztraminer for my meal, and the staff picked out a fabulous one (which apparently was not the most expensive one). I also appreciate how well organized the wine and beer is. There is a certain flair to organizing bottles by country of origin, and they brandish bottles from all over the world.
The store sometimes has free tastings and demonstrations that would please any wine-​o in Columbia Heights. For that alone, this place comes highly recommended.

As a wine lover, the layout and variety always impresses me but somehow I always end up disappointed. The clerks are friendly, and I do like that they often hold tastings, but even when I’m given recommendations, I end up not really being all that wowed by the wine. That might not seem out of the ordinary to many of you, but I’m extremely un-​picky when it comes to wine.
It just doesn’t feel like they have a buyer who knows much about vino. I still go here when convenient, but I might as well go to Giant or Whole Foods as they have the same wines for cheaper.

As an avid Unilocaler and a very frequent D’viner, I feel like I should write a review. As someone who lives here, you can’t beat the location. I can literally go here if it’s raining and not get wet. I like their deal bin, but I’ve noticed that the exact same wine in the deal bin can be found at target for cheaper on the reg. That said, it’s a quicker in and out for me at D’vines and I prefer local business so I’d still buy it here.
Their beer selection is decent. It’s no Chevy Chase Wine & Spirits but it crushes Target and Giant. And I love the staff. I constantly ask them about how various beers and wines taste and they are fairly knowledgeable. They have a frequent buyer program, but I’m not sure what that’s gotten me yet. I love the tastings they have on occasion and I think I even got to meet the Dogfish Head founder. I might have done the «I’m not worthy» Alice Cooper/Wayne’s World thing…

For the selection they have, D’Vines could charge more and get away with it. Don’t get me wrong, I’m thrilled that they don’t. But they could.
The employees here are super knowledgeable and willing to share what they know about beer, wine, champagne, and specialty items – you may not always agree with you once you get it home, but chances are someone in the store has tried whatever you’re asking about.
They have a great beer selection with some standards that are always there, as well as a pretty significant seasonal rotating selection. A nice selection of bottles as well, and a group of wines that you can get 2/​$ 20 that I use as my go-​to when bringing one to a friends house for dinner. There’s also a wine chiller if you’re going to buy a white there that needs to be chilled right away.
If you’re a regular at the liquor store on Mt. Pleasant and Irving, the prices are significantly lower here, and definitely worth the extra block or two walk.