Boulder Wine Merchant

I would give this place 3.5 stars, but since I can’t, I’ll bump it up to 4 stars rather than rounding down to 3, for this reason. Audrey, one of the employees, is a true credit to the place. An excellent employee.
To be clear, I don’t know Audrey. Have no knowledge of her outside of BWM. She conducts the Wednesday evening wine tastings, and she sure is a breath of fresh air. We are sooooo tired of snobs working in any/​all wine shops. Snooty types who love feeling superior. (Have no clue why they feel superior, but they do.) And we’re freakin’ tired of so many servers and bartenders in Boulder restaurants having snarky, bored, disdainful attitudes. Audrey, on the other hand, is pleasant, welcoming, and attitude-​free, and always has interesting and informative things to say about each wine. We always learn something from her. And because of her great demeanor, we sometimes buy wine we didn’t really plan to, as a thank you.
As for the store in general, the selection of wines is of middling size, but of good quality. (As I always say, a place doesn’t need to have all wines, just the good ones.) This is the kind of place where you can purchase a wine you’ve never tasted before, and be reasonably confident that it will be decent. The prices are a little higher than, say, at Hazel’s, but they aren’t bad.
There is a small and somewhat expensive selection of beer. (This is a wine place, after all.) But again, the prices aren’t unreasonable, and, as sometimes beer drinkers, we always find something good.
One funny incident. We were looking at the wines one day, and one of the employees (a manager?) asked if he could help. He had a bit of the snooty attitude. We asked if the place carries any red Sardinian wines. He suddenly looked a little nonplussed, and couldn’t say. (Guess that question isn’t asked often.) To his credit, he spent a little time looking through the wine offerings, but couldn’t find any. Said that he guessed they didn’t have any Sicilian wines. Sardinian, we said again. He looked a little confused, as if he didn’t quite understand the distinction. Not a big deal at all. Just struck us as funny, so why not mention it here ;-)

A great local wine market with a small selection of craft beers and premium spirits. The staff is knowledgeable and friendly, which is something we look for in a local liquor store.

Always get a little bit jealous to read a review from someone that managed to visit an actual location that ships via club. You know, one you have never been to in person? But hey I parked here to check E-​Mail on accident and what a find.
Tried the listed French Syrah and it was bad ass at $ 9. Their wine tasters obviously know what’s up. Huge store, great service. Nice selection of local Colorado Microbrews as well.

I’ve heard people say they are snobby at this store… However, when I’ve gone into this store the service is always excellent. The people working come right up and ask to help. Paige, a handsome gray haired gentleman, is almost always there. He is knowledgeable about pairing wines with food. If I am going to a party or having one it is always nice to have a bit of his advice to help me pick — it adds a story that I can take to the party with me.

I live right by this place and it is a good spot to get beer. I know, I know it’s a «wine shop.» But they also have a pretty good selection of beer that, for the area, borders on cheap. If they brought the prices down on the alcohol I would make this my regular spot to buy booze. I would have given it four stars except this one time I bought two six packs because it was cheaper than a twelve pack and the guy rolled his eyes after he told me they had twelve packs and I replied this was cheaper. I guess when you work in a liquor store a dollar isn’t a big deal though!

I love that they are a block a way, I love that they have good local beer, I love that they have wine specials, I love that they are super helpful, I love that they can answer any weird food pairing I come in with. LOVE LOVE LOVE! I never want to leave this neighborhood because of the Wine Merchant, does that make me an alchy?

I’ve come around on this place. I used to not like it as much, but it’s a great place to buy wine! And the staff is always friendly and knowledgeable.

I know they’re a wine merchant but I went here for beer and was not disappointed at the selection. and getting an unsolicited compliment from a local for choosing a Colorado brew (Avery Salvation) made it even more pleasant. mmmmmmmbeer.

My neighborhood wine shop — love it! Super friendly, knowledgeable staff.

So. my neighborhood wine shop. How i would love to love you baby, but you just ain’t doing it for me. One of my friends recently turned me on the an Argentinan effervescent white wine known as Tincho. This wine is light, just the merest touch of sweetness, and with a quarter of muddled lime and some raspberries/blackberries.absolute heaven in a glass.
I know it’s hard to find… I’ve been told this cause my friend’s family owns a huge wine distribution business in Sun Valley and he’s outta cases. I thought if anywhere, the Merchant could help me out. I approached a girl in glasses who literally turned her nose up at me and told me definitively, «No don’t have it. Never heard of it» and walked away. Thankfully, another girl approached me and steered me towards a vino verde from Portugal. Served it’s purpose, but not even close.
Also passed by the two owners on this visit– both master sommeliers. I serve fine wine for a living. Recommend it, sell it, steer people to where they can buy it. I have served these two at numerous wine tastings where they bring their own wines. There will be 30 different wines with a ½ glass each and they will pack them up without offering us even a taste or a kind word on the way out. Don’t really care, but we are extremely wine knowledgable and it is quite the missed opportunity for everyone involved.
Thankfully, they’re passing the business to another sommelier, one of whom I believe i know from before-​mentioned wine tastings so I may give this place another chance!

Yeah — you could go to Liquor Mart and shop the closeout bins for a «deal», or you could go to Ace Liquors and spend a mint after browsing the aisles with no assistance whatsoever, but at the Wine Merchant you always get value.
The people who work at the Wine Merchant always seem to get it right for me. They don’t mind spending the same amount of time to help me find an 8.99 wine than they do a 30 dollar wine, and they ask a lot of good questions about what and who you’re drinking it with. They have a real passion for the goods and it shows through.

This review is long overdue. The Boulder Wine Merchant was my neighborhood wine shop when I first moved to Boulder, and now 4 years later it is once again my neighborhood wine ship. This is good news for my wine drinking habit, bad news for my pocketbook I am sure!
I am always introduced to a beautiful new wine when I go into this shop. I leave with a delicious recommendation and have always been extremely satisfied!
The staff is extremely knowledgeable –last week I debated the merits with one of the employees of Prosecco vs. Champagne.
If you want to learn about what you are drinking, head into this place, you won’t be disappointed with your selection!

If you’re at all into wine, good wine, you’ll find it here. It’s not Liquor Mart, but they have lots of good wine from all over, and they know their stuff.
The owner is a certified wine master and can hob nob with the rarified elites, but he is sensitve to individual tastes and budget. More than once he has help me find just the right bottle. The rest of the staff are just as good.
They will help you expand your wine knowlege and taste, or just sell you what you want, up to you.