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Chronicle Wine Cellar
Category: Food Beer, Wine & Spirits Beer, Wine & Spirits [Edit]
919 E California BlvdPasadena, CA 91106
Neighborhood: Pasadena
(626) 577-2549
- Price Range:
-
$$
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- No
- Parking:
- Street, Private Lot
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
22 reviews for Chronicle Wine Cellar
Review Highlights
"...is great, hidden behind Pie 'N Burger, it's owned by the..."
(in 9 reviews)
"Gus M's Chronicle Wine Shop is a treasure in Pasadena."
(in 5 reviews)
"I have bought several bottles from here."
(in 8 reviews)
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22 reviews in English
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Review from jack b.
Glendale, CA
1/25/2012
pretty cool place super nice staff. loved it.
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Review from Anne T.
Los Angeles, CA
11/6/2011
Sorry, absolutely cannot recommend this wine shop. Once I was browsing behind some a row of stacked wine cases. The sales people at the front could not see me. I heard one of them bragging: "People buy the wines that I TELL them to buy. They like the wines that I TELL them to like!" The guy's tone was very condescending. That quote (and the stuff that came before) basically told me they thought their customers were ignorant fools. He even had the nerve to say he could sell mediocre wine to people and make them think the wine was amazing. When they saw me move out from behind the cases of wine, they hushed one another. Too late, guys. I put all my wines I had been going to buy back on the shelves and walked out. Look, I don't have time to read every wine review in the world; I don't have time to taste test every wine. So, I occassionally do depend on the tasting notes of the wine salesman. Since I found out this is how proprietors of this shop see their customers, I have been going elsewhere (Mission Wines, Woodland Hills Wine Co.).
They do have some good stuff at Chronicle, but you should be knowledgeable when you go in. Do not buy stuff they recommend that you do not know anything about. Also, these days everyone is posting reviews of wine online -- just look it up on your iphone or blackberry before you buy. -
Review from FoodSlut ..
Los Angeles, CA
10/19/2007
"Don't tell anyone. We don't need more business."
Wow. What business effin says that? That's kinda like chasing after a girl...if she doesn't like you, the more you want her. The more you tell me to keep it a secret, the more I want to tell me yelp friends.
COME HERE GUYS!!!
Awesome wines! Wines you've never heard of! Wines from 1986 for 8 bucks (they're REALLY shitty wines but it'll impress someone that doesn't understand wine). The guy working was really helpful when I told him I didn't want to spend over 20 bucks on a bottle...he selected around 5 for me all under 10!!!
He was so nice that he even gave us his open bottles of wine as well!!!
It's only open when the flag is out...it looks like someones apt bedroom. Charming? Nah. Sexy? Nah. Hidden gem? Yes!
Psst...don't tell non-yelpers. Unless you get something out of it... *wink wink* -
Review from Joon S.
Washington, DC
11/17/2007
"Where the f*** is this place?" I wondered aloud as my brother and I navigated the hedgerow-like low concrete walls, fences, vines, dumpsters, empty cardboard boxes, half-empty red party cups, and cars in search of the mythical Chronicle Wine Cellar.
"Are you sure it's here?" he asked.
"Yes," I replied, not actually so sure. All I saw was a laundry, a realty, and the Pie 'n' Burger (which is going to be my next destination for breakfast). Down the way was Le Petit Vendome (read my review--also a great wine place but very expensive), but no Chronicle Wine Cellar.
As far as I could tell, this place was going to be a hole in the wall. All online accounts were a bit vague on the precise location: directions could roughly be summarized as "behind the laundry and the Pie 'n' Burger."
We walked down the driveway of the Pie 'n' Burger and came to a small parking lot--to the left was a greenish apartment building. No sign of a wine shop. There were cars parked outside that looked as if they were from the '70s; a mailman was making his rounds up and down the stairs of the apartment. I was just about to ask the mailman if he ever delivered mail to a wine shop nearby when I saw someone come out of an open door on the bottom floor of the apartment building carrying a few bottles of wine.
Sometimes new beginnings are filled with bells and whistles. This beginning was filled more with relief, which turned into disbelief, skepticism, then sheer joy as I stepped inside the door.
The place can't be more than 15 x 20 feet, yet it is crammed from floor to ceiling with racks of wine, boxes of wine, shelves of wine, tables of wine. It resembles not as much a store as someone's apartment that just happens not to have a bed or other personal effects but, instead, has housed every single bottle of wine that person ever consumed in his life.
