Total Wine & More

Total Wine, the Wal Mart of liquor stores. Lemme break it down for you. Yes, it’s big. Yes, they have a lot of stuff. Well, that part is relative. Lemme splain you something. It’s very «big» and open but, the actual product selection is just so so. They have a lot of recognizable brands and typically have a surplus on those items. Also, their stock is roughly 50% private/​proprietary brands. Oddly enough, that’s illegal in Texas according to TABC but, whatever. Spec’s does it too. I guess when you have enough money, the laws don’t apply to you. The last time I was there, I noticed something (a label change on a bottle). I approached an employee that was nearby and asked him a question and was promptly shrugged at and ignored. There you have it folks, if you want to enjoy shopping in a bulk store that doesn’t care about service, knowledge or have the ‘good’ stuff, enjoy. Personally, I’d like to spend my money where people understand service and the craft that they’re pushing.

Great store, excellent selection, has a private room that can be booked and a humidor. Also, Phokus is awesome as a sommelier and always recommends perfect wines for wifey and I. Prices seem to meet or beat Costco on big liquor also!

1. I go to alcohol stores as often as crack houses these days, but I had heard so much about this place I wanted to check it out. It’s magnificent.
2. On the Saturday I was there, there was a Woodford Reserve/​Jack Daniels display that would engrave a personal message on the bottle within two minutes. It was the perfect gift for a friend of mine who enjoys the stuff. So I bought one. They should do this all the time.
3. If you don’t want to incur His wrath by faking Eucharist, there’s a whole lot of free samples here that should keep you going. God bless.

Very pleased with the service I get when looking for something. They are are knowledgeable in their alcohol, which is never a bad thing. They also hold classes that are great! Always pleased, since they opened and gave out wine tumblers!

Best described as a playground for adults. I don’t see how a liquor store can improve from this model.
Come here for wine tastings, liquor tasting and rows upon rows of wine, vodka, gin, tequila, brandy, bourbon etc.
They even have a separate, enormous room for wine seminars.

I’ve shopped at a lot of Total Wines on the East Coast and was super excited to see they were opening in Austin.
They have the awesome variety and unique items I expect from my previous experiences with Total Wine but the reason for the deduction in stars was the lack of help from the staff on the floor. My previous Total Wine I shopped at in another state, everyone was super helpful and friendly. I never had to track someone down to ask a question. While the person who assisted me was helpful, it was disappointing I had to actively seek out help when I’ve never had to do that at other stores. I even had a Manager walk past me when I first walked in, he looked at me and didn’t even say hello or acknowledge my presence.

You had me at $ 1.97 Chardonnay!
I’ve been here a few times now. They’ve got an overwhelming selection of EVERYTHING. I try to be in and out here but that never happens. I just walk around. Looking. And looking. At things I’m never going to buy. I’ve only gotten to walk through the champagne and under $ 5/​$ 4/​$ 3/​$ 2 section!
All my super cheap wine-​os, they’ve got $ 1.97 Chardonnay and Merlot! Others too I just can’t remember. If you wanna get straight to that goodness walk in those doors and look to the left for the yellow signs!
Cheers!

While some of the local liquor stores concentrate on hard liquor, this one essentially has surrounded the nucleus of a typical liquor store with an even bigger wrap-​around inventory of wines.
It’s built in the old Toys-​R-​Us building in the shopping center, so I couldn’t help thinking Wines-​R-​Us when I walked in the door. I overheard a guy say, «This is like Home Depot for alcoholics.» At any rate, they have a huge variety of most every kind of alcohol you could want. Pricing is about equal to Spec’s, less or more in some cases.
Tasting booths are set up at various points around the store, with a tasting schedule posted above each, like showtimes at Sea World. There’s a tasting classroom set up at the back, and they offer various tasting events several times a month.
The day we were there, one of the tasting hosts, Aaron, gave us some helpful recommendations and even took us into his classroom to let us try a couple of products he recommended. Great customer service.
They have a loyalty club you can join for free, and each purchase earns points that entitle you to three levels of perks. First level gets you onto their email list for special offers and sales. Second level gets you product upgrades and invitations to special events. Third level gets you special limited release product notifications and consultations by appointment, because by then you’re a pretty big spender at Total Wine.
I have to say it’s a little more fun than the former toy store was.

