The Wine Source

The Wine SourceThe Wine Source
The Wine SourceThe Wine Source
Store

3601 Elm Ave
Baltimore, Maryland, 21211-2402
United States

(410) 467-7777 | map
the-wine-source.com
PLACE STATS
Average:
4.39
Reviews:
36
Ratings:
57
pDev:
7.06%
View: Place Reviews
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Photo of MrOH
Reviewed by MrOH from Maryland

4.51/5  rDev +2.7%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4.75
This place has one of the best selections in Maryland. The rarer stuff is expensive, but the everyday stuff is on par for the area. Cheese counter used to be better, but you'll still get better quality cheese than you would anywhere else around here, if that's your thing. Really great service. So far as selection, you can find a lot of stuff here that you can't find elsewhere.,
Nov 05, 2023
Photo of bl00
Reviewed by bl00 from Pennsylvania

4.68/5  rDev +6.6%
vibe: 4.25 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4.75 | selection: 5
Local place with great selection of things not widely available in the area. Growler and crowler station with around 15(?) taps. Excellent service, particularly for fills. Very friendly staff, they are happy to chat and make recommendations. Prices are reasonable, particularly given the selection. Also great selection of wine and liquor.
Aug 31, 2018
Photo of VoxRationis
Reviewed by VoxRationis from New York

4.44/5  rDev +1.1%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4.25 | selection: 4.75
Up front, it's important to understand that The Wine Source is predominantly a wine and liquor store with perhaps 20% of the shelf space (refrigerated and not) dedicated to beer and another 10% to cider/perry. That said, the selection of beers was quite impressive. There were numerous local Maryland/DC varieties (I was able to obtain from Union Craft, RAR, and 3 Stars), but the selection of domestic craft beers included a range of styles from high quality breweries throughout the US and was quite remarkable. Most selections are canned or bottled, but growlers/crowlers are available and reasonably priced. The vibe was very contemporary and business-like, but the staff were helpful and pleasant. Wine Source also has dedicated parking, useful to know in an urban environment. Would likely be my go to place, if I lived nearby.
May 24, 2018
 
Rated: 4.18 by paulish from New York

Sep 06, 2017
 
Rated: 4.04 by mig100 from Texas

May 20, 2017
 
Rated: 4.07 by dennisdrinks from Maryland

Jan 27, 2017
Photo of mynie
Reviewed by mynie from Maryland

4.51/5  rDev +2.7%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4.75
I've been in to craft beer for about a dozen years. The scene has gotten packed and vicious, with doughy white drunkards canniablizing one another whenever a hot new release comes out as if they were 30 fetid rabbits crammed into a small cage.

As such, I have stopped chasing rarities. It's not that I'm above it morally, or anything. Just that I moved away from the midwest and lost all my connections, and I'm too damn old and tired to go about bribing new clerks just for the privilege of buying beer.

Here's an example of how bad it's gotten. Two years ago, christmastime, I stumbled into a bar in the Chicago suburbs. They had a case of Proprietor's Bourbon County Stout sitting next to a pile of raffle tickets. I'm not a betting man, but what the heck, I put ten bucks down and, hooray, I won! Only--only I didn't win a bottle. I won the opportunity to buy a bottle, for 40 bucks.

Nuts to that.

I mean, I paid for it, but the process just seemed dirty and exploitative. I asked the dude what the raffle money went toward, hoping it was like a charity or something, and he said "we use it to buy more beer." There was not a hint of shame or self-awareness in his voice.

Anyhow, what I'm getting at is, I'm not writing as someone who has access to the "inside scoop" of where to get rare stuff around Baltimore. I'm just a regular beersman. And from that perspective, the Wine Source is easily the best spot in the city.

The selection is wide and very-well curated. It leans toward local and regional beers, with a very respectable selection of European imports (getting rarer and rarer to find that, these days). They have two separate Belgian sections (abbys and wilds), with a decent rotation of beers in each.