The thing that struck me right away were the prices: absolutely mind-blowingly inexpensive. Some of the wines had notes on green slips of paper that provided ratings or comments which I found very helpful.
Just like Tony A. said in his review, there are certain very old bottles of wine (from the 60s, in some cases) that are on sale for like $10 - $30. I asked the proprietor about these wines:
"These are half-and-half. They might be incredible, or they might be vinegar at this point. They were properly stored but it's hard to determine how they might have aged."
The proprietor looked like a cross between poet Robert Hass and a bear trapper, but he was kind, unpretentious, and very eager to talk about the wine and the history of the store (which I will allow you to glean from the other two entries). His take on directions: "I tell customers to go straight out through the kitchen of the Pie 'n' Burger." I'm pretty sure he was being facetious.
I ended up leaving with two wines, one of which was the 2005 Dom la Garrigue Cotes du Rhone Cuvee Romaine for $12.95. Normally, I find wines based around grenache to be... a bit lacking in heft, but this wine was very nicely balanced with the addition of syrah (it also has a substantial percentage of mourvedre, but I'm not yet a huge wine snob so don't know that particular grape's flavor profile).
I'm afraid of Italian wines, anything Alsatian, and almost everything French, but I feel that this would be the place to cut my teeth on French wines. Great selection, with more than reasonable prices. But it's not like Crazy Ed's Wine Emporium or something: if you've money to blow on, say, a wine above $20, they also offer different Chateauneuf-du-Papes for $50 - $70, as well as a variety of shirazes, Riojas, etc., etc.
The finishing touch to Chronicle Wine Cellar? They don't accept credit or debit cards--only cash or personal checks. Also, I got my purchase in a Ralph's bag. I went with some friends today and they got theirs in a Trader Joe's bag.
As my brother remarked wisely: "They pass on the savings to the customer." And they will continue to do so until the City of Pasadena shuts them down for zoning violations.
(NOTE: The name of this place, unfortunately, is misspelled. It should be "cellar" with an A. I can imagine that Theo N. might have been under the influence of her purchase from the Chronicle Wine Cellar while writing the first review!)Listed in: Pasadena!
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Review from Todd C.
Arcadia, CA
7/30/2008
If you know my reviews, I do pay attention to decor as much as whatever the product is. And good god...this is a converted musty studio on the ground floor of a trashy looking apartment complex. You half expect dentally-challenged hookers smearing bright green eyeshadow onto themselves with overflowing ashtrays.
Despite that, this place is great! Lined wall-to-wall and ceiling-to-floor with a varied wine selection, much of which is very affordable (under $12!). There seems to be an emphasis on European and some South American wines. An entire bookshelf full is wines from Alsace. On the top shelves are cobwebbed bottles of what is conveyed to be wine dating from the 19th century. The 19th century for chrissakes! Like cholera and child labor 19th century! I picked some bottles of 2005 Malbecs and a 2006 Verdejo instead though.
And it is true, there is a certain charm to receiving your purchased wine bottles in another grocer's grocery bag and a hand-written receipt from a carbon-copy Office Depot notebook. Cash & Checks only.
You enter from the parking lot immediately east of Pie 'N Burger...look for the flag - it's like prohibition all over again.Listed in: Wine Bars and where to become…
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Review from Kristin O.
Pasadena, CA
5/31/2011
This is a great little hidden treasure essentially behind the Pie 'n Burger-- look for the American flag to know if it's open (we wondered about that flag for literally YEARS before we figured out what it meant!). There's no decor or (to my knowledge) tastings, and they carry whatever is good at a good price so you never know what you will find, but we always manage to end up with amazing wine at amazing prices (on St. Patrick's day, we got a really great beaujolais nouveau for-- wait for it-- $2!). You really need to check it out!
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Review from Matt M.
Los Angeles, CA
11/4/2008
This wine shop is great, hidden behind Pie 'N Burger, it's owned by the same peeps.
They were having a sale on some unique wines from around the world. Picked up a great bottle of Argentinian red table wine for about 10 bucks.
When I was there in mid October they were getting ready to close for a remodel. The place is tiny, so hopefully when they remodel they'll give you a little more room to move around in there. Not sure when they are going to re-open though. I tried calling and got no answer.
No credit cards! Bah! -
Review from theo n.
3/10/2007
A good place to try new wines!
It is attached to the Pie 'n Burger building. To get there, drive on the driveway east of the building to the back. Step inside the small, square room and organized shelfs of wine will tickle your palate. The owners were formerly owners of the Chronicle, a restaurant known for their superb wine cellar.