I am so excited to see a Total wine again! After living in Northern VA for 4 years, i grew accustomed to walking across the way to Total Wine. They had everything I needed from ciders, to new beer I wanted to try.
The staff is friendly and some nights they have tasting parties.
Not much else to say about this store other than they have the best selection of local and national beer, wine and other alcohol. Glad I don’t have to go to Spec’s anymore :)

Came to pick up a specific liquor ingredient for a drink I was wanting to make and they had it, and in 3 sizes as well, which was nice. Prices here are simply put, the best in town. You may, MAY get lucky and find something a dollar cheaper when on sale some place else, but on any given day you will pay less here for a basket of goods, easily, and you don’t need to wait for the sale price or pay with a debit card, so you can still get your Credit Card’s reward points for purchases here.
The liquor selection at this store is comparable to the South location, and I thought had a few more specialty liqueurs on first glance actually. I didn’t look to closely at the wine, but noticed Decoy Cab was $ 18 here instead of almost $ 21 at HEB, Central Market and $ 20 at Specs. Santa Margarita Pinot Grigio is also a few dollars cheaper than anywhere else in Austin, even when its on sale elsewhere.
There is a singles beer section with a respectable selection, including a dedicated cider chunk as well. I’m definitely a fan.

What a fitting location for Total Wine, in an old Toys R Us! This place gets me just as excited as a kid coming here 10 years ago. Lots of wine selections at pretty good prices. I say that because some prices are higher than I’ve found at smaller wine shops, but overall, the prices are good and the selection is grand.
The lows: they aren’t able to order whatever like I’ve found at other stores. They are limited to basically what they normally carry. The party food section is not nearly comparable to Spec’s, but their close proximity to my house means I’ll probably be back again soon.

Never seen so many craft beers in a single location; everything is here, including hard to find offerings like Prairie Bomb, Bible Belt and Ayinger Celebrator. And at the cheapest prices in Austin. On my last visit, they had 30 cases of Bomb on the floor. Aaron is my go-​to «beer guy» whom I’ve yet to trip up on a selection; not only is he familiar with that particular product, but he knows exactly where it’s located in the store. Adding to all this, he’s passionate about beer and humble regarding his vast knowledge. He’s friendly and wants to help everyone from the noob searching for his/​her first craft beer to the seasoned pro who’s quaffed it all. How rare to find somebody like this watching over the beer isles.
For wine, it’s Loren. 13 years in the California restaurant industry have paid dividends as this guy certainly knows wine. For years we got comfortable drinking the same 15 – 20 wines due to the fact that other local stores just didn’t have as large a selection as TW, but more importantly, they didn’t have somebody that could honestly suggest new wines that we might like. I spoke with Loren for about 5 minutes, had him listen to the GF on my cell for another three or so, and then he picked out 12 bottles for Thanksgiving. WOW… Still amazed.
I’m getting to know Total Wine’s «point system», but I really appreciate the fact that all of my purchases are listed on their site (with my permission), so I can refer back to what I bought a few months ago with ease.
I did some research on the company and found out that it was started in 1991 by two brothers in Delaware and now with 130 «superstores» in 18 states, is «the largest independent retailer of fine wine». You ever looked at somebody’s picture and could tell instantly that they were nice ppl? That’s these two owners, and it easily explains why their managers are nice, their checkers are nice… Everybody at this store is nice.

Whoever put this store so close to me, Please take it away.
All I needed was one bottle of tequila for a Christmas present. Just one lousy bottle and 45 minutes later I am walking out with ten bottles of booze and a set of glasses. Bad store for tempting me. This place is Huuuuge. Wines to the right, wines to the left, and the middle filled with spirits.
First mistake — I walked in
Second mistake — Took a cart
Third mistake — Found the small, cheap spirits within two minutes.
Fourth mistake — Being able to grab two pint bottle in each hand
Fifth mistake — Thinking a scorpion in a bottle of Mescal is cute
Sixth mistake — Justifying I will NEED the brandy later
First smart thing — Realizing my cart is full and rush to the checkout.
Yes, I will be back because I have an alcohol problem. No, not drinking, just like to buy alcohol.

Their prices and selection cannot be beat! I walked in 10 minutes before closing time yet the employees did not make me feel rushed. The layout is fluid, although I had never been to a TW&M I quickly found the dry rose aisle (yes the dry rose has its own section!) and found the local beer. I was completely dumbfounded at how inexpensive the wines and beer are.
I did see a nice display highlighting Texas liquors and beer so props for supporting local. They carry some specialty cans like Independence Brewery «OK Sucks» and Miller Light ACL Festival beer.
As long as you are not seeking out Pappy Van Winkle chances are TW&M has what the spirits you’re looking for at an exceptional price.

Toy R US turned into a «liquors museum». Not bad at all!
It’s a good place to shop liquors, they have all of collections and their prices are very competitive! Service is outstanding!

It’s nice to have this location up north, but the close proximity could be dangerous. They just opened last week and my wife’s already been twice. There was a large crowd this weekend, but it was worth braving to see the place. They have a great selection of beer, including my favorite craft beers.
Their food selection is pretty limited, but I don’t know anyone that’s coming here for food. There’s grocery stores close enough for that. There is a classroom in the back where they will hold wine and beer instructional sessions, which could be fun. Nice store, good selection and the staff was friendly and helpful.