You can buy packed or growlers/crowlers, and refill prices are dirt cheap. Better than New York state, even. The package selection is very broad, but the draft selection leans toward whatever is presently popular.

My only complaint is that instead of rotating some old stock, they just knock down the price. Right now I am consuming some Rouge Mocha Stout, which was very reasonably priced at 11/sixer but is clearly at least 8 months old (it tastes a little like a porter, a little like canned tomato soup). So, as always in life, you should be leery of products that seem slightly under-priced.

Overall, quite good. It's impossible for me to say how good exactly, since I'm out of "the game," as it were, but from a pedestrian's vantage point it's the best you can do in Baltimore.
Oct 26, 2016
 
 
Rated: 4.75 by gustavmahler-09 from Maryland

Feb 08, 2016
Photo of BeanWolf
Reviewed by BeanWolf from Maryland

4.66/5  rDev +6.2%
vibe: 5 | quality: 5 | service: 4 | selection: 4.75
My favorite beer store in the entire DMV metro area, excellent selection of imports, barrel aged beers, and sours. Growler station gets interesting beers and they do crowlers so I don't need to drag around a growler anymore. IPAs and other date sensitive beers are mostly refrigerated. Prices are way cheaper than competitors, maybe on par with Total Wine. Also a great wine store with a nice selection of liquor, coffee, and gourmet cheeses as well. Almost makes me want to move to Hamden. They even do wine and beer tastings in an actual tasting glass and have clean public restrooms.
Dec 31, 2015
 
Rated: 4.37 by seanchai from Virginia

Dec 29, 2015
 
Rated: 4.75 by DoovisMG from Maryland

Oct 10, 2015
 
Rated: 4.06 by cpezzcia from Maryland

Aug 06, 2015
 
Rated: 4.87 by JArt from Pennsylvania

Jul 22, 2015
 
Rated: 4.03 by tylerbrowe from Maryland

Feb 18, 2015
Photo of Laurabmore
Rated by Laurabmore from Maryland

4.56/5  rDev +3.9%
vibe: 5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 5 | selection: 4
This place is excellent. Great service and a good selection of local coffee cheeses and chocolate. Go buy their stuff.
Jan 19, 2015
 
Rated: 4.72 by bmur112 from Maryland

Jan 13, 2015
 
Rated: 3.75 by deansellers from Maryland

Nov 30, 2014
Photo of DoubleSimcoe
Reviewed by DoubleSimcoe from Pennsylvania

4.25/5  rDev -3.2%
I lived in Baltimore for a while but never got to check out The Wine Source because it’s all the way up in Hampden and I didn’t have a car back then. This time around, the wife and I are traveling down to DC and made a quick stop in Baltimore to visit the BAM and stroll around the funky streets and stores of Hampden.

So while she does her thing, I went in to the Source. What a place! A veritable supermarket of booze- all kinds of booze. Right away I see Black Xantus ($15), Old Stock 2011 Brandy ($25), Boulevard Bourbon Quad ($13.99) and some other good stuff from Perennial and Dogfish. The bomber selection is tasty and enticing, while the six-pack situation is not as exciting but fine.

Prices are good, I think. Very good indeed. Heck, I had paid 24 dollars for that Bourbon Quad a couple of days earlier in Philadelphia… they also sell cheese, charcuterie and other foodie goodies. It’s all there, under one roof.
Nov 25, 2014
 
Rated: 4.04 by shaebs99 from New York

Sep 25, 2014
 
Rated: 4.25 by MaximumYuks from Oregon

Aug 31, 2014
 
Rated: 4 by mltobin from Connecticut

Aug 03, 2014
 
Rated: 4.25 by DrBier from Pennsylvania

Jul 27, 2014
 
Rated: 4.25 by mendvicdog from Maryland

Jul 10, 2014
 
Rated: 5 by Ross_Miller from Maryland

Jun 13, 2014
 
Rated: 4.75 by Liberatiscioli from Pennsylvania

Mar 31, 2014
Photo of Smakawhat
Reviewed by Smakawhat from Maryland

4.32/5  rDev -1.6%
vibe: 4.25 | quality: 4.25 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4.25
Situated in the Hampden neighborhood, the Wine Source offers a real great selection. Parking is a pain, and the area is quite busy with walkable stores, and there aren't many spots but they eventually turn over.

