Pinky & Pepe’s Grape Escape

3.5 stars?! 25 reviews? There are 21 more reviews that «aren’t recommended,» many of which would bring the rating up closer to the 4.5−5 stars that this establishment deserves.
Pinky and Pepe and their enthusiastic staff have made Grape Escape, which has always been the Kentlands best place to buy to buy beer or wine from friendly, expert owners with an amazing selection and dedicated, friendly, expert staff, into also being the center of Kentlands evening and night life. With happy hour starting at 4:00, free wine tastings at 6:00 on Fridays, free beer tastings at 6:00 on Saturdays, and incredible live music (no cover) Wednesday through Saturday nights starting at 7:00, it’s a great place to bring old friends and meet new ones, since the clientele are as friendly as Pink and Pepe and their staff. Had such a great time last Friday night!
When I’m cooking, or bringing wine or beer to a friend’s house, I tell them what’s being served, and I’ve invariably been happy with what they’ve helped me choose, and by the way there’s never an attempt to upsell.
Great people. Great beer and wine. Great music. You get the idea. Did I mention that unlike any other wine/​beer store in the Kentlands, there’s plenty of free, convenient parking? I will!

Great atmosphere, wonderful service and wonderful selection! Their deal for a case just for a $ 100 from places around the world had a beautiful selection. Pinky and Pepe the owners are very helpful and you can tell they love what they do. I will be a regular here for sure! Keep up the good work.

Pleasant owners! We always enjoy talking with them. I appreciate it when Pinky helps my spouse locate a wine to complement a meal. Wonderful choice of beers! Thanks so much for having Matilda and Old Chub! You are awesome! Could you please get in some Bollinger Cuvée? Please?

Well curated selection of Belgian beers. Staff was extremely welcoming. Prices seemed reasonable. A buck higher for Ommegang bottles vs. a liquor store seems fair. Orval was about $ 8.99 which is fairly typical.

We have been to P&P’s several times and have always enjoyed ourselves. The wine and beer here may be a little pricier than some but there are many advantages to coming here:
* happy hour specials
* wine and beer available by the glass
* no corking fees — inexpensive option to having wine out
* live music events
* supports charities — especially for our troops
* meat and cheese platters are tasty — my friend LOVES the pepper poppers
* you can order food from various restaurants to be delivered or you can bring food in to enjoy with your beverage
* located next to new Cava Mezza Grill — grab a bowl and enjoy with a glass or two of wine

Prices are inflated to reflect the Kentlands location. Selection is poor, but you can’t really expect miracles from a wine store the size of a one-​car garage. You can generally find the bad wines that the average person seeks out because they are on a restaurant menu somewhere at 500% markup. The biggest issue, however is recommendations. A wine store as tiny as this place depends on repeat business. I worked wine retail for a while. You have to listen to the customer’s needs and fill it with the best of your stock within their specified price range. Do that well and they’ll come back to you specifically because they will remember that you did your best. I could have recommended 6 sparklers under $ 20 that were better wines than the stale plonk you handed my wife for her party.
Everybody loves the notion of «support small business!» because it’s supposed to be about the mom and pop individual attention, right? But if you can’t even match the cut and dried customer service of a huge store like Total Wine, it shouldn’t surprise you that people drive to McLean carrying your wine bottle bags (and yes, I’ve seen it from behind their tasting table many a time).

I don’t believe that some of these reviewers are going to the same place I’ve been. The décor is simple and functional and the wines are a tad higher than going to the MoCo liquor store, but that’s to be expected when you can sit down and enjoy your purchase. The wine selection is anything but «mediocre» as we have had some excellent bottles recommended to us by the very welcoming and accommodating staff. The service and generosity of the owners is what makes us look forward to returning every time!

We’ve been coming to Pinky and Pepe’s since its opening. We do not get to come often with two kids, but the owners have been exceptionally warm and inviting each time. They have even recognized us in the community and been friendly when not in their store. The wines may be a bit pricey, but nothing more than any other sit down wine place. This is a great community place where you can go for a fun night with friends. Can’t wait to return!

Why should I go to a place that has a mediocre selection wines that are way overpriced with an ambiance that is pretentious, so you can be treated with an attitude. The lady with the fake smile is condescending and disrespectful. And when there is a tasting the place is crowded with drunk winos listening to that guy with the expensive guitars who can’t get a gig anywhere else.

Everyone’s entitled to their own opinion, especially about food and wine, but for me and my dollars, this place misses the mark. The atmosphere of the place is not warm, cozy or inviting. The service is slow and often comes with attitude. The wine selections are uninspiring and over-​priced. And, as for that silly, wine-​by-​the-​glass machine, well let’s just say I’ve seen it before at resorts who try to appear sophisticated, but… it’s just a means by which to charge people more money for less wine (and usually not very good wine at that). If I’m in the mood to grab a glass of wine with friends in the Kentland’s I think I’ll stick with the Wine Harvest where at least the atmosphere is neighborly, friendly and inviting and I can actually get someone to wait on me with a smile.

