Chain Bridge Cellars

I’ve drunk wine every night for thirty years, and this is my favorite wine store. Period.
Doug House, the owner, is very knowledgeable and has an enthusiasm for wine that is contagious. No snobbishness or label-​drinking in this store! Doug has a real sense of value (quality divided by cost) and regularly stocks wines that are exceptional values.
The staff (which includes Randy King, a force in the DC wine trade for many years) also knows wine. No stockers or cash-​register people; only wine-​lovers with opinions worth hearing. The store is small, so they haven’t room to stock fifty brands of California Cab. Doug and his staff have really tasted the wines they carry, and believe in them enough to give them shelf space.
Several wines, with prices ranging from $ 6 to sometimes $ 100 or more, are open for tasting on Fridays 4 – 7 and Saturdays 12 – 4, served in good glasses so you can actually taste them, and often poured by their importers, who can really teach you about the wines. Sign up for the email service telling about special events and what’s new — and up for tasting! Try one of the reasonably-​priced evening classes, where you can learn more about wines in a small sit-​down group, with generously-​sized samples, cheese and bread on the side, and often special pricing, These are usually hosted by the importer, or even the owner or winemaker. Great opportunities to learn!
Highly recommended!

Terrific selection, very knowledgable and personable staff, and events that are a ton of fun. Always enjoy and learn something on my visits… which aren’t frequent enough.

Great selections of wines and great service.
If you are looking for everyday wine that doesn’t cost too much, not very appropriate shop to go to. If you are willing to spend $ 40 or more on a bottle then definitely recommend to go there. I’ve never had a so so tasting bottle there. All of the wine that I purchased from them are all great wines.
Highly recommended!

Love this store! Easy to get to, great parking, and I particularly like their «One Sip At a Time» series to help folks learn more about wine. These are held in their cellar (ha ha), and are always a great time!

Great staff and friendly atmosphere… a very comfortable feeling when walking in. Great place to stop in on the way home from work or to fill your wine cellar.

A co-​worker of mine gave me a $ 25 gift card to Chain Bridge Cellars, and I stopped by on Saturday to get some wine for a Christmas party I’m throwing.
The first thing that I’ll say is that it’s hard to find — not at all the fault of the store — as Chain Bridge Rd. seems to split awkwardly and the addresses get confusing *and* the lettering on all of the store-​fronts in this strip mall are small and peeling off! If I were the proprietor of a business that rents space there I would be calling the leasing office DAILY.
Once I found the place I waited over 15 minutes to be recognized as a customer by any of the staff. Grrr. I’m a 33 year old woman who looks about…19 so maybe that had something to do with it, but I am a customer none-​the-​less. As I’ve stated before on Unilocal,I work in customer service, and you HAVE to greet people once they walk in the door no matter how busy it is. One woman was working a tasting counter on the upper floor and didn’t have a smile on her face the whole time she was talking to other customers; we made eye contact a few times but she just turned away each time. So there’s my reason for knocking 1 star off.
However, a man named Doug finally greeted me — very enthusiastically which was nice — and asked me if I needed help. I explained to him my budget (stay as close to the $ 25 as possible), my personal tastes in wine (Bordeaux — yay) and distaste (ALL CHARDONNAY — NAY), and the nature of the gathering (party with light appetizers not a dinner). Doug took time to listen, he wasn’t snobby, he really blocked out all the hustle and bustle of the busy store to speak with me and gleaned a little bit more information — and recommended two wines.
My party isn’t until the 23^rd but no matter if I like the wines or not Doug is the perfect wine seller — he is so happy doing what he’s doing, he was very knowledgeable, and is eager to share his knowledge WITH you — not lord it over you and make you feel inferior — and that’s very appreciated as a customer.
I wish that all of the team members in that store had Doug’s same «joie-​de-​vivre».
Thanks, Doug — the white is in the fridge chilling, and the red is in my wine rack — it will take all of my self control not to pop both open before the 23^rd! :)

We tripped over Chain Bridge Cellars almost by mistake when I Googled a wine and happened to find their review. Glad we stopped by. They have a good selection of wines at all price points. The gal who was working was great and had more knowledge of wine than I’ve found in a wine store. We had a very pleasant conversation and I found myself longing for the days back when most stores had knowedgable sales statff. Well be back!

