Hi-Time Wine Cellars
Categories: Beer, Wine & Spirits, Candy Stores, Tobacco Shops [Edit]
250 Ogle StCosta Mesa, CA 92627 (949) 650-8463
- Hours:
Mon-Wed 9:00 a.m.-8:00 p.m.
Thu 9:00 a.m.-9:00 p.m.
Fri-Sat 9:00 a.m.-9:00 p.m.
Sun 10:00 a.m.-7:00 p.m. - Price Range: $$
- Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
- Parking: Private Lot
- Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
107 Reviews for Hi-Time Wine Cellars
Who hasn't made the beautiful trek here. Unbelievable selection. Competitive prices. And my favorite a store bigger than itself. They are always willing to order something for you that they don't already carry. I've had them do for me a couple times. Don't go there for your everyday beer run, but rather if it's time for a little class in your life. In the right light some people say this looks like Mecca.
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Five stars for the impressive wine collection / cellar.
They also have an incredible selection of spirits, beers, tobacco, cheeses and chocolate.
I get my Prisoner wine here...and we also get our Hitching Post favorites.
I also get the ever so delectable Bacon Chocolate. Yum.
They have a self serve tasting counter, which often features monthly picks from the newsletter...
I prefer sitting at the counter with other fellow winos.
Next time, I hope they have someone cool and knowledgeable doing the pouring!
We got this incredibly rude staff member...
He just seemed so far up his own ass to care or bother with us.
The moment the counter filled up with other folks, he started giving us descriptions and information on the wines we were tasting...
ABOUT TIME! We're almost done with our 8 pours man!
Anyway, despite this rude a-hole, Hi Time is killer!
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Amazing Selection! I grew up across the street from this place and watched it grow. The variety they have and they prices they offer are unbeatable! BevMo has nothing on this place! I'm obessed with the beer fridge! its amaxing!
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how have i not reviewed you already!!
hi-time is by far the best liquor store/tobacco shop/wine cellar around.
hands down.
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Micro and macrobrew beer with a walk in fridge the size of my room...check. Cigars and cigarettes...check. Hard alcohol of every type and kind...check. Chocolate and cheese...check. A fully stocked wine cellar...check.
Hi-Times can facilitate the acquistion of virtually every legal vice known to man, and do it in style. Sure, the prices aren't the lowest around but that's ok because the employees actually know a thing or two about what they are selling. If you have never been be sure to map it as Hi-Times is not on a main street and is very unassuming and easy to miss.
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What can I say that over a hundred people haven't said already... If you like alcohol (and I mean any kind of alcohol) or cigars then this is the place for you.
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Best Selection of Wine and Beer in Southern California!!! This place has anything and everything!!! Super hard to find Beers and wines... If your a beer or wine nut don't pass up this place!!!!
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AlI wanted was a bottle of Vodka...I swear...Two hours later, why I am leaving with more alcohol then I can carry? If it isn't here, you probably aren't going to find it...I heart Hi-Time.
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If you want it, they have it. Not only is Hi-Time the place to go to for alcohol (and "gourmet" water, if that's your thing), they have a nice selection of wine accessories and BBQ sauces and spreads here. The service is awesome. When I told the cashier I was going to have a tasting party, he threw in a tube of plastic cups for free.
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One of the greatest places to visit in all the land for most of your legal adult vices - beer, wine, liquor, smokes, and candy. Sorry no DVDs or adult toys, but Con Rev is right down the street.
There is a lot to be said for having the largest temperature controlled wine cellar on the west coast. If it's available, they likely have it...or can get it. The walk-in beer cooler is filled with things you will want. Their selection of 50 ml cordials is second to none (the airplane sized bottles that come in handy for sporting events and such). The walk-in cigar humidor is full of tasty treats. Heck they even have a sake fridge.
If you're a wine hot shot or just strive to be one, you can attend tastings at the wine bar at the bottom of the ramp and then store cases of your treasures in one of their chilled storage lockers for a nominal fee.
