- Restaurants |
- Nightlife |
- Shopping |
- Movies |
- All
Cambridge Wine & Spirits
Category: Food Beer, Wine & Spirits Beer, Wine & Spirits [Edit]
202 Alewife Brook PkwyCambridge, MA 02138
(617) 864-7171
- Nearest Transit:
-
Concord Ave @ Wheeler St (74, 78)
Concord Ave Opp Wheeler St (74, 78)
Rindge Ave @ Russell Field (83)
- Hours:
Mon-Sat 9 am - 11 pm
Sun 12 pm - 6 pm
- Price Range:
-
$$
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Private Lot
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
Al G. said: "In the Belmont/Watertown area, I would have to say that Magnolia Wine Co. is one of the better wine shops in the area. The owner/manager Jay knows his stuff and seems to have personally travelled through most regions of France and…" read more »
24 reviews for Cambridge Wine & Spirits
Review Highlights
"Great selection, and doesn't feel at all sketch."
(in 5 reviews)
"...been at several of the Somerville liquor stores I checked."
(in 3 reviews)
"...of brands and harder to find items including my fav micro..."
(in 3 reviews)
Loading...
24 reviews in English
-
Review from Alexis V.
Boston, MA
8/13/2011
I bake with alcohol and this is the only place I've found that has every liqueur I'm looking for with baking. If you want to embark on a do-it-yourself drink making (or boozy baking) adventure, go here. I have tried a lot of other liquor stores and they don't have the selection this place has. You can buy violet flavored liqueur, elderflower liqueur, allspice liqueur... pretty much any flavored liqueuer you can think of. Their wine selection is great too.
-
Review from Cat L.
2/14/2011
CWS is now my go-to booze destination after I schlepped around the city in search of Creme de Violette and Luxardo Maraschino liqueur with no luck at Downtown Spirits (Davis), Liquor World (Porter), and University Spirits (Harvard). Clearly, I just had to keep going out on the Red Line to find everything I needed.
Excellent selection of specialty items, though you're certainly paying for the scarcity. Not the most cost-effective choice if you're just picking up a handle of Smirnoff. -
Review from Heather S.
Boston, MA
9/4/2011 2 Check-ins Here
Conveniently located next to Whoel Foods, this place has a great selection and great specials. $10 for an 18 rack of Hith Life? Exactly what my tight budget called for. They also have a good selection of brands and harder to find items including my fav micro brew from CT and bar essentials.
-
Review from Josh G.
Lexington, MA
11/24/2011
Good selection. They seem to play games with pricing, marking down expensive prices to make it look like a deal. Major complaint is the service. The people on the floor are knowledgeable but don't have much of a service ethic. They make you work hard to spend your money. Floor staff are good at ignoring people that are looking for help.
-
Review from Benjamin S.
Brookline, MA
8/23/2009
I set out for Cambridge Wine and Spirits to purchase a bottle of nice white wine as a gift. When I found a gentleman that appeared to be an employee, I asked if I could get some help selecting an appropriate bottle. He smiled understandingly and buzzed the owner of the store, Michael, to come help me out.
The owner and one of his wine experts spent over a half hour walking around the store with me, showing me different types of wines and what makes them all unique and special. I'm sure they knew I wasn't going to be a frequent big buyer, but were still enthusiastic, honest, and without a hint of pretense or snobbery. I think my choice is perfect, and I even got a little bag that was not heinously ugly to put it in. -
Review from Jen N.
Arlington, MA
1/25/2008
At the most basic level, Cambridge Wine & Spirits is a great place to pick up a 6-pack or a bottle of wine and not break the bank. The selection is good and the prices are fair.
We've developed a love for CW&S for their friendly and knowledgeable staff. I've asked questions to most of the floor staff about wines and liquors and they've always been able to help. But our favorite is the magnificent Joan, queen of the $10 bottle of lovely wine. Whenever we show up and tell her what we're having for dinner, she jumps to action and drags us around the store, filling our cart with amazing wines that don't break the bank. Her enthusiasm is infectious. If you've ever seen Harold and Maude, imagine the scene where Maude is saying "Oh! You've never had oat straw tea? Well!" That's the kind of excitement that you can expect when you ask Joan to show you a decent $10 wine to go with your chicken dinner. She can turn a Monday night meal into something special.
I will also go out on a limb and say that the new CW&S store is the only good thing to come out of the ridiculous Whole Foods renovation. -
Review from The Dude L.
Belmont, MA
4/3/2009
This is my neighborhood package store, and I'm glad it's there for me.
As their name suggests, this place emphasizes wine. They almost always have wine tastings going on, and according to my girlfriend, they have very knowledgeable staff that will help you find a good bottle of wine.
