Menotomy Beer & Wine

Friendly local spot with nice wine selection at fair prices — they need to either expand the spirits offerings significantly or get rid of that section and stock more beer and wine choices as it seems to waste space currently.

Good selection of wine and beer for the size. I’m not surprised that the prices are a little high– this place is classy and tucked away in a nice neighborhood.
I’ll go back for a wine tasting sometime.

Nice choice of beers and the burger was cooked well.

Poor selection.

Driven by this place many times. While on my was home I decided to stop in and check it out. Plus I needed to pick up some alcohol for a party. Walked in and looked at their beer selection. Interesting eclectic array that would be well suited in one of the squares in Cambridge. Not sure if it’s a total sell for the sleepy town of Arlington. But I guess now that it’s no longer a «dry» town they may be able to pull it off. Prices as expected are higher than bigger stores. Vast wine selection which is more of a reason to come here. While checking out at the register I asked the man behind the counter how much the big bottle of Grey Goose was. He told me and I made a bit of a face like WHOAH. He said it’s only a few dollars more than any other store. After that he was a bit standoffish while I paid for my overpriced beer. Really because I didn’t want to buy your pricey vodka? Yet another Mom and Pop store to cross off my list.

A fantastic shop, the staff is fun, welcoming and knowledgeable. A good selection of drinks of all sorts! Friday evening is beer tasting and Saturday wine tasting, always a great social experience ! This place is a must in Arlington!

Not a beer fan, but have shopped at this place several times for wine. Pretty good selection, very helpful staff, discounts offered on 6 and 12 bottles. I would recommend!

Greeted with wine flowing or beer caps popping off bottles — that’s a way to start off a weekend and that’s what you get with the weekly Friday beer tastings and Saturday wine tastings. I love this place.
When I moved to Arlington right before the holidays, I didn’t know anyone and during my first trip to Menotomy for a bottle of vino, I felt at home. I just looked back at their Facebook wall and found this message I left on Christmas Eve — «Wally, Neil & Dan — Thanks for making my Christmas Eve even brighter. Just moving to Arlington and not knowing anyone, I never thought I would find a home away from home at my wine store, but alas, I have. You all have great customer service and know your wine. Thanks again, and Merry Christmas!»
Visiting the store many times since, I truly view the employees of Menotomy as friends — with benefits. Get your minds out of the gutter. The benefit is they are among the most knowledgeable folks I have met when it comes to beer and wine. If you have the chance, head to East Arlington on a Friday or Saturday and check out their great selection while sipping on a tasty beverage. Great company, a few laughs and great booze guaranteed!
PS — They just received their liquor license and will be carrying liquor in approximately one month. Yay, bourbon — I’m a KY girl.

Weekly tastings (beer on Friday and wine on Saturday) a great staff and even pictures with Santa for the kids (and pets). Five stars and then some. Glad to have this place in my neighborhood.

we love Menotomy! Their weekly wine and beer tastings are fun and friendly, even for people like us who don’t know a thing about wine or beer. The staff helped us figure out which wines/​champagnes to serve at our wedding this fall, and even offered to deliver it for us. They were a pleasure to work with every step of the way, and I would highly recommend them! Only downside is no liquor — wine and beer only — but that’s a town law and will hopefully change soon.

I went in here after a long day of moving in 90 degree heat mostly to take advantage of their air conditioning for a bit. I ended up discovering a store that stocks brews from western MA that I’ve never seen outside of western MA. In addition, I’ve never been able to find a wine I liked, but these guys were able to recommend a few that are fantastic! (They also gave a bottle as a «Welcome to the neighborhood» gift!) This will definitely be my first stop for beer or wine in the future.
You really can’t beat a staff that’s friendly and helpful, and a stock that’s well-​thought out and diverse.

I must start with this statement. I aspire to be the beer guy! I have frequented Menotomy since my recent move into the area and have always been impressed; both by selection of beer and wine, but more importantly, the helpful and knowledgable staff.
That being said, I have never gone to a beer or wine tasting there until the other day. I went in for a quick look around and to pick up the Sam Adams Holiday Pack, and quickly gravitated to the beer tasting on the other side of the store. The sampling was unique, flavorful, complex, and just fun. The «beer master» was clearly doing more than reading some comment card that came with the sample. He articulated the fermenting process of each beer, how the location and ingredients affected flavor, and the proper occasion and meal to serve each beer with.
I always enjoy looking at the interesting albeit small collection of wines and beers, but what I really look forward to is the experience of visiting Menotomy. The staff is friendly and engaging without a hint of pretention. I always feel as if I’ve learned something new by having a good conversation with a friend rather than going to a classroom.