They advertise on Unilocal that is how I found them. Always come up when I look at other wine shops with such high reviews. Must be nice to be on Unilocal’s good side, went to their web page and place is meh… Well it is in VA so that might tell you something no one uses wine searcher. One of their mainstream Bordeaux’s was retailing for $ 22, wine-​searcher low $ 15 from Sotheby in NY.

Received a follow-​up email from Doug, the owner (I think…), on my initial Unilocal review. He addressed my concerns and on the 3 subsequent visits, I’ve found that the staff has provided superior service. On the last two visits, I was introduced to three new varietals. If you tell them what you like, you’ll probably get suggestions for other wines and varietals that you’ll enjoy.
Another plus is that they keep your order/​purchase history stored in their system. I find this to be very helpful.

Echoing all of the previous comments, wine selection is good and more importantly, the staff is knowledgable and helpful without being pretentious. Whether you are looking for a reasonably priced bottle for a Friday night or are a serious collector, CBC can meet your needs. The evening wine tastings/​courses are very informative. Wines are a little pricey (to be expected in a small store) however special pricing can be better than anywhere else nationally. The proprietor, Doug House, is passionate about old world wines, especially Italian and French.

What a great place! Tastings in the back on Fridays, helpful service and a good selection of different wines. I would recommend — the owner is very helpful and takes the time to walk you through what you would want.
I was looking for a particular vintage – and they had it cheaper than a few of the competitors. They also have a small selection of bread from Lyon Bakery, cheeses, crackers and chocolates to go with your wine. Give the place a go – you’ll be pleased by how down to earth they are :)

The hidden gem of McLean & wine lover’s heaven!!!

I’ve been going to Cecile’s for a number of years now. I used to have four or five regular wine shops, including Total Wine, but I became tired of bringing home bad bottles. Now, I only use Cecile’s and here’s why.
Cecile’s does regular tastings on Fridays and Saturdays. Some wine shops pour what they are trying to sell. Cecile’s will pour what they think is exciting. There are usually four or more wines selected from a theme (i.e. varietal, region, etc) and covering several price points. There is always a value/​steal of the week, some $ 20 – 30 and usually something a little more high end. It is not uncommon to see a $ 40+ bottle of wine being poured at a tasting. Cecile’s tasting format has allowed me to purchase (almost) exclusively wines that I have tried and have some assurance will be good.
Over the years, Cecile’s has learned my palate and is able to steer me towards wine they are confident I will like and away from wines that may not excite me. On occasion, they have special ordered wine that they do not normally carry.
The prices at Cecile’s are very reasonable, which is the reason I marked it as inexpensive. They are often on par or within a dollar or two of Total Wine. Wegman’s can sometimes throw deals that beat their prices, but the transport and storage can be suspect over there. When Cecile’s offers up sales, the prices are unbeatable.
Overall, Cecile’s offers up everything I want in a neighborhood wine store. Friendly and knowledgeable staff, very good selection (especially considering the size of the store), free tastings of wines I want to drink, excellent meats/​cheeses, and constant special wine dinners and other events. My biggest complaint is they are not in Lorton/​Springfield. Doesn’t seem to stop me from going back though.

I love Fine Wine. It took me a while to go in because I always get nervous in wine stores. But they sell great wine without being pretentious. They are thrilled to find a great bottle at a low price, as much as they are selling higher end bottles. We can often get amazing wines for under $ 10.
They always take the time to figure out exactly what we are looking for, based on our menu and every time I get wine there, a guest comments on how well the pairing is.
(Moderate price reflects the range. There are $ 7 bottles and $ 100+ bottles)