And to top it off the staff here are all very friendly and helpful. It really doesn't get any better than this.
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I love this place
That is all i have to say
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This is the ultimate Adult candy store. Damn you Hi-Time for always making me overspend! This warehouse-sized place carries all the high-end wines/champagnes/beers and puts places like Bev-mo to shame. They have a huge selection of cigars here too. Staff is friendly and VERY helpful when looking for that certain bottle...if this place had a sports bar too I'd probably never leave...
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I'm only 22 and don't know much about good alcohol, but if I did, I would go here. They have everything. And their prices are for the most part better than bevMo's. good selection of expensive, cheap, foreign, and local beer, wine, and liquor.
cool thing is that they have tasting too. pick up their newsletter and it'll give you their calendar. the tastings a little on the pricey side. Around $70. I can't afford that, but maybe you can.
They also have gifts, cards, candy, snacks, and condiments.
i love this place. i do not love their logo.
I live in Phoenix and often have a case of red shipped - since they've got a superb selection and the cost of shipping is well worth my time, not to mention the cost of driving around town. Bottles are always well packed and arrive quickly. I do a price compares every once in a while and every time Hi-Time has the best price as well (some places charge $50 to ship). I'm a happy, even happier when a case arrives - customer.
One of the best selections of beer, wine and other forms of liquor in California. I can walk into that store knowing exactly what I want and still end up browsing all the various other items in the store. i can spend hours walking around the wine cellar looking at all the different choices around me.
I love going to this place.
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Hands down the best place in OC and maybe LA to get booze and related items. Lose one star for not having an apartment in the back for me to live in :)
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Kid In A Candy Store.
Honestly, if somebody asks me where a good "date spot" might be in Costa Mesa - oddly Hi-Time Cellars comes to mind. Haha.
No but seriously, you wouldn't even know this place existed if you were just driving down 17th ave. - for it's tucked away and hidden behind some other retail shops in a shopping center.
The place has got to be at least 10,000 sq. ft. You walk in to a whole assortment of cigars, cigarettes, tobacco and chocolates. Hang a right and you have several aisles of top shelf organized liquor - all at great prices! on your left you will notice a stairway leading you to a beautiful wine cellar; usually with wine tasting going on (there's your date part). Amongst the walls of the wine tasting area you will notice the finer liquors such as Louis XIII Cognac anywhere from $1,000 - $5,000 a bottle. Behind all the wine tasting you can walk into their actual gigantic wine cellar, holding thousands of bottles of wine - all completely organized to their grape varieties.
Come back out to the main area and keep moving down to the end of the store - you will walk past a ton of awesome gadgets and glasses that will lead you to a good size walk-in fridge packed with beers and IPA's from all around the world. Most amazing part - you can fill up kegs there with most of these beers.
So yeah, whether you're looking for that last minute gift, on your way to a party or wanna give your date a little sneak peak of your alcoholic lifestyle - Hi-Time Cellars is definitely FTW.
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Excellent place. They have EVERYTHING!
They also have a giant wine collection. I'm not a wine person so I don't know if it's because I'm easily impressed, but I am.
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I concur with every postive review; I come for Fischer beer and cigars.
However, if they sold horchata and had froyo machines I'd call it heaven.
update 5/11/08...
They sell St. Germain liquor. It's very good and can be hard to find. Try it with Champagne and club soda. Muy Bueno!
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I had a dream that I could fit nimbly in a wine crate in the vast and luscious wine cellar until closing time. It grows dark with the end of the business day and in my bag (also tucked neatly in the wine crate with me - a lever style rabbit corkscrew, plastic tumblers (it's dark in the there, remember? I don't wanna break anything!), and a gasp of glee. I wander the narrow walkways, reaching out in excitement using only my sense of touch to reach for bottles... using instinct I find a 2002 Silver Oak Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon (it's MY dream, remember?) ... a Grgich Hills Cabernet Sauvignon (organic grapes!) and taste my way through the evening into the wee hours...
sigh.