Just called them to see if they could stock me some Ace Perry hard cider as I tried in Florida (see review for Bodega Blue) and hopefully they will come through. Regahdless, these guys are super nice and stock a great store full o beer and wine. Only way it could be better is if they had full liquor, but alas the laws of our fair city of Arlington prohibit such Dionysian delights!

This is a great little liquor store. Sure I could drive another 10 minutes away and save a buck and have a bigger selection but the staff here are very friendly and they have a great selection of high end beers. I was looking for something they didn’t have, they took down my name and number and had it for me in a week.

The tastings are fun and the staff very personable. Lots of wines from great wineries, and terrific suggestions for what you may want to buy.

You only have one chance to make a good first impression.
I went in this adorable little store, which stocks great beer and wine items, and stood looking at the beer case for well over 10 minutes without a single soul who worked there asking me if I needed any help. When I asked for Ballantine Ale the male clerk shrugged his shoulders and said they did not carry it. He did not offer to get stock it for me, or suggest any other kinds of beer he thougt I might like. He said nothing to me at all for the next five minutes as I searched their inventory for something I might like… until I left… and never returned.

Ok, so I’m one of those poeple who was all — «We don;t need liquor stores in Arlington, there’s one on every corner of each border town…». Now, I recant.
I really appreciate having Menotomy here in town. Not just because of the convenience, but the staff is awesome (all of them!) and their selection is almost perfect… great wines, fantastic selection of beer, and each individual working in the store is very knowledgable and helpful. You can’t beat it. It’s clean, and seems to have no potential of becoming a Bud Light and lottery store… yea!

Edit: After shopping more here I started to notice the prices all seemed a bit high. I have to ding them a star now for overpricing their beer. Prices are almost always $ 2 – 3 more for 6 packs and bombers than you’d find at liquor world or cambridge wine and sprits
I give these guys 5 stars purely for an awesome experience. The people that run this store are incredibly friendly and willing to help with either a beer or wine recommendation.
For those into craft beer, and if you aren’t you should be, they offer a really good selection. Now, let me be honest and say the selection isn’t huge, but what they lack in cooler space they make up for in service. In order to increase variety in the store they rotate out different beers in the cooler. I can almost always find Jolly Pumpkin, Hoppin Frog and Butternuts in the coolers though and that’s always a good thing.
Can’t find what you want? Ask! They’ve been awesome about looking into new beers to order in based on customer recommendations. This is a great small store worth your business.

They love beer and wine first and foremost — if you’re curious about a drink, they will pour you a sample. As others mentioned, they are as low-​key and low-​pressure as you can get. You might not expect it as it doesn’t look like some kind of packie — it’s really clean, bright, well-​organized, classy — but they won’t push anything on you or try to send you home with the most expensive bottle in stock.
Keep in mind the store is not *enormous* so their inventory is small compared to some of the behemoth beer/​wine places in the greater Boston area, but despite that what they do have in stock definitely surpasses «the usual.» There is a lot of interesting variety here.
Oh yea, and they do beer and wine tastings… I believe weekly.

Viva la revolution! When Menotomy opened, it was liberation for Arlington!!! Well at least a liquid libation liberation that is! It is the first beer and wine place to open in Arlington since Arlington is a dry town but since then relaxed its rules and distributed a few alcohol licences.
Menotomy is a cute little wine and beer store that had a super friendly staff that is more than willing to help you pair your food with your wine within the budget you state. They’ve given me great choices before or has suggested pairings I wouldn’t have thought of! They have a knowledgeable staff that can give you all the hoity-​toity points if you want but instead they keep it low key and accessible. Lots of locals show up to line up for yummy weekly wine and beer tastings and there is no pressure to buy at all!
Prices are moderate and not super expensive. There is a wine at every price. My philosophy is that anyone can buy a great $ 100 wine but finding a great $ 10 or $ 15 wine? Now that takes persistence and skills!
Update: they now have this display section when you walk right in with their recommendations of cheap yet delicious wine. A realy great selection for about $ 10 each.