The place is large on wine, but about 35% of the store is devoted to beer. It's nicely laid out in many sections, from seasonals, to the coolers, to the bombers, and then sections on sour beers and Belgians, UK, German, even to some degree hop and malt. There is also a small section of broken up 6 packs so that you can purchase 12 oz. bottles on a whim as well which is nice.

I conversed with the staff quite a bit and there wasn't a question they didn't have an answer for. THere's a lot of selection here and well defined. The other items of the store are also laid out real nicely as well.

There's a section with a nice cheese counter as well. This is a real good place for a real nice beer shopping experience in Baltimore.
Dec 31, 2013
 
Rated: 4.25 by duceswild from Heard & McDonald Islands

Nov 17, 2013
Photo of TaraMascara
Reviewed by TaraMascara from Ohio

4.35/5  rDev -0.9%
vibe: 3.75 | quality: 4.25 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4.5 | food: 4.5
I found this store by looking on Beer Advocate for great places to buy beer while I was in Baltimore visiting. I was very impressed with the selections offered not only with beer and wine, but with the cheese and meat selection as well. I drove to Delaware to visit Dogfish Head's brew pub I made sure to stop back in Maryland just to visit this awesome store. If you're anywhere close by, you should definitely check it out!
Aug 07, 2013
Photo of gillagorilla
Reviewed by gillagorilla from Maryland

4.26/5  rDev -3%
vibe: 4.25 | quality: 4 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4.25 | food: 4.5
This place is very well designed with a nice layout. They have a small, cramped parking lot and if you can't get a spot in there then it can be a bit hard to find one without a bit of a hike.

Everything has its place and the staff is extremely friendly and welcoming. They are actually pretty knowledgeable too and willing to help out.

They have a pretty great selection, especially in bombers. There is a wall for singles but they all seem to be old and are usually by breweries that I have never heard of or ever heard good things about. That is what you can make your mix six out of, or you can ask to break up a six pack that isn't on the wall. They have a wall full of refrigerated beer as well. There is also a nice selection of cider here.

Also, they have a great selection of food, for food pairings. The food here is a bit exotic and pricey, but you can't get it at many other places. Their cheese selection is top notch.
May 18, 2013
Photo of Swift989
Reviewed by Swift989 from District of Columbia

4.5/5  rDev +2.5%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 5 | selection: 4
Great selection especially of local wines and east coast beers. Was there on a Wednesday and they had a nice wine tasting with Tablas Creek Vineyard with the owners/operators there.

Employees are SUPER helpful and nice and love their products. I talked with one guy for 20 minutes about different beers and whether organic beers really mean anything different and whether their quality is worse. He had legit recommendations for craft brewery batches that came in inconsistant and not worth the $$ or up to par with past years. Really really fun and interesting chat.
Mar 14, 2013
Photo of orangesol
Reviewed by orangesol from Pennsylvania

4.32/5  rDev -1.6%
vibe: 4.25 | quality: 4.25 | service: 4.25 | selection: 4.5
Stopped in here earlier this week. I have always heard good things, figured it was time to finally check it out for myself.

Atmosphere was pretty good. A very nice feel to the store with all of the bottles laid out before you. People milling around in the aisles looking at bottles of wine and such. Service was good as well. I was asked multiple times if I needed help and when I did need to know a price they were quick to find out the answer.