Although just a dream, it is reality that Hi-Time has a monumental wine selection...their North American selection as well as international selection is unlike any other I've seen. I could easily drop a week's pay downstairs, alone.
If you prefer beer or other spirits, Hi-Time doesn't disappoint. I love that you can buy individual bottles and I definitely prefer this local favorite over BevMo.
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Aahhhh, Hi-Time....it's a drinkers dreamland. For the walk-in beer fridge alone! This is the place to come for a keg of GOOD beer for your party, instead of typical light s%#t they sell at other stores.
Aisle after glorious aisle of liquor, neatly organized by type: Rum, Tequila, Vodka, Whiskey, Liquers, etc. Low end to High end.
You walk downstairs to their wine & champagne section...with Tasting Bar. They have normal tastings daily and specials on certain nights-check their website. No cheap bottles here, if you don't want to spend over $12, go to Trader Joes (they'll tell you the same).
And another walk-in room...the cigar humidor!
They also carry a few gourmet cheeses and typical wine apps. Specialty chocolate station. And other seasoal chochkes.
So, stop feeding 'the man' over at BevMo and come here instead!! :P
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At my former workplace, the perfect lunch hour would involve food at Taco Mesa, then a stop into the brrrr-tastic beer fridge at Hi Time. At the time I knew so little about beer that I just was enthralled looking at all the pretty labels. Thank God I was with a friend who helped me find fantastic IPAs!
Hi Time is also the best place to find really random liquors, like the Voyant Chai Cream Liquor that turned one of my mellow dinner parties into a raucous shoutfest. And they have the best selection of mini bottles (perfect for a bachelorette party!!!) I've ever seen.
But the wine...OMG, the wine. The wine storage area is larger than my house, and it's just packed from floor to ceiling with amazing wines. Plus the tastings at their wine bar are top notch, and a pretty great deal for $25-ish. (Last Friday that included 11 tastes of Spanish wines and an appetizer plate.)
So why not five stars? I wasn't completely enthralled with the tasting servers, who didn't do a lot to explain the wines being poured. Also, as a member of their wine club, I've found I have to fight tooth and nail for information about the special perks I'm offered. Still, every single wine I've received so far has been nothing short of fantastic. Yay for Hi Time!
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This review has been years in the making......I felt it was due time to give Hi-Time the props they deserve.
So is it bad that the minute I step off the plane at John Wayne the first stop with my BF is a liquor store? Not in my book. As a matter of fact, I have been to Hi-Time more than the big expensive mouse filled amusement park to the north.
We love Hi-Time and I have never had a trip to the OC without a drive by. - And over the years I have come to realize that there are just some things that SoCal does better and this place is one of them. It is huge, well stocked with fabulous hard to find bottled goodness and well stocked with knowledgeable friendly staff. Im a big fan of the wine area......this is the only place, aside from Napa that I have found Elyse, Havens and V Sattuii wine for sale.
Last time I visited - a stock boy (who was so cute we wanted to take him home with us) looked at our confused faces while we spent about 20 minutes pondering the perfect vodka. I can only imagine what he was thinking - "Good god, two dumb blondes stuck on aisle 3....staring at the clear liquid....maybe they will take me home with them" Anyhow, great suggestion.....good call my man, good call.
A few hundred dollars later we were on our way - to drunkville. I love you Hi-Time.....I do.....you had me at boozygoodness
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They have an awesome wine selection...(which appeals to the wino-o in me) all of which is kept in a temperature controlled cellar. You can find anything from 20 year old Bordeaux to everyday drinkers.
They also boast an amazing liquor selection. You can find some of the more obscure liquors here (chartreuse anyone?) as well as fine scotch, tequila....you get the picture.
If beer is more your thing than you are in luck as well. Everything is here and you can get most of it in a keg.