The staff is oh, so helpful! Ask for their help for good finds. The selection varies tremendously and the markup is meager. They do have ample tastings.
It's a secret of Pasadena!
P.s. They may be cash only . . . call to confirm! -
Review from Andrew S.
Pasadena, CA
1/16/2009
This is a great wine store. It's not at all fancy, but their focus is on delivering high quality wines for the cheapest possible price, so for me that's a very good trade off!
The selection is on the small side, but almost everything is really good so it works out well. The owner and his manager (I think he's a manager) are really cool, but some of the other employees are not so stellar, so I try to go at times when I think the owner or manager will be around. -
Review from Russell Q.
Sunnyvale, CA
6/5/2009
Not quite 4 stars. Or put another way, it's not clear I'll come back despite the charming gem in the rough facilites and the friendliness of the staff.
Bottom line: friendly staff, with a small, personal selection of wines. Emphasis on France, Germany, Spain, Portugal and Chile. Under $20 wines, being sold at a slight discount off of retail.
As people have said, it looks like an small 2 story motel/apartment complex behind the Pie and Burger, but this place feels like it could have been a small business office. One big say 25' x 25' room, with cases of wine on shelves. As Cindy said, it is one person's personal wine cellar, who buys things he likes and on close out.
Upon first leaving I would have given this place 4+ stars, but after trying the wines (bought for a family wedding) and looking up some of the retail prices, I've realized this place simply offers an eclectic selection of wine.
I do a lot of wine shopping, so I enjoy seeing unusual wines, which this place has some of, but I'm not going to be blown away by, say, finding Viognier or Albarino. However, for someone looking for wine advice, this would be a great place.
And the wines? I picked up a bunch of $8 wines for the wedding, a Chilean Viognier (I swore no chardonnay!) and a Portugese red from the Duoro. They were solid, tasty $8 wines, but nothing I was going to Yelp about (well OK, I am yelping about this).
Their prices are fair. While some have enthused about getting an aged bottle for only $XX, the owners know their prices and that is what the wine is worth. I saw some older German rieslings for a mere $3... but passed on them and it turns out that was a fair price. Same with some of the Spanish cavas I saw for under $10.
The staff was quite friendly, letting me open several bottles (of Viognier) to choose from. -
Review from Hannah B.
San Francisco, CA
9/27/2008
An absolutely FANTASTIC hole-in-the-wall wine shop. The prices are incredibly reasonable and all of the wine is unique... not any grocery-store brands. It is closed on Mondays and really hard to find, but the effort is worth it. Right behind pie-n-burger on California.. there's an alley on the the right side of Pie-n-burger; go down the alley and there are several "apartment-looking" spaces on the left- look and you'll find it.
They don't accept credit cards so make sure to bring some cash... -
Review from Jeff L.
Carpinteria, CA
2/3/2011
Gus M's Chronicle Wine Shop is a treasure in Pasadena. The shop is loaded with value wines Gus opportunistically picks up from wineries, importers, and distributors--and passes the savings on to you. But the Chronicle doesn't just stock any wine, it has to be good. The selection goes from inexpensive table wines to the first growths of Burgundy and Bordeaux, but the sweet spot is at the lower end of the price range. This is a fun spot to visit and browse. Have lunch at Pie 'n Burger while you're there. The Chronicle is in the parking lot behind them.
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Review from Austin S.
12/7/2008
You will NOT know where this place is unless you already have been there or someone tells you. I was only able to find it because of the latter.
This place is literally behind Pie n Burger and whatever is next to it (a cleaners? boutique of some sort?) on California Blvd. There's a small driveway you can pull into that leads into a small parking lot with like 3 spaces and 2 more alongside the building, but it's usually taken up the Pie N Burger's catering trucks. This was such the case when I went on Saturday. I parked along side the building and walked up. The place is quite small but quaint. I was greeted by both guys behind the counter: a 40 or 50 someodd year old Asian guy and probably a secta- or septuagenarian (60s or 70s) caucasian guy. I immediately told them I was looking for a Syrah and a medium bodied Cabernet Sauvignon. Without hesitation the white guy got up and went into the near corner of the store, pulled the Syrah off the shelf then went down the wall to the Cabs, but not before telling him that my friend was in the other day and had been recommended the Freemark Cabernet, which was a 90 point Robert Parker Cabernet. It was normally $27.95 but was on sale for $25.95. The Syrah was $16.95.
