Wine Gourmet

Wine Gourmet has been a great addition to the Roanoke beer scene since it moved to town last year. Beer tastings every Friday 5-8ish, and a Beer of the Month Club that gives members at least a couple bucks off of usually 2 six packs keep me returning regularly. In particular, I was really impressed when last month they had gotten a special deal on Oskar Blues' Gordon four packs and gave BOTMC members something like 6 bucks off the pack, whereas a single usually goes for like $4.50 a can.

Another great thing about Wine Gourmet is the discount shelf. Maybe I shouldn't make this so public, but there's almost always a 6-pack that's been hanging around on the shelves for a while discounted to $4.99, or a bomber discounted 10-20% because it's out of season. I've never had an issue with freshness from these beers and while they may not all be the greatest beers, I've gotten some winners there, as well as some decent stuff to have in the fridge till the next paycheck comes in.

Service is always attentive and friendly. While some employees may be geared more towards the wine side of things, there are usually enough people in there to help you find what you need.

Selection is pretty good, at least for around here. It's no Vintage Cellar yet, but I can usually find some new stuff in every trip thats a good enough value to buy. Six-packs go anywhere from about 9 bucks to 13 and up, and bombers of Belgian ales can be through the roof, but you're going to get that anywhere these days. Prices are probably not as good as Vintage Cellar across the board, but alas, I don't live in Blacksburg anymore. One thing that bugs me is the occasional shelf-stockage of some really poor macro that looks like a micro and is priced like one (i.e. Wild Blue). If you know your stuff, this shouldn't be much of a problem.

In closing, I don't know anything about wine really but there's a lot of it there, and they also have some quality munchy food, like chocolate, nuts, cheese, etc. There's a small fridge with some cold beers but most are stored warm. One of, if not the best place to find beer in Roanoke.

 

 

 

Good people. Great selection. Best prices I've found in town so far(Same as Krogers, but I'll always favor local businesses). They also have pretty good deals on kegs if you're having a party or stocking your bar. I also enjoy the taste testings they do-always quality beverages. Keep it up!

 

Since moving down the road, the layout is better and more spacious. About half of the store is beer, the only reason wine is a little larger is because the bottles take up more space. Prices are a bit much, since you can go down the road a mile to the Kroger and get most of these beers. The man working knew all and can answer any question imaginable. I threw some obscure questions at him and he was able to answer them. They also have tastings all the time which is nice. Good place to find the hard to get, at a cost.

I had a great experience at this place.

The guy working there was very knowledgeable and helpful. When asked about specific rare beers, he was able to give specifics on quantities, distribution, and the like. Great service.

The selection was quite good as well. While the Kroger will offer more variety and a larger selection of out of state beers, Wine Gourmet offers more of the local variety.

A large amount of beer sold as singles is available as well.

Prices are a bit high.

Primarily a wine store, as the name makes clear, but overall a great place.

I would recommend this place for folks from out of town looking for local beers.

Wine Gourmet, as its name states, is primarily a wine shop, but about 20% of the floor is reserved for beer. I went in this past weekend looking for beers I can't get in NC, hoping to find Tröeg's, Firestone Walker, etc. No luck. However, I did find Clown Shoes, which has been undergoing some recent expansion, so not all was lost. I also found a Lindeman's Cuveé Rene, which I've not seen in NC and, most excitingly for me, Shooting Creek Farm's Capsicum Stout!

Prices were a bit steep ... $14/6pk for the Capsicum stout, other stuff seemed about $1 higher than I'm used to paying in NC.

Atmosphere was great. They were doing a wine tasting, which kept my wife entertained whilst I browsed the shelves. The owners were super nice, chatting with me about how the NC beer seen has made such great strides in the past few years. They were primarily a wine shop, but they are very knowledgable about beer as well.

Overall, it's worth paying them a visit if you're in the Roanoke area. If you keep in mind that they are primarily a wine shop, you shouldn't be disappointed.

I live in Roanoke so it is nice to have a store with a decent variety of craft beers. The selection of course seems to change with the seasons and there is always new things popping up on the shelves. Of course, the main craft breweries they carry are Founders, Bell's, Stone, The Bruery, Oskar Blues, Victory, Duck-Rabbit, Dogfish Head and there are more that I cannot think of at this time. They also have a selection of imports from Belgium and other places. Overall the selection is fairly good for a city with not a huge craft beer market. Though the selection is not huge, what they do have is high quality. Not too many bad beers at this place.