If you need a cigar they have a big humidor, but I've never looked around in there.
High-Times also has a nice selection of decanters, chocolates, olives, cheeses, and gifts. It's always fun to browse around and see what they have. It's a great place to go for gifts when you don't really know what to get for someone.
The staff are always really helpful and usually give good suggestions, and they are always eager to answer your questions.
If you haven't been here, you are really missing out.
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Best selection in O.C. for European wines, cognacs.
No contest in Ports, Madeira, Rhone, Burgundy, Provence wines. Good California selection. Prices medium.
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This place is the absolute NUTS!
I'm convinced that there is not better liquor store in California.
Every week I go buy beer from HiTimes from a different Country around the world. They have an amazing selection of brew, and its all COLD!
The best part of this place isn't even their overwhelming selection...
Its the AAA customer service. Everytime I go in to get something I ask for advice or recommendations and everytime I am offered something new and wonderful.
One time I even got a whole lesson on scotch and burbon, the regions they are from and all!
Never going back to BEVMO! EVER!
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I call it "Disneyland for Adults"... It's such a big store full of so much booze! I can always count on them carrying the latest beer/liquor discovery from my travels. They are the only retailer I've found on the west coast that carries my favorite Goslings Black Seal Rum (reason enough to make a regular visit).
They have more than just booze. There's cheese, cigars, fancy bottle openers and all sorts of other alcohol-related trinkets. You know when you're on your way to a party and you remember that you were supposed to bring a gift? This is the perfect place to stop in on the way. In 10 minutes you can find something that will impress your friends, boss or boyfriend/girlfriend's parents. If you're not in a rush, you can spend a good hour strolling through the aisles. They also have wine tastings and really nice employees.
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In a word Hi-Time is Nirvana. It's an adult playground involving a mass quantity of alcohol. Okay, it's a liquor store, but they have everything and then some. When you're looking for a unique gift or rare find Hi-Time is the place. The staff is so knowledgeable it is friggin scary (you can't stump them). Over the years the store has really grown and evolved but the one constant is the massive selection. Beer, wine or obscure alcohol, they've got it. Also check out any one of their wine tasting events (you can find a complete calendar on line) it's low key and usually attracts a very down-to-earth crowd. Buy cheese in the main store and then bring it with you downstairs to the wine bar-TASTY. They also have beer tasting on the third Wednesday of each month from 6-8pm. Hi-Time is located on Ogle Street which is tucked behind a large center on 17th Street in Costa Mesa. During the holidays parking is impossible but it's well worth the headache.
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Overwhelming supplies of spirits. Staff is knowledgeable and friendly. I recently went to Hi-Time for Kubler Absinthe. I couldn't locate it in their extensive stock, a staff member located it on the shelves within seconds.
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This place has a huge selection of beer. I can go into their beer room (which is refrigerated) and not come out for twenty minutes. I tend to stare endlessly at the perfectly aligned colorful cases holding amber, green and clear bottles of assorted alcoholic goodness with only one thing in mind: "beer."
They also have cigars, a huge wine cellar, hard alcohol, drink related furniture and smoking paraphernalia.
The only bad thing about this place, is it's far away from home so it's hardly as convenient as going to the store and buying a regular old case of beer. But every couple of months, I like to go and see whats new.
Come to think of it, it might be a good time to go do that soon, as I have a Hi-Time Wine Cellar gift certificate I haven't spent from Christmas.
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Hi-Time is my favorite liquor store/wine cellar in the country, without a doubt. Whenever I know I am going to be making a trip down south I make sure to ask if anyone needs anything from Hi-Times just so I have an excuse to go in!
Not only is there a HUGE selection of everything, (Even all diff. colors of Jordan Almonds! mmmmm) but there are also some of the most well informed liquor/wine store employees I have ever come across in my life.
