Seattle Cellars

Did Cellars lose their liquor license? Humor control says because of recent shootings and one murder, the SPD had the alcohol board to pull their liquor license — No booze… No business. I do know yesterday that brown paper was put on all the windows and no lights were on last night. We will see. Nothing in the newspapers about closing. Date Jan.31, 2015.

This was a nice neighborhood wine cellar which had wine tasting on Thursday nights. Unfortunately they have closed for good, as in out of business.

Overpriced and cloying staff. I’ve seen so many bottles from here at other places at least 20% cheaper. But great location.
The mark of a good wine store is that they’ll tell you to put down the more expensive bottle and buy something that they like better and is a better value. This place does not do that.
They will order for you, which is nice. And I do think they know what they are talking about.

Seattle Cellars is a great place to start broadening your wine horizons.
First, their knowledgeable and passionate staff will help you find anything you’re looking for. And, if you can’t find it in-​store, they’ll order it for you. They are available to offer information on what wine will go best with your salmon, or which is the best Gewürztraminer for under $ 20.
Second is the Thursday night wine tastings. Buy a Seattle Cellars tasting glass once for $ 10; every time you bring it with you to use for subsequent tastings you may take the flight for free. And usually there are free nibbles, too!

We were happy to find Seattle Cellars. It is a great local wine shop with a nice selection of wines with very friendly, personable, and laid back staff. We were remembered upon our second time there and again when we went for the wine tasting. The Thursday night wine tastings will be a recurring event for us each week. They have a good selection of wines under 15.00 and their website is well laid out with suggestions from each of the staff. We will miss our old wine shop where we lived before but not nearly as much as we would of had we not found Seattle Cellars.

I’ve always been tentative to go to an actual wine shop to buy wine because I figured it was much more overpriced than what I might find at a grocery store. Seattle Cellars has quite an array of affordable wine, I was pleased to find, and the people who work there are more than happy to help you find what you are looking for no matter what price range you’re seeking. The free Thursday wine-​tasting (after you pay a one-​time fee of $ 10 for the official Seattle Cellars wine glass) is also a fantastic perk. Their website will tell you the theme of each upcoming wine-​tasting event. And I have yet to experience even a smidgen of wine snobbery. Everyone is very down-​to-​earth, staff and patrons alike.

This small wine store offers fantastic customer service with staff ready to help when needed but who know when to let you alone while perusing. It’s not uncommon to be greeted by all of the staff members the instant you walk in the door, no matter how busy things are.
Their selection ranges across all major wine producing areas throughout the world, but they also to a good job supporting the local Washington wine community. The store is small so their selection is not overwhelming but assistance is definitely available if needed. It’s also dog friendly, so if you happen to be in Belltown with fido bring him in to help choose that perfect bottle.
The wine prices are pretty spot on from what I could see, which is uncommon for a downtown wine merchant, so feel comfortable knowing you’re getting a solid buy. I do wish they offered a better wine club discount however. At only 5% off it’s almost not even worth the effort to hand over your email.

This is a good go-​to place when I’m looking for something different from my usual wine selections, either for gifts or personal consumption. The staff is always friendly and helpful. I think their prices can be just a bit higher, but it’s worth the service and smiles they provide.

I heard about this place because of their Thursday evening wine tastings. Here’s how it works: show up between 5 and 7 pm. If it’s your first time there, you buy a Seattle Cellars-​branded Reidel tasting glass for $ 10. After that, you can taste four different wines each week for free, but if you’re like me you’ll walk out with a bottle or two each week.
My first time there they had four wines from France, carefully selected by one of the store’s wine merchants, who gives lively verbal tasting notes with each one. The Pinot Noir from Langedoc was an all-​star.

This place makes me feel like a wine-​o. Let me break it down…
Periodically, my wife and I will go to their Thursday night wine tastes. After tasting the wines, we’ll generally want to buy at least one of them. Then we’ll remember that we have a dinner party coming up, and need to buy wine for that. So, we’ll ask the staff for help. They’ll suggest like three wines, but make them all sound so good we’ll decide to buy all three. Then my wife will remember that Spring is approaching, and we should have a rose for that.
So, now we have five wines. At which point, we’ll just say, «Screw it, anything worth doing is worth doing right! Let’s buy a mixed case!»
And thus we spend too much money.
Yes, I am a wine-​o.

The friendly, not-​wine-​snob staff is really what makes me give Seattle Wine Cellars five stars. They have a great selection of northwest wines, west coast wines, and also a fairly decent selection of global wines (heavy on Australian versions). Definitely ask the staff for recommendations — they often get small batch local wines that are only available for a short time (basically until the particular vintage sells out). I have been particularly pleased with some of the small batch «Big Reds» the Northwest produces so well. I have not been (mainly due to work-​week laziness) to their Thursday night tastings (which requires only the one-​time purchase of a $ 10 wine glass to participate), but it sounds like a great opportunity to try some very interesting wines. Cheers!

Small wine shop with free tastings on Thursday nights.
A great selection and a knowledgeable staff make this place a great spot to get a bottle to go with that dinner you are planning.