Aaron the beer buyer is very good and knowledgeable. He is always extremely friendly and there to answer any questions you may have when he is working.

The only negative thing is their prices on some things can be higher than average. However, I have to suck it up and pay their prices because a lot of the things they have cannot be purchased anywhere else in town.

I stopped here for the second time and was surprised to find a few seasonals I couldn't find elsewhere. The service of this place was excellent, and there was a nice selection of singles. I only wish they had a little more beers in the area, but then again I am unsure of distribution as far as Carolina beers and remoteness from eastern Virginia. For Roanoke and other than a few other places in Blacksburg, it probably is the best or one of the best places you will be able to go for craft beer. I will also say that there was some improvement in areas compared to the year before when I visited, something if it continues will make this a prime destination for beer geeks.

Loved my Friday Drive by when Wine Gourmet was near my house, but they moved... so I don't get by a often as I would like.

First note: They are a Wine Store (thus the name) so beer is not as big a focus...

Quality: Quality has always been very good... and continues to be good

Service: Very knowledgeable staff.... They can lead you to some good brew depending on your taste.

Selections: When they were near me they had to compete with a large Kroger... now that they have moved to the new location (next to a Ukrops...( no beer or wine sales )) they are not pushed like they were so the selection is a little down. They do have great selection of beers... Stone, Legends, Southern Tier, Allagash, Acme and lots of others.... maybe the best in Roanoke.. ( not like Vintage Cellars in Blacksburg)...

Value: They are a bit pricey.... I would run by the Kroger a few miles away... they have a lot of the same things and priced a little lower..

Overall the people at Wine Gourmet have always made me feel welcome and that keeps me coming back.

I should have taken the time to review wine gourmet earlier.

First off the name is wine gourmet, and I know this place was not designed to be a beer Mecca or anything but they have a huge Yes we have beer in the window now, so i figured they may have expanded.

Nope. The selection is pretty meager- but not bad, and everything is high quality. A small cooler houses some brews.

But man the pricing is crazy high. I'm talking six packs of Nugget nectar 17 bucks high. And with the Kroger just up the road having a superior selection (as well as really good prepared meals) there needs to be a serious re-evaluation of pricing and or selection for me to begin to return to Wine Gourmet. Sorry fellas I'd love to support the small stores, but it's a big hurdle to pay 3-5 bucks more for a sixer.

I have been unimpressed with Wine Gourmet. They moved from a prior location in Botetourt, Virginia in order to provide wine / beer next door to a large grocery chain which does not carry alcohol. W G simply does not have the inventory to compete with Kroger's in Roanoke. Plus they are a wine store first with beer seeming to be an afterthought. Their prices are high (I know they are the little guy and have to charge a bit more) and they are unable to order kegs (at least as of the date of this review). For some reason Hop and Wine only distributes to this place so if you are looking for Bell's (Hop and Wine has the license - MONOPOLY - to distribute Bell's in practically all of Western and Southwestern Virginia) this is your only hope unless you want to travel to Blacksburg, Virginia's Vintage Cellar. If you visit, do not get your hopes too high.

Just stopped by there to pick up my six pack of Hopslam!!! (Mad props to the beer guys there for hooking me up). Anyway, the store is real nice and the staff is very knowledgeable...I only talked to Aaron, not Mike though. Their selection isn't the biggest in the world but what they do carry is real good beer. Nothing super rare but miles better than anything else you can find in the immediate Southwest Virginia area. The only drawback is that since it's the only beer store in the area their prices can be a couple dollars higher than what you would see at a Total Wine or other beer stores. Beggars cannot be choosers as I see it though...I'd rather pay a dollar or two more for good beer than to suck it up and go slumming at Kroger or Wal-Mart. Oh yeah, free beer tastings on Fridays from 5-8...if the employees are reading this, bigger samples please???? I'd recommend a stop in if you're in the area...pretty neat, down home, great atmosphere beer shop!

