Compass Wines

This is a wonderful wine shop with a huge selection and price range. The employees know a bunch about wine and are very willing to help you pick out a bottle in your price range. They also have weekly free wine tastings and an array of wine clubs for the über wine lover.

The best customer service on the Island. Informative but, not snooty.
Always greeted with a smile and helpful advice. An asset to Anacortes,
and the San Juan Islands. The wine selection is fantastic!
Devout customers

Unbelievable. An amazing and knowledgeable place. My parents are from out-​of-​state and huge wine-​heads, so when they visited they wanted to find the best wine store on their way to Anacortes from SeaTac. They couldn’t find anything, and I’d heard good things, so we decided to stop here. We ended up spending 45 minutes and I think over $ 300, and my parents fell in love. The staff was extraordinarily helpful, even though the place was packed. They were able to find the wine from a vineyard my parents had been to but couldn’t remember the name of. When we couldn’t decided between two wines, they uncorked them and gave all three of us tastes of the two wines. They were able to find half a dozen wines perfectly fitted to our tastes. They have everything from the $ 5 wines I wanted to the $ 75 bottle my mom wanted. My parents said it was the best wine store they had ever been in, and that is saying A LOT.

I’ve lived in A-​town for about a year before I went in here. This fantastic wine shop is located in a little strip mall along the main Commercial Ave. and I never thought a place like this could exist in this location/​town.
Upon entering we were warmly welcomed by the ladies working the tasting area and store. After some nice discussion about wine we tasted a nice mixed flight of several styles of wines.
We were then showed around the store to the various price points, locales, and styles available.
To say their selection is impressive is an understatement. They have some fantastic wines from some hard to find vintners. I believe they have the largest selection of Washington wines in the state (at half the store) and they maintain a sizable selection of wines at $ 10-​$ 20 as well.
For you big time wine players, they have a private locker area that is secure and kept and proper temperature with various size lockers for rent.
They have a mailer and in-​store events as well.
Why shop at Safeway for wine when this joint is just next store and you can definitely get a better bottle of wine at the same prices.
Quench your thirst my friends. Cheers!

Wow. I lived in this town a year before I went here. This place is really cool. The staff is great, and I was lucky enough to stop on my way home for a bottle… and ended up staying for an hour, learning about wines, the industry, the owner, and tasting several wines.
I don’t know much about wine, but I’ve since learned the owner of this place is a legend in the industry. Pretty cool if you ask me.
I expected to be up-​saled in this place, which is why I always buy wine at Costco or Safeway. But instead they sold and recommended some of the cheapest wines they had (over the more expensive alternatives). And it was great wine!
The store is clean, inviting, cozy and well organized… and the staff is great.
I will be back whenever I need a wine fix or a present. In fact, I look forward to it.

So friendly and helpful… allow a person to browse the inventory… unpretentious and knowledgeable. I guess it goes with being a Coug!

One of the best wine stores in the state isn’t located in Seattle, Spokane, or Walla Walla. Nope it’s in the bustling north coast city of Anacortes. Here local industry icon Doug Charles operates one of the most respected wine shops for Washington and Northwest wines.
Recently I stopped in on my way back from San Juan Island. I had heard so much about the shop but never had the chance to make it up. Boy was I missing out! Being a huge fan of Washington wines I was amazed by the selection, including some of the most sought after wines in the state from renowned producers as Leonetti and Quilceda Creek…1990 Quilceda Creek anyone?
There are also plenty of offerings from small and literally unknown producers that you may have never heard of but should definitely get to know. Laura, who was working that day, was more than helpful in pointing some of these rare finds out. After taking me for a tour of the store, covering all of the major wine sections and highlights, she preceded to suggest a few bargain bottles that I had never heard of. It’s not everyday that a wine shop will enthusiastically promote some of the least expensive bottles in the store.
After leaving the store with bottles in hand I had the thought that it was too bad Compass Wines wasn’t closer to Seattle, but in reality I was glad for the distance buffer or I would be in there everyday. At least I know where to stop on my next trip to the San Juan’s or up to Canada. If you can’t make it in either then I highly recommend you checkout the website, where most of the wines are available for purchase, and make sure you get on the mailing list for Doug’s recommendations.