But I don't care about wine, man. I like the craft beers. And this place has the best selection in this area of Cambridge. Not just great brewers like Stone, Smuttynose, Avery, Weyerbacher, Great Divide, Southern Tier and Lagunitas, but the tough-to-find brews from each of those brewers. And if you don't see something you're looking for, the staff will help you find or even try and order it for you.
But the best thing about Cambridge Wine & Spirits is that it's cheaper than just about all of the other packies in the area. -
Review from Stephen W.
Meredith, NH
8/13/2006
This has become one of our favorite wine stores when looking
for under $20 750 ml bottles that go well with food. They have a surprising selection of $10.00 and and under wines with real character from lesser known wine areas and regions of France.
One example of a wine suggested which fit exactly what I was looking for. Cuvee de Pena, vin de Pays des Pyrenees-Oriental-- $10.99 and when on sale $8.99. No surprise at this price there are some flaws, but good structure and ready to drink.
Some very hard to get wines on strict allocation are carried but not necessarily put on display-- ask.
Kappy's across the street may have the better beer selection but this store is our choice for wine buying.
The liquor selection is pretty good. I found here a fairly hard to find Italian after dinner liquor-- Strega. -
Review from JW B.
Berkeley, CA
8/16/2010
We stopped by yesterday to take advantage of the Tax Free weekend and buy a bunch of wine, so this review is only for that. Didn't even glance through the liquors. Anyway, I have to say I was totally underwhelmed.
First, the prices! Many many items are on 'special' -- it seems that over half the store's bottles have sale stickers on them! And after putting together over a case of wine, we discover at check out that NO 'sale' wines are included in the percent discount for a case. Would have been nice if that was information that was more prominently displayed. Especially because trying to put together a case of nonsale wines would have taken some effort!
When I got home and was doing some research online for each of our wines (yeah, I know I'm anal, but I keep a list so we know what we're drinking!) I discovered that EVERY SINGLE one of the wines we purchased are sold in other stores (brick & mortar, not just online) for less money. EVERY one! And we're talking the SALE price. That was definitely a downer.
Beyond the economics, we were a little disappointed in the inventory. Lots & lots of American wines - fine, I know that many people like them. But what about the up & coming areas, where there are good deals and interesting wines to be had? The Spain area is small and heavy to whites. South America? Also blah. French areas outside of Bordeaux? Just not a lot of depth.
Anyway, we got some interesting things by browsing, and there certainly is much to look through, but I won't go racing back there. -
Review from Chris C.
12/30/2009 2 Check-ins Here
I was very pleased with both their prices and selection.
I was able to pick of a bottle of Luxardo brand Marachino liqueur for a great price. Only 3 other stores in Greater Boston and even had it in stock let alone for less than $30.
They also stocked lots other hard to find liquors at good prices so I picked up a bottle of rye and was able to choose which one I wanted not just which one they had in stock. They had Rittenhouse, Sazerac & Michters. I also spotted a couple other harder to find items although they didnt seem to have a good selection of bitters. The only downside to the store was the craziness in the parking lot and the crowd inside the store itself. -
Review from Josh D.
Cambridge, MA
9/14/2009
I stop here for well-priced quality beer and wine. Their wine discount rack is usually full of great selections- and their standard prices on bottle wine are very good.
Great selection, easy parking. -
Review from Anna P.
Cambridge, MA
5/20/2010
Best liquor store in the area.
Very knowledgeable and friendly staff (in the past they have helped me pick beer, wine and port). Great selection, and doesn't feel at all sketch. Make sure to look on the sheets taped up by the beer section to find out what's on special while you're there. -
Review from Nick H.
11/28/2008
This is one of my regular spots to buy high quality beer and wines. Here's a breakdown of different wine regions represented and what I like to buy:
France: Pretty big selection includes Bordeaux (St. Emilion, Medoc), Bourgogne, Brouilly, Sancerre, Cotes du Rhone, even Cotes de Roussillon.
Spain: Pretty decent selection with good number of Riojas and believe I've seen an Albarino or two at times.
Argentina Malbec (Mendoza) and Chile (Try a Chardonnay from this region it will knock your socks off)
Austria: Gruner Veltliner baby!
South Africa: Pinotage is the bomb diggity.
Australia: Shiraz up the wazzoo
Italy: Dolcetto d'Alba. Chianti. Toscana. Barbera. Piemonte. Barolo.
California and US West Coast: Simi, La Crema, Willamette Valley, Hess, Gundlach Bundschu, etc etc.
In terms of beer they have a very respectable US craft and imported selection which to name a few includes Rogue, Otter Head, Samuel Smith, Duvel, Chimay, Dupont Saison, Cisco Brewers, Anchor Steam, Lagunitas, Harpoon, Spaten, Carlsberg, Warsteiner, and the list goes on and on.
If you are still with me - in summary, probably the first place I think of to buy wines because they have lots of sales and specials, and a top spot for good beer (although Downtown Wine and Spirits in Somerville and Marty's in Allston have bigger and better beer selections.) -
Review from Rebecca C.
