St Helena Wine Center

Reasonable selection of smaller labels. Upon arrival I did my usual thing when walking into a new wine shop — «so tell me about your program…» The staff was Helpful — I am not into American wine really, and I told the woman working there my price point and what I was looking for. She was very helpful, gave me some options and told me a story or two about each of the wineries. Picked 2 bottles — who knows if they are any good, they were both way over priced. I think this is the kind of wine shop that takes advantage of unsuspecting customers.

I do not understand this business. They had a nice wide selection of wines. And they greet you warmly when you enter. But once you show them the St. Helena Passport the smile goes away and the whole experience becomes awkward. They grudgingly gave us our tasting with little explanation on what we’re having.
When a different couple walked into the store our pourer ran over to them abandoning us, followed them around the store and gave them details on the wines they carry.

I can’t comment on the wine selection, quality of, or prices.
…but if you’re stopping in town and want ONE single cold beer, not only can you buy one here, you can enjoy your beer in a glass while sitting in a separate (and intimate) bar area while snacking on bowls of pretzels and kettle corn set out on the counter. There’s a tv for watching sports games too.
Considering that it was cheaper than getting the same kind of beer at a dive bar while being infinitely classier, you can’t really go wrong with that business model.

IF YOU HAVE A WINE PASSPORT AVOID THIS PLACE!!! Kit O. was right on their review. The moment we said we had the passports they were downright rude and abusive. We were also told they were not conducting wine tasting and were giving our a gift bags instead. When we presented our 3 passports they balked at giving three bags and decided to give us a tasting instead. IT WAS ONLY ONE TASTING!!! Don’t sign up for the passports if you do not want to participate. It’s bad business to be rude and prejudice. We probably would have purchased several bottles if we liked the tastings. I agree this is a HORRIBLE PLACE and it left a bad taste to our otherwise pleasant trip.

My friends and I all purchased the St. Helena Passport; almost all the locations were warm and friendly, but this place was HORRIBLE. From the moment we walked in the man and woman working were both terribly rude. The guy at the counter never even made eye contact with us as we shopped and asked questions. Why on earth would the agree to this Passport deal if they didn’t want to be part of it. I had a few things in my hand to purchase, but put them all down due to lack of respect, let alone customer service. I’ll never return.

This was the first stop on our St. Helena Passport and it wasn’t overly impressive. They were not tasting — apparently they only taste on Saturdays for a few hours. In lieu of a tasting, we got a bag to carry 6 wine bottles, a cork screw and bottle stopper. There were two of us, Passport is for two people, it would have been nice to receive two. And, when I asked what they carried for wine, it was basically from all over CA, not just the St. Helena area. Again, not impressive.

The sell everything related to fine tastes and still have enough real estate to fit in a rotational wine tasting room (vendors vary from week to week). Even if you don’t come here for a tasting, their wall to wall selection is absolutely amazing. Don’t hesitate to stop by! No traditional pizzazz or pressure from a tourist trap, but this place gets the job done.

Fantastic shop! Great selection! Wonderful staff! Check out the backroom with some really hard to find wines. I also like how they have lots of local wine (as you’d expect), and really seem to have deep roots into the community.

It’s a beautiful store with an astonishing selection, but with a sadly homophobic attitude. We were three men and were pointedly ignored and glared at by the aging proprietor who clearly makes poor assumptions. He slobbers over the women who come in, but couldn’t be bothered with us. We would have had a few cases sent back to New York, but never mind. If this matters to you at all, avoid the place. The wineries are run by more civil and enlightened people, so it at least seems.

St. Helena Wine Center is nothing short of AMAZING. Everyone there is so friendly, super knowledgeable, and very helpful. They stock the shelves with a wide assortment of «drink all the time» and «impossible to find» bottles. Actually pretty amazing how much variety they have… Local friendly and visitor useful, everyone benefits from SHWC. Was just in there yesterday, which prompted me to write this and let ya’ll know just how I feel :)

SHAMEFUL SERVICE!
Walked into the shop to make a gift delivery for the owners, and was COMPLETELY IGNORED by the clerk for WELL OVER FIVE MINUTES as I stood directly in the middle of the shop, right in front of the cashier station. He saw me, made eye contact, and said nothing to acknowledge me as I waited, positioned in his line of sight. He watched me as I struggled to get the doors open, with my arms full, too. He never did respond to me, apparently too busy with his single customer to have time for me. Eventually, someone else came in from outside or somewhere else– I’d searched the shop for someone to help me and found no one — and while she at least greeted me, I was treated with the same off-​brushing attitude.
I may have been in plain clothing and not a 200 $ suit and tie, but I was bringing her a gift, and I walked in to her shop supposedly a customer, but was treated poorly from the second I stepped in, simply because I was not treated at ALL. If I’d been in her position, and seen my employee ignoring a customer as he had been, he’d have been walking out the door that second.
The shop looked nice but I’d never, ever shop there. :(

I barely spent any time in here, but they carried the wine that we were looking for, so we were utterly happy. Their selection is quite large and the store is really nice.
The Prisoner by Orin Swift was the hardest thing to find, and since the winery is by appointment only, we were searching for this wine everywhere. The sommalier at Tra Vigne pointed us in this direction, and we found the last 3 bottles in stock at the store!
Everything was fast and efficient, and we now know where to come to for Napa wines when you can’t go to the winery!

This is a great wine shop in St. Helena! From cult and blue chip wines to lesser known «insider» small-​production wines, they really do a great job helping you find just the right wine. They specialize in wines from the Napa Valley (duh), but they have a growing and ever expanding international section.
They have a great little tasting bar and it’s a wonderful place to learn about wines in a no-​pressure enviroment. Make sure you join up for the (e-)mailing list because they have great limited offerings and themed tastings!
Oh, almost forgot to mention… parking on the main street in front of the store can be hit-​or-​miss — but there’s a secret parking lot in the alley behind the building!

the only place i will shop for wine (trader joe’s excluded). in addition to their excellent and plentiful selection of «big guns,» st. helena wine center is a great place to discover moderately priced gems.
just ask the expert staff — they will help you select the best wines in your price range. i’ve learned so much from them about $ 20-​$ 30 wines. they’ve been spot-​on with every recommendation.

I know it’s kind of weird to go to a wine store in the middle of wine country, but this place is amazing! If you want to get a older bottle of wine, this is your place. They have a great selection and the prices are very good. They also have a nice cigar selection, too! We always make a point to stop by, whenever we are in the area.

This is a wonderful wine store, and I always learn something about some local small producer (and come out with a bottle or six). The other interesting thing is that they taste everything they sell, including their small boutiquey stock of hard liquor. They don’t carry everything, and that’s on purpose. So they might carry three special gins, and a good rye, that sort of thing. It’s all carefully selected, fun to look at, and easy to buy. And the folks are terribly nice.

Hands down –best wine store on the west coast!
Fantastic/​rare selection of California wines (check out the back room for the super rare finds).
The staff is excellent and very knowledgeable. You can tell your price range (even if it’s $ 12) – and you’ll get a number of great selections+ideas.
I’ve had the best luck with Tom Alamano – really friendly+helpful.
If you’re visiting from out of town –they’ll ship anything as well.
Also – it’s right smack in the middle of downtown near some very cute shoe stores. A++++