Quality was pretty high. Lots of top notch wine, spirits and beer throughout and even some snacks to boot. They even had some rarer spirits / beers that I hadn't seen in awhile. Beer selection was pretty solid. Lots of locals mixed with the typical national offerings, and even some more obscure overseas offerings too boot. Prices were more than reasonable in my book. Overall a really solid bottle shop, I will definitely return the next time I am in the area.
Feb 24, 2013
Photo of Kanegarden
Reviewed by Kanegarden from New Jersey

4.54/5  rDev +3.4%
vibe: 4.25 | quality: 4.5 | service: 5 | selection: 4.25
First time to the Baltimore area....definitely enjoyed some of the local estabilishments i.e. Of Love and Regret Pub and Provisions and Max's taphouse to name a few. Decided to pick up a few bombers at Wine Source after reading some of the reviews on BA. Greeted with a friendly and knowledgeable beer bro who first introduced me to a few of his favs current favs. Jolly Pumpkin's Madrugada Obscura, Boulevard's Harvest Dance, MOA a NZ brewery's Pale Ale, Maine Beer Co.'s Titus, an austrian brewer Stift Engelszell 's Benno, and lastly a local Heavy Seas Siren Noire. Then the helpful fella offered me a tasting of one of Flying Dogs single batch imperial ipa....a definite gold star for service when offered a private tasting. Nicely organized with domestic/american craft beers, german, belgian, all separated. Definitely will be back to explore other destinations in Baltimore i.e. Brewer''s Art, Heavy Seas, Stillwater...and of course this place again for some new beers to try. Cheers!
Jan 27, 2013
Photo of DRBiser
Reviewed by DRBiser from Maryland

4.13/5  rDev -5.9%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 5 | service: 3 | selection: 4.5
This place has one of the better beer selections in Baltimore City and arguably county. It's a large shop with the beers in the back nicely organized with separate shelves based on geographics and styles. They also group together certain beers by brewery. I fully appreciate that it's tough to choose the best way of stocking your shelves, but this place has it set-up as nice as i've seen.

I particularly enjoyed their great selection (and nice rotation) of beers from Jolly pumpkin, Evil Twin, and Mikkeller.

Only knock would be service. It's a big shop with a ton of people at registers so the wait is never a problem, but they don't offer much in the way of help as you browse. They're happy to answer any questions you may have, however.

There's also a little deli section with gourmet cheeses which looked pretty solid, but i can't speak to the quality or selection.
Oct 10, 2012
Photo of steebo777
Reviewed by steebo777 from Michigan

4.8/5  rDev +9.3%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 5 | service: 5 | selection: 4.5
My wife and I were visiting family in the Baltimore area so we decided to check this place out. Really cool vibe on the outside with a slick sign.

Inside was laid out nicely. Everything was very logically placed and very easy to get to. Nothing was out of stock and there were a ton of things I wanted. Prices were exactly were I expected them as well.

The staff was very friendly and courteous at the front counter. We chatted for a few minutes and as we walked out my brother-in-law said this is his go-to place from here on out.

All in all a great beer and wine store that I would DEFINITELY hit again and again.
Jan 09, 2012
Photo of Slatetank
Reviewed by Slatetank from Pennsylvania

4.03/5  rDev -8.2%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.5 | service: 3 | selection: 4.5
I came here based on a recommendation from kegatron. I was pleased with the ease of finding the place and the interior is well lit and organized. I checked out the prices which are all very reasonable. I think they have a very good selection and the place has other things besides beer and wine. The service is ok, they didn't really acknowledge I was in the store until I checked out and it wasn't busy, though.

I would return based on the ease of finding the beer you want -it is grouped by American, Belgian, German and UK beers. They have a good deal of stuff from 12% including Evil Twin. I like the prices and the stuff I bought was fresh so from a quality standpoint they are moving the product. I recommend them for the fair prices too - so if you are in the area, check them out.
Nov 20, 2011
Photo of raznug
Reviewed by raznug from Ohio

4.14/5  rDev -5.7%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 4.5
I found the wine source when I was moving my sister to Hopkins. It has a very small parking lot but it is worth your while to taking a look. The have a great selections of beer in coolers as well as warm. The employees were more than helpful in knowledge of their selection and prices. They have helped my sister plenty of times when she doesn't know what she wants or can't find the brew. The Wine Source is a must stop when in Baltimore everything thing from the good selection belgians to the local brews like Heavy Seas, and plenty of beers from across the country and world.
May 21, 2011
Photo of nickshep7
Reviewed by nickshep7 from Maryland

