I’m sure this topic has come up, but ten minutes of using the search function yields nothing of relevance. I’m tasked with consulting on wine selection for a wedding in Alexandria, and could use some advice on the optimal retailer to go through. Due to the number of attendees, the wine will not be high end, but the hosts don’t want to serve plonk. We will need about 4 cases at $250 a case. I don’t think I need guidance on the wine itself, just the recommended merchant.
MacArthur, Chain Bridge, Calvert Woodley are all well known shops.
mcarthurs, schneiders and weygandts are among the main stays of D.C. wine. If you want something a little funkier, consider checking out Grand Cata (mostly spanish wines - think spain and south america with some italy and other places thrown in - but they may have something fun to consider).
Do you know what you are looking for? The mainstays are Calvert and McArthur in dc. In Arlington, Arrowine is very nice. Schneider’s on capital hill is good too. There isn’t anything in particular in Alexandria that I can recommend as much as I’d like to (my home town).
What about Total Wine? Would they be cheaper for what the OP wants?
I checked out the Total Wine site, and dismissed it completely.
This is a wedding for a niece. At a wedding for another niece a couple of weeks ago, the caterer was a friend of the groom from Minneapolis who showed up with an eclectic selection of wines including Alvarinho, Gruner Velltinger and Mondeuse. The wines were unfamiliar to most of the guests, but they were tasty and well accepted. The friends of bride and groom mostly drank beer (good selection of microbrews from kegs).
The groom in this wedding is from a Venezuelan family. I expect Spanish, Argentinian, and Chilean wines will be well accepted. I’ll check out Grand Cata and some of the other suggestions.
Can you move four cases of wine from DC into the state of Virginia without a license?
https://www.abc.virginia.gov/enforcement/virginia-codes-and-regulations/importing-personal-alcohol
The ABC seems to think not.
That should have been part of my question, as well as laws about receiving shipments from out of state.
Longtime DC-er here who has been to all of these stores many times. DC has a lot of great wine stores but IMO MacArthurs is the best and definitely where I would go on a mission like this one. Super helpful sales staff, great selection and good prices.
Based on my experience with them pretty sure they will deliver for you as well if event within reasonable distance
My guess is that you will need a Virginia store.
“What’s inside the Beltway stays in the Beltway”
Before you simply go there, you might want to check on their quantities, since the store location only keeps limited stock; most is tied up in their warehouse and needs to be brought in (a day or 2 delay).
I’d say Arrowine might be perfect if you want to replicate that experience. They have a lot of geeky stuff and a decent staff to help you select what you want. McArthur would be good too. I find Calvert frustrating; much of their stock is off-site and the selection available to browse is more limited.
Yes, MacArthurs does deliver for what I recall is a nominal fee.
Not to Virginia: Shipping & Returns. MacArthur Beverages
Local Deliveries:
We offer delivery within the District of Columbia (it is not legal to deliver to the Maryland and NoVa suburbs). The fee for this service is $10 with a strict $100 minimum. DC Sales tax (10%) applies to local delivery orders as well. Our driver is required to check for a government issued photo ID to make sure the recipient(s) are 21 or over.
That said, while you may be violating Virginia law by bringing something more than a case there, enforcement does not appear to meaningfully occur. There were anecdotes that Maryland was stationing officers at Calvert-Woodley to look for cars with Maryland plates, but that was some time ago. If you’re really concerned, take a group and put them each in separate Ubers.
Weygand might be another shop to consider. Love MacArthur and like Calvert Woodley.
Well if I were you, I sure wouldn’t break any laws now, especially not after I had been on a “Real Names” bulletin board asking these questions.
And you need to make dadgum certain that the “Wedding Coordinator” has procured a valid temporary liquor license for the premises [assuming it’s not a private home]:
Get a Virginia ABC Banquet License
Worst case scenario would be a guest getting all liquored up, driving home drunk, and killing some innocent person in a motor vehicle collision.
Then the police will start working backwards from the scene of the crime, and eventually they will get the ABC investigators involved, and the ABC will discover that there was no temporary liquor license, and then they’ll get a warrant for your credit card info, and learn that you purchased all of the booze out of state, etc etc etc, and suddenly you’re looking at prison time as a felon.
I would dot all of the I’s and cross all of the T’s when it comes to booze.
Don’t cut any corners.
I haven’t been in Arrowine in forever, but my recollection is that they had a very nice selection, and for some reason I have the sight Peyre Rose burned into my memory.
The Virginia wine scene was traditionally dominated by The Country Vintner, but they were subsumed by this metastasizing cancer called “The Winebow Group”, which is gobbling up everything on the East Coast, and has now spread to Oregon:
https://www.thewinebowgroup.com/our-brands/distribution/?State[]=va&Companies[]=13
Nathan,
I won’t be picking up the wine. I’m only helping to chose something more interesting than a supermarket selection.The wedding reception is taking place on the grounds of the American Horticultural Society, and is being professionally catered. I have confidence they are familiar with the rules and regs. Thank you for your concern.
There was a time, decades ago (like, the 80s), when VA cops watched the liquor stores on the DC side of the bridges and radioed buddies on the VA side to snag bootleggers, esp at Christmas time. Than was a very long time ago. I haven’t heard of anyone getting hassled in many many years. I would not worry about it.