October 16, 2009
A major chain store with an amazing beer section? YES! It is true! The secret here is the free reign that WFM corporate gives to the people running the beer/wine department. They can buy anything they want as long as it sells. You don’t find this in other large store who claim to have a "total" selection. If you stop by, ask if Lee is working. He knows his stuff, and is always willing to seek out odd ball small label products for folks. Don’t ignore the draft setups! They have great little bar areas in the store where fresh seafood, BBQ, and other tasty fare can be had with an ever rotating selection of craft brews(which are really cheap by the glass in most cases). Overall a winner of a "shop" in a cookie cutter suburban wasteland of corporate beer.

May 17, 2009
Was here for a homebrew competition on 05/16/2009. Awesome staff that helped put on the event. While we here here, they were also sampling many of the brews they sell. Quite large beer selection, including some hidden sours and Cantillon. If visiting the area, there’s a pretty decent selection of VA beer including Alewerks and Legend to be found here as well.

May 6, 2009
Of the Virginia Whole Foods I’ve been to, which is most of them, this slightly surpasses Short Pump with the best beer selection. Lots of foreign and local selections. Very thorough on the locals. Very well rounded selection, and I find new things to try every time I stop by. Large location with ample parking. Very quick stop of the interstate. Lots and lots of food options if you’re hungry. One of the coolest WFM locations out there. If you’re on 66 it’s worth a stop. Nice place to wait out the sometimes insane traffic.

March 18, 2009
I’m told that this is the flagship Whole Foods store in the mid-atlantic, and I can see why. Really good selection of limited release and vintage beer (which sporadically shows up). The singles selection still cannot compare with Total Wine, but it is getting better and the limited releases largely make up for it. The beer buyer, Lee, is a good guy that is very knowledgeable and makes a good effort to let you know when certain beers will be showing up. If you talk to somebody other than Lee, though, who knows what you might end up with (if not for this fact I would give service a 10). The tastings, which are held every saturday, and sometimes sunday, are good for getting a rough feel for the beer but due to tiny sample size are not adequate for ratings. There are also a number of beers on-tap around the store, and some good stuff gets put on from time to time. Prices may appear to be quite high, but I believe this is largely a result of the area, since they are generally in the same range as

November 19, 2008
their beer section is jam packed with a ton of amazing beer. i don’t think you could find a lite beer in there, nor any of the budweiser/miller/coors/michelob brand stuff. it’s all really good beer in a really small section in this very unorganized grocery store. i still recommend checking it out, they almost had a better selection than TOTAL WINE (FAIRFAX)

May 21, 2008
Like other raters, this was not my first visit to a Whole Foods, yet I was impressed. Compared to the Milwaukee or Alexandria (Duke St) Whole Foods, the store was quite large, offered numerous warm and cold food options for lunch, and had a generous beer selection. Being an out-of-towner, I was a bit thrilled to find a variety of Weyerbacher barrel-aged beers (bought several bottles), and was also interested in the selection of Troegs, Brooklyn, Stone and Allagash, although some of those selections might be old-hat to a local. There was no beer or wine steward hanging around that I could identify (no one approached me to offer help), which is pretty standard for a grocery store and fine with me. Prices seemed surprisingly reasonable, at least compared to liquor stores. I had some sliced brisket and mac n cheese during my visit for lunch, which was quite good.

January 13, 2008
This place is fantastic! About the size of a Wegmans, it towers over other Whole Foods Stores in the area. Beer guru is nice, helpful, and full of information. Selection rivals the more specialty stores in the area, and has beers immediately after they become available in the area. Beer tastings are on the weekends. Food on site is great, both purchased or eaten there at 2-3 locations for sit-down meals.