4.28/5  rDev -2.5%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 5 | selection: 4
Great bottle shop. Large selection of bombers, six packs, four packs and singles. The 12oz single selection is a little thin, but overall this is a great shop for most beers available in MD -- Green flash, Southern Tier, Goose Island, Jolly Pumpkin, Rogue, Sierra Nevada, Long Trail, to local favorites like Brewers Art, Stillwater, and DFH. Nice selection of imports (Belgians) too. Jed, the beer manager, is the man...he's tried everything in the store and is willing to help locate any brew in the shop or available in their distribution.
May 05, 2011
Photo of John_M
Reviewed by John_M from Washington

4.03/5  rDev -8.2%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.5 | service: 3 | selection: 4.5
Once upon a time, I used to work right next door to the Wine Source over at the Rotunda. Of course in those days the beer selection there was a complete afterthought, while now it's pretty much the best in town.

Like a few other liquor stores I could name in Baltimore, the Wine Source is not the easiest place to find. Likewise, parking is pretty limited (6 or 7 spots right out front), and so one's initial impression is really not all that great. However, once you walk in, it's readily apparent that the Wine Source is not your typical Baltimore liquor store. Aside from their stellar wine selection, they also carry gourmet coffee, a wide selection cheeses, cigars and a nice range of glassware. The beer selection has always been located straight back to the right when you first walk in the door, and has grown considerably over time. I've visited the WS a number of times, and I can honestly say that the selection has just gotten better and better over time (I'd rank this as probably the best spot for craft beer in the city now). There still is a cold box of macro crap as well, but it's only in the cold box and the selection of macro swill seems to be dwindling. As for craft beer and imports, the selection is extensive, though I never did figure out how everything is organized. There are some shelves dedicated exclusively to Belgians, though another shelf with predominantly Belgian stuff also had a row of Mikkeller. I was here this day hoping to pick up some CC Thank you, Thank you very much, and it took a while to find it. It wasn't located in an exclusively "locals" or IPA section, but whatever... at least they had it (I called all over town trying to find it, and they seemed to be the only store in town that had any). Otherwise, the selection of craft beer and imports is vast and impressive, and I confess I never find it too arduous a chore looking over row after row of great beer.

As for service, I'm not really sure what to say about it. I was in the store looking around for roughly 20 minutes and never had anyone stop by to ask whether or not I needed any help (not that I did). On the other hand, when I walked to the back of the store to take a gander at some half bottles and some pinot noir, I was asked almost immediately if I required any assistance, or was I just looking around. In any event, everyone here was otherwise very pleasant and polite.

Regardless, the Wine Source is a very fine beer store and prices are fairly reasonable (by Baltimore City standards). I'd definitely call it the preeminent beer store in the city, one that is on a par with State Line and the Perfect Pour. Just wish it wasn't such a hassle to get to from my West Side home and office in Woodlawn.
Dec 21, 2010
Photo of shivtim
Reviewed by shivtim from Georgia

4.35/5  rDev -0.9%
I visited this place with a friend while in Baltimore. For a wine store, they have a really great beer selection. Lots of refrigerated six packs and some singles, and a very large selection of un-refrigerated bombers and individual bottles. There's a wide variety of options, including a sizeable Belgian selection, a full range of Rogue, Stone, Bear Republic, Dogfish Head, Jolly Pumpkin, etc, some random singles from places like Goose Island, J.W. Lees varieties, and a few local brews (like Pub Dog). Definitely worth a stop if you're in the city.

I didn't ask for any help and didn't receive any, but the cashier was very friendly. Decent prices. All of the beers looked like they were freshly stocked (no dusty bottles).
Aug 15, 2010
The Wine Source in Baltimore, MD
Place rating: 4.39 out of 5 with 57 ratings