It is by no means a bargain basement for liquor and wine, it is not over priced either.... and if the choice you are making is between here and somewhere where you will pay a little bit less, chose H.Times because of the selection and the expert info!
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The good: I really enjoy this place. Their selection of wines, beer, and alcohol is of epic proportions. And they also have a cigar shop. The choices and price points are endless!
The bad: Their wine prices are pretty inflated. Not horribly, but still kind of on the high end. Yes, they have a huge selection, but you're gonna pay.
My advice: Buy the hard to finds here. Get the easy to finds at another place.....
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WOW! This is the premier wine shop of the OC. Half the store is temperature controlled so that the wines are kept at the correct temperature. The staff was helpful and knowledgable. The wine I went home with was delicious and exactly what I was looking for at the right price. Prices were reasonable & they featured many library wines - some in large formats.
Go here.
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I really like High Times. I get dissappointed if I have to buy wine/booze/beer anywhere but High Times. I'm all about the wine cellar and the experienced sales people who can direct my non-knowledgeable ass to the right bottle of wine. My friends go to wine tastings all the time..one of these days I'm going to make it!
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My cousins and I just had sushi one night and we decided to check out Hi-Time Wine Cellar. We wanted to celebrate a birthday with some wine and cake. My cousins probably spent about 20 minutes in there just picking out numerous beer selections. They're definitely beer snobs. We even got a menu for items we can order by keg.
My cousin was definitely excited about the selection available for her baby's 1 yr old party. Yup, they ordered a keg for the baby's one year old party. Seeing that baby dip his hands into the ice surrounding the keg with his other hand stretched out towards us was priceless. Their neighbors definitely enjoyed the beer as well including some who work for law enforcement. :)
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Scotch lovers. As of today, there are 3 bottles left of a scotch blend that Hi-Time sells for $7 bucks. If you were to buy a plane ticket and fly to Lochranza Scotland convert your depreciated dollars to pounds and try to buy a bottle once you arrive, you would need 38 dollars. A bottle goes for 18 pounds in Scotland. Check it out.
http://www.arranwhisky...
search for Glen Rosa
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i love this place. people are always willing to help you. if you drink this is the place to pick up a bottle.
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Yeah, I don't have anything original to add to what has already been said numerous times, other than this place is pretty awesome, one can find superb, hards to get selections on wines, and much more reasonable prices than some possibly better known, more advertised competitors.
Wine, spirits, beer, cigars, and some specialty gourmet foods are all here with accessories for all
Make sure you check out the cellar behind the wine tasting, I was happy up in the front part of the store and didn't even know the cellar world existed back there for the first year that I was shopping there-lol.
That's where you'll find the my fav Far Niente Cab,and some other hard to find wines, Opus, Silver Oak, Caymus Special selection, Groth, Shafer, Duckhorn and so on.......i challenge you to name another wine shop that has all those (and many more) in stock AND in abundant quantities
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The largest wine/beer selections I've ever seen....I love that they compartmentalized everything into different rooms like beer, dessert wine, hard liquor etc. I love love going down to the cellar where they store their large collection of wine at a cooler temperature to make sure they don't go bad (i.e. Muscato, Ice Wine, among many others).
The staff was very knowledgeable & great service.
The price was even cheaper than the Napa winery itself.
Definitely a must visit place if you are having a party.
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The largest wine/beer selections I've ever seen....they have over 50,000 bottles of wine alone!!! All of their wines are separated by country in their monstrous cellar. I especially love the upstairs napa area which features some very difficult wines to find AND if they don't have what you are looking for, they usually can get it.
Their staff is very knowledgeable and have always recommended outstanding wines when I couldn't decide what to get. I won't tell you my favorites because then they wouldn't be there, but if you come across a sign that imposes a bottle limit--thats a good sign.
Don't waste time shopping somewhere else and save yourself a trip to napa to grab a bottle of SilverOak. You won't find the selection or the price anywhere. They feature wines at every price level and their selection and pricing is better than anywhere else!
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