Wine Country, The

IntriqKen

California

4.2/5  rDev -0.5%
quality: 4.5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 3.5 | $$$

Very convienent for me being right off the freeway on my way home every night. Wonderful wine selection and very knowledgeable staff...but that's not why we are here.
In the back of the store on the left side are 4 small isles devoted to beer. Don't expect to find any BMCs here, however...they don't exist.
The beers they have are all high quality and fairly hard to find. Be careful on the dates, though...beer doesn't move as quickly as their wines do and you might get stuck with an old bottle. Often that won't matter in the heavier stuff, but i saw some Winterfest in September that I don't think will have held up well. Still, I did walk out spending $75 on some wonderful stuff.

09-15-2006 01:44:03 | More by IntriqKen

UCLABrewN84

California

3.56/5  rDev -15.6%
vibe: 4 | quality: 3.5 | service: 3 | selection: 4 | $$

I stopped in at The Wine Country yesterday since I was in the area. It's a boutique-like warehouse filled with mainly wine but there is a small beer area to the side. First and foremost, all of their beer was on the shelf from what I could tell with nothing in the cooler. Some of the bottles were pretty dusty and looked to have been sitting around for a while. I wasn't offered help or even acknowledged when I walked in the door. The selection is fairly small but they had bottles that are harder to find. Prices were pretty reasonable for everything I saw, even if they were a bit more than other stores in the area. I didn't buy anything on this trip but I wouldn't be opposed to going back again if I was in the area.

08-21-2012 00:35:08 | More by UCLABrewN84

Diesel76

California

4/5  rDev -5.2%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 5 | selection: 3 | $$

They have a decent selection... they do get in some of the harder to find stuff, but don't hide it in the back like some other places... that said, they don't seem to have the amount of beer people coming in to look for stuff... so, the harder to find stuff that is sold out all over town, is just sitting on their shelf...

They have the desire to be a great beer shop, but just need the beer people to know to come buy stuff there... and maybe they can get more...

Once a month they do a beer tasting night called Beerventure ... check their site for the dates and the theme for each month, it's a lot of fun, and for $20 it's a hell of a deal, too...

12-17-2011 05:39:18 | More by Diesel76

bierkoning

California

4/5  rDev -5.2%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 4 | $$$

I would go back to this place, let me first say that.

Selection was decent, two rows for the beer as this is, obviously, a wine focused establishment. They had the usual suspects: Delirium, Unibraue, Stone, and some Trappist brews. Not amazing, but not a poor selection by any means. A few harder to find items, again, I wasn't impressed, but I wasn't disappointed.

Staff was friendly, I had a question about some gin I was purchasing and the woman on the floor was very knowledgeable about her products. Not amazingly so, and there was no history lesson or anything like that, but she knew general flavors and made decent recommendations.

Prices were a little high, maybe 10% more than a Bev-mo, but I'm a cheapskate so that's relative I suppose. A solid place.

07-28-2011 16:45:33 | More by bierkoning

gregoryG

California

4.36/5  rDev +3.3%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4 | $$

This place is mostly centered around wine but they have a small and impressive beer section in the back left side of the store. the Lady that does the beer there is very cool and always very helpful. they have a really nice selection of belgian beers, and is especially cool for having lots of belgian beers that you wont find at most other specialty beer stores. they also get a good selection of rare beers from time to time. they regularly get shipments of pliny andblind pig. i was able to get ivan the terrible from this store a few months back as well.

05-08-2011 21:58:10 | More by gregoryG

IKR

California

4.5/5  rDev +6.6%
quality: 4.5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4.5 | $$

Good selection, professional staff , and decent prices add up to a good source for beer and a lighter wallet. Catch this place when fully stocked and your wallet will be much lighter but you'll have some nice beers to drink for a while. The wide variety of styles is another plus. Wine country is primarily a wine store consistent with it's name, but the craft beer selection has expanded since my initial visit. For those that like a fine wine every now and then, this store can really make it hard to leave without way too many bottles. The wine selection is exemplary. Thank God for local businesses that blow away the large chains!

02-17-2011 06:40:24 | More by IKR

ebin6

California

5/5  rDev +18.5%
quality: 5 | service: 5 | selection: 5 | $$

My "go to" store for all things beer. Very consistent selection of local breweries (Lost Abbey, Port, Alesmith, etc.), Belgians (Fantome, trappists, etc.), and of course harder to find beers (Russian River, Cascade, etc.). Had a lot of Cantillon back in the day, but that has dried up all over the West Coast; can't fault them. They'd have it if they could.

The service goes above and beyond. Ask for Merritt, and you'll have all your needs met and a good conversation to boot. She loves all things sour and is very helpful/insightful when it comes to that style in particular (though she certainly knows the rest as well). In short, Wine Country is amazing.

12-19-2010 01:41:54 | More by ebin6

fourplayed

California

4/5  rDev -5.2%
quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 4 | $$$

Mainly a wine store with regular wine events happening. Good selection of quality beers are tucked into a 20' square un-chilled spot in the back corner. Also some brews in their small 8' tall 8' wide glass door cooler.

Helpful & friendly when you have questions about brews in house and brews not in house.

The selection is very good and you can pull 12oz from their respective 4 or 6 packs to mix match your own take home selections.

A bit pricey per bottle when you do mix and match. Overall price's are in line with a few other local place's I shop in.

10-18-2010 18:21:48 | More by fourplayed

BeTheBall

Massachusetts

4.5/5  rDev +6.6%
quality: 4.5 | service: 5 | selection: 4 | $$

Visiting from Mass., called on the suggestion of the Russian River distributor (Stone) loooking for Pliny the Elder. Charged me for and saved me two bottles which I loved. Drove there straight from LAX to find my two and more in stock, so I bought six. Also bought some Firestone Walker IPA, which we can't get back home. Thanks guys!
A pretty large store with a very good, but not great craft beer selection, a wide selection of wine, and other quality entertainment and party type goods. Wish I lived near a store like this.
Again, the service blew me away. Even when I got there one of the guys showed me around the craft beer section and answered some questions. Great job!

08-14-2010 18:31:11 | More by BeTheBall

Swimsum

California

4.3/5  rDev +1.9%
quality: 4 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4.5 | $$

Stopped in here the other day on my way down to downtown Long Beach. Even though this is mostly a wine store it does have a good selection of craft beer. The selection is pretty small but there are some good finds in here. Lot of CA brews and pretty reasonable prices. This is the closest decent craft beer store located to my house so it's my primary stop when I come home from school. The employees were nice and offered to help me locate anything I was looking for. A good visit for anyone in the area and I'll personally be making many return visits.

Update (June 18, 2009): This place has gotten pretty good since I first came here. It may be because I'm noticing more beers that before I wasn't looking for but have come across some pretty rare beers here. Recently got my hands on some Consecration (they have 4 cases!!!) and can still get Stone 08 IRS, AleSmith Speedway Stout (just got some Grand Cru as well), and some Avery beers I haven't seen else where. Liking this place more and more, stop by if you're in Long Beach

12-23-2008 04:47:14 | More by Swimsum