Rick’s Wine and Gourmet

No Longer In Business

Go here every once in a while. Easy to find I guess amidst the nonsensical highways and intersections of outer Alexandria. In a strip mall with easy parking. Selection is actually very small I would say. Only one fridge and a few shelves. Cool thing is that they do beer tastings a lot here with brewery reps or maybe staff. Prices are not bad. But honestly I only walk out with about 1-2 bottles that I saw interesting. It’s a small store with 2/3 wine, a small deli in the back or something (?), and then a decent craft beer selection. I wouldn’t place it up there with Norms or Perfect Pour, but going to be a good bet in Alexandria for bottles. Six packs, singles, some lambics. Had a bunch of Tilquin when I was there. Good amount of local VA beer. Staff are very nice and chatty.

The embargo has ended and change is upon us...time for a re-review. A great place to get beer in the DC Metro area. The staff is friendly and knowledgeable. Rick’s always have a variety of quality brews in stock. They also get a lot of the limited releases, such as Black Ops and Bell’s Hopslam, and allow you to reserve bottle(s). Additionally, there is a mailing list, keeping customers informed about upcoming tastings, releases, etc. There are plenty of quality beers from which to choose at Rick’s Wine & Gourmet. The new beer manager is knowledgable, pasionate about beer, friendly (a drastic change from the last guy) and does a great job. This place is certainly worth checking out and a destination I frequent as often as I can.

Stopped here because it is VERY close to Port City. Large store with wine, beer and gourmet foodstuffs including sandwiches. I did not partake. The beer selection is small-ish, but good. I didn’t see any uber-rarities, but there was some less common stuff. Prices were very high across the board. The singles selection is very limited, and I was allowed to pull a single from a six pack only because there was an empty slot on the singles rack. Staff was friendly and somewhat helpful. Decent store, but the prices make me wary of coming again.

The service is good, the staff is knowledgeable -- and it also has good, wine, cheese and sandwiches. They have beer tastings on the weekends, which is great. Selection could be bigger for a shop, but it’s pretty good. Only thing is that it’s not always the best value. I’ve frequently seen bottles of the same brew a dollar or two cheaper elsewhere.

A good value place with very helpful staff. They have a very good selection of beers,wine and deli foods. The staff are really friendly and the first time I went, the manager suggested going to Port City Brewery which happened to be a great experience. A great location and easy parking.

Small place with decent selection, reasonable prices, and knowledgeable service. Nice beer tasting on Saturdays. Also a decent wine selection and some cheeses and sandwiches.

Great place that I generally head to at least once a week for the Saturday tastings from 12-5. If not, typically I’ll be in on Sunday to pick up whatever I had reserved. Quality here is top of the line. While the selection isn’t as large as other outlets in the area, I’m more than okay with this fact given that they fit quite a bit into a small area and that the selection is constantly rotating and I never need to worry about older bottles. Service has always been fantastic. Jon does a great job with the weekly e-mail detailing new beers and what is on for the tasting the week, and will set aside whatever beers from the list you’re interested in if you call or e-mail. He’s also always up-to-date on the latest releases. Selection is good but not fantastic, which is understandable given space constraints. The new singles section was a really nice addition.

Dusty selection of normal stocked beers. There was not too much here that I could not find at a grocery store. There may be a couple of rare gems but nothing to write home about. They seem to be more concerned with wine, which is fine because it is actually in their name. I would have liked it even more if some wine snob was not going on and on about his big collection in his basement and how you should properly store it and blah blah blah. Overall, if you can’t make it to a decent grocery store then this might be what you need. Better selection than Giant.

Good store and nice beer tasting on the weekend.

A nice store tucked in a shopping center. The staff is helpful and knowledgeable, and their specialty is French wines. The deli counter has a nice collection of cheeses and a few meats, the wild boar prosciutto being particularly good, although it is $39.99 per pound. The beer selection is decent, with a better bomber selection than some other shops nearby.