In the wise old words of Whoopi from «Ghost», «Keri, you in trouble girl!». And apparently so are a lot of far northies as this joint was packed to the gills on grand opening day. Like a deer in headlights, I just kinda froze upon entering. My brain could not comprehend the vastness before me. Bottles n bottles, talkin all of dat. Then, as I moved in, I found myself humming «Heaven…I’m in heaven…».
Yes, Total Wine has a huge selection, altho they were missing a few of my most treasured items, like Golden Monkey beer. But, during Grand Opening they are having some huge markdowns on other staples like Woodford Reserve, Deep Eddy Lemon, and several tasty wines. There were tons of staff mixed in the crowds to help locate things as well, which I appreciated since the wine selection is so huge and confusing. I looked all over the far side of the store in the wine section but still couldn’t find Chardonnays or Cab Sauvs. I gave up and moseyed on to the hard stuff and found those two varietals in the middle section of the store. Also, I like how they have a store’s selection or «best buys» in each wine section, but then each wine section also confused me. Of course, the most expensive bottles were on the «top shelf» but all the rest in the bottom tiers ran all over the map from $ 3 to $ 35 all mixed together. Maybe I was just overstimulated but I felt a bit overwhelmed in that wine selection.
One «good» thing about their wine selection is you get a 10% discount on any combo of six bottles, which of course just encouraged me to buy in multiples of six. So, no, TEN bottles is now not enough… but I figure the discount covers the cost of those last two bottles. It’s circular wino thinking but apparently Total Wine gets me. And, they had tons of tastings for Grand Opening, one stall which looks more permanent that was serving in real tiny glass glasses. So haute! I also snagged a complimentary wine guide (or textbook) that was huge and super informative on everything from growing grapes to tasting wine to each region and varietal. The store also has a humidor, of course every kind of glass from Riedel to Solo, and a few snacks but not a whole lot of food choices.
I signed up for the e-​newsletter so I can find out their sales and classes (they have a classroom in the store). I sooo wanna go to school here. Maybe they’ll have a Pace Yourself 101 class I can fail.

So happy there is a Total Wine close to cedar park. They have soooo many beers. My husband likes a beer that’s hard to find (Trumer Pils) and they have it. Can’t wait to come back and try more of there unique beer selections. It will be a new quest for my husband and I to try them all. Haha The food selection is not very much, but the selection of wine and other spirits is great. The staff is willing to help you. They had some really great buys for the opening. They also have a wide selection of tiny bottles of all kinds of booze. They are so cute. Haha. It’s great because you can try something that you may not want to buy a large bottle of.

Ok this place is dangerous.
Start with the fact that my bride was way too excited for this grand opening, and we even went right after they unlocked the doors for the first time so she could feel all the excitement.
Folks running the place were super nice and helpful, perhaps too much so. At one point I discovered that my wife had started a second cart. A second cart. At a liquor store.
The place is huge, honestly, I can’t see how any store in the area could possibly beat their selection of booze, wine and beer. The beer choices were insane. So. Much. Beer.
I suppose I should be grateful that I didn’t have to resort to pleading to get my wife out of there. Hell, it’s a WORK DAY.
We dialed it back to one cart, got a nice selection of wine, beer and a couple of bottles of liquor, and vowed to regulate our visits going forward.
They also gave us a nice gift bag when we entered, including some stemless crystal glasses and a nice wine/​bottle opener. Thanks for that Total Wine, welcome and good luck!

dear total wine & more:
as we walked out of your beautiful new store in nw austin, i said to my husband «that was… exhilarating». should i be concerned?
signed,
a thirsty citizen
for those who did not tailor their day’s plans to attend Total Wine’s opening day festivities, let me tell you — you will find most any and every kind of magical elixir here (but not my local favorite wines from Tranquilo — so kindly get on that, TW! — although it’s quite possible that i just missed it).
the staff is plentiful and available and extremely helpful. the prices are good. the specials are enticing. the store is huge with nice wide aisles. the selection is impressive. it is _​almost_​overwhelming. almost but, thankfully, not quite.
i am trying to figure out how to do my weekly grocery shopping at TW. i mean, sure there’s no fresh produce, and sure i’d have to think of creative ways to serve cheese puffs and chocolate bars so they pass for «dinner» but come on, hasn’t that whole food triangle thing been debunked by now anyway? one thing would be for certain — my family would never suffer from thirst.
word to the wise (and thirsty): everyone in your party will need their own cart.
this place is delicious mischief.