I was visiting Roanoke on business and stopped here to check it out this week. It's easy to find, right off 581, the highway that dissects Roanoke. It's relatively small but is neatly presented with a very well organized and credible selection of beers in one corner of the store. The rest is devoted to what appears to be a goodly selection of wine and related goodies. As their name would suggest, the focus here is wine and the atmosphere is deceidedly more in line with that then the typical discount beer outlet. The beer selection contained a solid variety of foreign imports and domestic micros. Somewhat all over the map, little of everything. There was plenty of new stuff for me to pick out some keepers for the flight home, a number of things I was unfamiliar with from all over the US. I was hoping to see more local stuff and instead found a solid selection of brews from my own part of the country (northeast). The strongest points here for me were the friendly and informed service (thanks to Aaron & Mike) as well as the open option to buy singles (even if you had to break a 6/4-pack. There were some items put aside for special discounts due to shelf life but most of the stock looked fresh. Some are kept in coolers and most are on shelves. This is the best selection I've run into in Roanoke but the only other I've seen is Market Square, which wasn't bad either. A lot of the best items here were ones I could get back home so I would think this would be even better for the Roanoke locals who might have a hard time tracking down such brews otherwise. Pricing was pretty standard faire for the selection. But again, I was very impressed with how much time they spent talking with me and assisting me in my search of the stock. I got some good tips that helped me choose what would get stuffed in my luggage (everything made it home in one piece!). Service with a smile and plenty of good old beer chat for an enjoyable experience. I'm sure this would be a very regular stop for me if I lived anywhere close by. As it is I will return whenever in Roanoke.

Stopped in here on Saturday, 6-30-07, while heading down I-81. Just a little heads up...they are moving in July to a new location so you may want to call to find out where they are.

Mostly a wine shop...as I expected from the name. Beer is tucked back in the corner of the shop. They were having a wine tasting when we stopped in and the table was right in front of the beer. Plenty of room to get around, though. Staff was very helpful and friendly. The selection was mostly what I was expecting (Stone, Bell's, Left Hand, Lagunitas, DFH) plus I saw a couple bottles of Legend and another local VA micro that slips my mind now. I should have bought some but it was crowded and I didn't feel like waiting in line for a sixer or two. Moving sale was going on so I bet the selection is better normally. If their new location is just as easy to find off of I-81 I will stop back in to make some purchases. Hopefully a local BA can update their info with the new addy when the move.

Easy to find. Get off of I-81 onto 220N and it will be on your left.
Small selection but well thought out, with an empasis on quality over quanity. This is a wine fist place as the beer makes up the back right corner of the store. I was looking for beers I could not buy in NC and I found several. Legend seasonals. New England Brewing in cans. Blue and Gray Brewing. Another Va brewery but I forgot the name. Stone....Arrogant Bastard and IPA. Breckinridge. Speakeasy. There may have been more, but that's all that I can remember. Prices on similar products were a bit more than the stores I frequent in NC. I don't shop enough in Va to know how thier prices compare to other Va places. Service was good as a guy came to help me and pointed me in the right direction. He was a craft beer drinker himself.
If you are using 220 to go from 81 to Clifton Forge, Covington, or Douthat State Park I would recommend you stopping by Wine Gourmet to check it out.

I have passed thru this area many times on the way to Clifton Forge,VA to seem my wifes grandmother and never noticed this place and would have not noticed it if it were not for the big yellow sign seven miles ahead giving its location.A good beer "corner" in the back a nice selection of Belgians the crown jewel two frickin bottles of Westy 12 on the clearance shelf!I asked the lady behind the counter this is one of the best brews in the world and she laughed and said she cant get rid of them,I helped her out.Some Stone products ,IPA and Arrogant Bastard with Vertical Epic coming in,some Yards brews I picked up a Thomas Jefferon Tavern Ale,some Anderson Valley,and ST. Bernardus to just name a few.I was told they are always trying to update their beer selection with alot of Old Dominion stuff coming on Monday.A great find today very unexpected really,a place I will hit on my way thru there.

Selection at the Wine Gourmet is limited, but the manager does have a few morsels I had not seen elsewhere, and some old favorites that I not see in awhile. The manager, Gordon, worked a long time ago at the Vintage Cellar and is fairly passionate about beer. He does not stock any BMC, and is proud of that fact. Next time I am in the Roanoke area, I will definitely stop by again.