As I was paying, I briefly chatted with both gentlemen. They were really nice and very informative. Just really nice people who you could tell enjoyed what they did. They wrapped each bottle in a couple pages of newspaper and bagged them.
My friend and I decided to get 2 bottles and bring it to dinner with us that night (review to come). We knew that the 2 bottles with the corkage fees would be MUCH MUCH cheaper than if we had gotten wine at the restaurant.
I've definitely found my new wine store. I probably would still go to BevMo when I need a cheap gift or I don't really care about the wine but when I know I want a good wine or need something special, I'm coming here.
Be warned, cash or check only.Listed in: In A Flash
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Review from Mot C.
Venice, CA
3/29/2010 1 Check-in Here
Its located behind the Pie and Burger in Pasadena. Great wine store owned by the Pie and Burger folks. Pie and Burger is awful, but this store rules! Great prices and they have some unique ones here. The hours are kind of odd, but if you go after 1 on a Saturday or Sunday, they are guaranteed to be open. I have bought several bottles from here. All very good and they give great recommendations. Parking Sucks. Park down the street for free near Cal Tech. Check their site for specials.
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Review from rosie l.
Hollywood Hills, CA
7/11/2007
the chronicle is a backdoor nook for hard to find wine of independent labels. their walls are lined from top to bottom with a variety of wines ranging in prices from the very inexpensive to the "only on special occasion." their staff is incredibly informed on their inventory and are more than happy to share their knowledge. on a typical day the cellar will sample at least 5 bottles wine and i'm certain more if you're interested.
the address to the chronicle is on south lake, though you can only enter from the rear parking lot. you'll know they're open if their flag is hanging outside their door. there is limited parking in their lot, so for those who drive, snag the first street spot nearest and walk. -
Review from Frank H.
Pasadena, CA
2/18/2009
I've been buying odd lot cases from Gus for more than a decade. I've never been disappointed with either the quality or price. Saturday morning tasting is always a treat.
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Review from Cindy H.
Los Angeles, CA
3/18/2009
Walking into Chronicle is essentially like walking into one man's personal wine cellar. It's owned by Gus, who sits at his desk amongst bookshelves full of wine. The shop is hidden in an apartment building behind Pie N Burger and the Nippers barbershop, oddly appropriate as all three are throwbacks to a different era. Gus is immensely welcoming. The shop is pretty pared down but he's got a great selection of wines under $10, some mind bogglingly great deals, as well as the collector stuff. Ultimately you get the feeling that Chronicle exists because Gus loves wine and wants to share his finds with you. A charming experience.
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Review from Wein C.
Los Angeles, CA
2/21/2009
Chronicle is somewhat hard to find, which, as far as we can tell, accounts for its relative lack of renown. As it stands, however, we think Chronicle Wine Cellar is LA's best kept secret.
Gus and the rest of the staff are always very friendly and helpful--and are not the sort of wine afficianados who are contemptuous of newcomers to the wine experience. That said, they know what they are talking about.
It is a small joint, but has a nice selection of wines. If you want quality at a reasonable price, we have never seen anything like it anywhere--and we mean anywhere.
Check it out, you won't regret it. -
Review from Pablo A.
Chatsworth, CA
1/29/2010
One of the coolest people in Pasadena!! Very knowledgeable about wine and have excellent deals. Speak with Gus and he'll guide you through their selections. I would recommend you try the Naiara Malbec Reserva.. Unbelievably too good!! Great price too, won't break the bank! Enjoy
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Review from Cosmo k.
Altadena, CA
9/1/2010
Love it, but the hours are hard for the last minute pick up a bottle thing. Cash only, so be prepared. Great people and nice selection, reasonably priced. Some nice bottles for under $10. My new favorite place.
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Review from d r.
Encinitas, CA
4/28/2010
This could be the quirkiest wine shop in California... I wrote a helpful review here with photos.....http://bit.ly/cn9FFT
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Review from Peter B. E.
Los Angeles, CA
1/21/2009
Chronicle Wine Cellar is the best place to buy wine in LA; great staff who all love wine, not the broadest selection, but then all the generic stuff has been cut, so what you get are the gems. They were the first wine store where I saw any of the Black and White label wines, we enjoyed a great run of Argentinean wines, and currently my wife and I are blown away by how good is every Spanish and Portuguese bottle that they stock. And did I mention that the prices are always, always the lowest you will find anywhere. We drive over from Hollywood because we love the experience so much, and are rarely disappointed. Actually, no, don't go; I want to keep Chronicle Wine all to myself.