Great selection of beers and nice relatively quiet place weekdays, but WAY overpriced. Try the Wine Harvest a couple blocks away, yet still in the Kentlands. They are friendlier and have more reasonable prices.

Love this place! Great ambiance and they are so educated about wine. Always shave new wines to try and their Friday nights are a blast!

I’ve been here a hand full of times. The recommendations I usually get are just okay. Nothing fantastic or anything I had to have again. Usually I get pretty friendly help, but today maybe they just were in a bad mood. The most recent experience I had was not so great with the customer service. I think maybe I wasn’t knowledgeable about my wines and the person who helped me just seemed to be annoyed. I asked if they had a certain bottle that I was looking for and I gave specific origin and type and name. They said they didn’t carry it and so I asked if I could get any recommendations on something similar. For some reason this seemed to be annoying. I got a rude impatient response of «What exactly are you looking for?» «I need to know exactly what type of wine you are looking for.» The condescending tone took me by surprise. I was a bit lost after that because I thought I just gave the exact name and type of wine and I wanted something comparable. The whole conversation just didn’t settle well with me. I got the two recommendations after I asked if she could help me find something similar to what I was looking for since they didn’t carry what I had in mind. I was trying to process what just happened and didn’t like the way she made me feel as a customer. I contemplated on walking out of the store but I was under such limited time and needed to get something. I should have just walked out and not purchased anything. However, I just grabbed the two bottles because I wanted to get the hell out of there. I honestly will not purchase or walk into that store anymore.

I think this place is overpriced and the wine selection isn’t that great. I understand they’re in the Kentlands which warrants higher prices, but they should offer a better selection of budget wines.
Also, the space is really tight and lacking charm & character. There isn’t a lot of seating, inside or outside.
Sadly, I won’t be back.

I’m so sad that since we’ve been here (some time back), so much has changed, all in one visit.
For starters, they are no longer dog-​friendly. That was a Huge plus over Wine Harvest (the other wino place in Kentlands). And then they don’t let you leave your 6-​packs in the frig while you are sitting around lounging and drinking. All of that was ok until I went to grab some Chipotle (like other fatties out there, I get hungry when I drink), and while enjoying my meal And wine, the employee (nicely) told me I could only carry out Coalfire or Hakuba. I get that they prob. don’t want outside food (except for those 2 places?) but I was: (a) outside, and (b) my back was facing the street, so it’s not like people would’ve seen me advertising Chipotle with a big sign. I saw they now carry little bites like a cheese platter, meat platter (most of which didn’t look appetizing and were super overpriced). I get it though, need more business, cut down on other non-​senses, but now, there’s really no difference between you and others in town.
Really, I’m more sad than anything because it means we prob won’t be back. Wishing them the best!

Pinky makes great recommendations!

If I could give less than one star I would. It seemed great the first several times we went there but the customer service was the worst I have seen in this area. Do yourself a favour and go across the street to the tiny beer and wine store. Better selection, better prices and much better customer service.

Fun, friendly, wine-​y alternative to wine harvest. Between Giant and K Mart in Kentlands, How could I not have known about this place? Guitar troubador was not a distraction from conversation. Owners are very nice,

I’ve enjoyed my 3 visits to Pinky & Pepe’s. The place has a pretty good wine and beer collection, as well as nice ambiance (classy) and décor – I love their wine barrel tables and comfy lounge chairs!
I like that they have lots of space up front and that most of the seating area is separated from their merchandise. The first night I went they had a free wine tasting; another night they had a musician that our group really enjoyed.
They allow you to order in food from area restaurants (great idea!) and a self-​service wine tasting machine (you pay according to what you want to sample: ¼, ½, or full glass) – I love it and want one! I do however think that the sampling fees, in particular the ¼ glass one is a little high (I think it was $ 2.50); I wish there was a way you could allow customers 1 free sample (even if it is ¹⁄₈ of a glass) of 1 – 2 of the bottles and then let them purchase more samples. This is especially so when you consider that most area wine tastings are $ 5 – 10 for a full list of 8+ wines.
The owners/​staff were also very friendly, considerate, knowledgeable, and unlike some wine bars also unpretentious – this is always a big plus in my book.
It is turning into my local go to place with good company!

If you love wine and beer and good hosting then this is a nice fun, relaxing place to go to. From the outside you would not think to go here except to buy some wine or beer. But the setup is very accomodating and relaxing. My girlfriend and her co-​workers go here all the time as they work accross the street. They have met Pinky and Pepe as they are always there and I have to say, they are a very friendly couple.
Their beer selection goes beyond what normal stores carry here in MoCo, with that being said their wine selection is just as broad. Pinky is the expert in wine as Pepe is more familiarl with the beer.
On a nice sunny day or after work, this is a good place to enjoy a nice cold beverage.