Somerville, MA
9/10/2007
I really like this place- I know very little about most wine, and so I asked a woman there to make me an inexpensive case for my apartment to give us an idea of a variety of wines we could get into- all were under $12 or so and most were completely delicious. We really enjoyed trying them out and seeing what we liked, and we really appreciated the woman taking the time to walk around the store and pick everything out for us!
-
Review from Sarah C.
Arlington, MA
8/14/2006
This store is definitely a guilty pleasure of mine. It's really convenient.. right off rt. 2 and next to Whole Foods. This is a fun store to browse.. it's like the Filene's Basement of wine... if you look long and hard enough you could end up finding some pretty interesting bottles! They have a large selection, and surprisingly, a nice wall devoted to organic wines. They have a wine chiller... so if you're in a pinch and couldn't find anything in the fridge that struck your fancy, they'll just pop it in the chiller for free... and it's ready to go in less than 5 minutes.
Just a heads up, they are having a big wine sale.. Yes, I KNOW its DISCOUNT liquors and wine already, but Whole Foods will be expanding and taking over the liquor stores space. Don't worry! Mall discount liquors is rebuilding on the end of the plaza and will still be right next to Whole Foods.. so we will still be able to grab a bottle for dinner :) -
Review from Mags L.
San Francisco, CA
11/22/2006
update: since writing this i've become a huge wine drinker and like their selection and the little blurbs they provide about the wines. plus, i like the new renovations.
------------------------------------------
i am not a wine drinker, but i love me some draft ciders and mall discount liquors has the best selection i've seen. hornsby's - my favorite, magner's, original sin, woodchuck, woodpecker, cider jack -- all under one roof.
if you're looking to get your fermented apple juice on (which i always am), then this is the place. -
Review from Casey W.
Brighton, MA
11/9/2008
I wish I lived closer to this place. They have a great selection of wine at all price ranges... sometimes I get sick of the crowdedness of the Brookline Trader Joe's, and I just want some peace and quiet and more variety from which to chose my grape or hops beverage of choice. Cambridge Wine & Spirits fits the bill nicely. Occasionally they even have vendors in there for tastings - yum yum!
-
Review from Michael C.
Belmont, MA
8/2/2007
This place is now called Cambridge Wine and Spirits after its renovation. They have one of the best beer selections around with hard to find breweries from California, Denver and more. They are also more than willing to order particular beers or wines for you. Their wine selection is also very good and their prices are competitive. The staff is also very accomodating.
-
Review from jaimie w.
Somerville, MA
5/22/2010
One weekday night as I happened to be passing the Cambridge Wine and Spirits in the ballpark of 10 'o clock, I had a sudden urge to check their liqueur section for Domaine de Canton. This ginger gem had not been at several of the Somerville liquor stores I checked. But sure, enough Cambridge Wine and Spirts had it ... on special. Granted I felt a little bit like an alcoholic trolling the aisles so late on a weekday. Drooling as I approached the counter with my precious and several other hard-to-find items on special solidified the portrait, but the staff treated me as a connoisseur not a creep. And thus my loyalty lives on.
-
Review from Rich O.
Cambridge, MA
2/25/2010
I really like this place for wine selection. Yes, I said that, wine selection. If anyone who knows me reads that they are likely rolling on the floor laughing but it's true. I drink the same crap beer but I know they have a great beer selection as well. But I come here for the wine. Why? Because I have no idea how to pick a wine but they have such a great selection of discount wines and specials I feel like I can try something without buyer's remorse. The employees are visible and there to help if you want help but hands off if you don't
-
Review from Cate K.
Cambridge, MA
9/14/2008
Three stars for my first visit. The popularity of this place may be a bit of a fault, especially on game days. It seemed like their beer selection had been demolished when I got there on Saturday afternoon. They do have a wine selection that runs the gamut in price and taste.
-
Review from Danyelle S.
Cambridge, MA
6/12/2009
This is my favorite liquor store around. Great deals and everyone is really nice. There are so many choices it's ridiculous.
-
Review from Josh F.
Maynard, MA
8/29/2005
Good alternative to the Kappy's across the street if there's too much traffic. It is pretty cheap, as advertised. Nice selection of wines for under $10 that won't give you an instant headache. Large selection of domestic and imported cold beers. They're liquor selection could be better.
-
Review from laura a.
3/4/2007
this store recently moved into a new, renovated space next door to its former spot. i visited today & i was impressed at how much cleaner and brighter it was. in addition, the prices really are excellent. i drink a lot of lone star beer and at downtown wine & spirits in davis it's 5.50 and here it was i think 5.15...not that big a difference but still a difference nonetheless. that was the only price i remembered from downtown, but i'm guessing other prices are cheaper as well. big sam adams selection. the wine selection is great, too.
