Champane’s Wine Cellars

Great local business! They have a fantastic variety of Michigan brewed and also way out there beers; ask Michael if there’s something you can’t find on the shelves, and he will get it for you sooner or later, thanks for my Hawaiian Longboards! Great prices, the giant bottles of Russian beer for something like $ 3.00 are not to be missed.
The wine selection is crazy expansive, plus a lot of bargain bottles for those of us who don’t have a clue, or are just looking for a cheap red or white to throw into a stew.
The liquor section is shrinking by the day, it seems, but they still stock a wide expanse of a lot of things you don’t see everyday, like ouzo or arak, and they are perfectly willing to take a special order of anything their suppliers have, just give a name and they will call you when it comes in!
Don’t forget they have a bar now! A one stop shop for all your good time needs :)

This place is ridiculous.
The décor is disgusting and atrocious.
The store is dirty, I’ve been here twice and it’s just mounds of dust everywhere.
Why it’s a taxidermy zoo I have no idea, or more importantly why the owner feels it has anything to do with spirits.
The prices are mediocre at best.
Just save yourself a trip and let this place go under.
At least you won’t be getting a complimentary fly in your wine glass (also dead).

Variety like you cant believe. One of the largest selections around of alcohol, wines, and beer.
Every type of booze for any drink you desire. Wines from pretty much everywhere. Beer variety from domestic to a load of different micro breweries.
The staff is always nice. And if you come in asking about a specific wine (in my case) wanting to try something similar they can point you in the right direction.
I like how the wines are separated by region as well as by styles.
Prices are very good. Why buy elsewhere would when you get discounts in volume purchases and frequently you find many items on special. These prices are always lower than stores. And might I add if they are out of an item they order it for you and call when it comes in.
Prices range from $ to $$$, And yes they accept major credit cards.
My go to place since the wineries are not next door. LOL

Has a wide variety of wine & beers.
Always has what we’re looking for.
Always has the newest releases of beer and carries beer that’s hard to find at most other places.
There’s a beer to find for any kind of taste.

Two VERY GOOD Reasons to NEVER Shop Here !!!
1. Several large (and dead) Endangered Species displayed in cases throughout the store to view while you are shopping for food & wine.
2. Apparently all the profits are used to kill exotic animals as the parking lot is in such tumultuous condition and riddled with large enough pot holes you could easily trip and fall trying to get in the place anyway.
There is NOTHING you truly need in this store you can’t find elsewhere to purchase from another business who deserves your patronage more. I put all the items in my cart back on the shelf !

The premier beer-​wine-​liquor store on the east side of the Metro Detroit Area. Period. Outstanding selection of product and an extremely knowledgeable staff. The tastings are uneven, but they have so many of them they cannot all be perfect. And for the weenies who cannot tolerate the sight of taxidermy, this is not a place for you to be… so stay away. Please.

This is a great place to go if you’re looking for a specific wine, or looking for something unusual. The staff is extremely knowledgeable. The price of spirits is a little bit over State pricing, but not heinously so. I like to check out wines from all sorts of countries and wines with different sorts of fruits. I’m not much of a beer drinker, but they appear to have a pretty good selection.
I’ll be the first to admit the décor is a bit … weird. It’s a big warehouse of alcohol, with sporadic taxidermied exotic animals thrown in for good measure. It’s not a deal breaker for me, but it might be for others.

The pricing of spirits is a little over State pricing. I found some unique selections from all over the world on my visit. Going to Champane’s is not a quick visit if you aren’t sure of what you want. They carry craft beers, ciders, wines, and spirits. My trip was for a bottle of Appleton Rum from Jamaica for a friend’s party. While you are there you can also grab a draft beverage to drink at the pub located inside of the cellar. Overall, it is an eastside gem with just about anything you can want on the floor.

They have an excellent selection of craft beers. They always do a great job at keeping their customers informed on what they have arriving. Prices are comparable, sometimes less than other places in the area.

I’m not a wine con-​o-​sewer, but I mean to tell ya, this store has all sorts of wine.
I went in looking for a particular brand and unfortunately, they not only knew of the wine, but also knew their distributor quit carrying it over a year ago. Yes, it was sold out.
On to Plan B. Actually, there was no Plan B, so I wandered over to their Michigan wine selections. I found a nice variety of offerings from all over Michigan, and selected one that I thought would be suitable for my purposes.
Having walked in about 10 minutes before closing, I hustled to the register and paid my cash. While waiting to check out, I noticed they had what looked like a small area off to the side for wine-​tasting, perhaps. It was unattended, so perhaps I’ll stop back in again and check it out during their more normal business hours.

I have to deduct a star here because of the creepy taxidermy throughout this place. It’s like Ted Nugent opened a liquor store. Otherwise the place is pretty solid. In some spots the lighting is kinda dim and I wish they’d offer more beer singles to do a «mix six» as many competitors do. Supposedly having a beer bar opening on site here this year.

champane’s is so great! even though the name is really annoying because it’s confusing. anyway, this place is huge. it reminds me of the bevmo type places on the west coast. just tons and tons of selection with a lot of really hard to find items.
i loved their imported beer section. it was so cool to just look at stuff, even if you don’t intent to get it (of course we did end up getting a lot of it). they have little signs that explain things because there will definitely be a lot of stuff you’ve never heard of. (at least a lot i never had.) the clearance rack was fun to look at too — just to pick up something on the cheap to try.
the liquor section was pretty big too and had a lot of specialty liquors that you don’t see everywhere. it is because of this place that i have a bottle of mooshine stashed away, waiting for the perfect occasion. (it was the last one and had cool packaging.)
they also had wine, which we didn’t at all get a chance to look at because they were closing soon.
the people here are kind of helpful. nobody there at the time knew about the corn whiskey i was cradling. they also don’t have any cool rare sodas like some specialty beverage places have, but that’s okay.
the décor is insane. i think someone must have gone on a safari and then not known where to put their stuff. it doesn’t interfere with anything, except might make you feel like you’re really on the hunt for good beer — a positive. i can’t wait to come back and grab more weird beers.

I have lived out on the East side for close to a decade now and have driven past this place on numerous occasions, but it wasn’t until fairly recent that I finally stopped in here. Stepping in through the doors my eyes instantly filled with tears of joy for I had just entered my Mecca. The place is huge and they offer pretty much anything you could imagine; most importantly a very wide selection of Michigan made beers.
I would not classify myself as a beer snob, but more or less persnickety when it comes to my frosty beverage selections. I have been looking around town for Saugatuck’s Neapolitan Milk Stout as it has recently become my favorite Stout and also one of my overall top five favorites and had little luck until I came here.
Prices are very competitive too and below average from other places. Hopslam, if you can find it, tends to go for around $ 20 for a six-​pack and they had it for $ 15 — key word here is had. The guy who runs the place said they couldn’t keep it in stock and it would sell out within two hours of getting it in.
The staff was super friendly and seemed very knowledgeable on the products they sold which was nice. The only odd thing I can write about this place is their décor. It is for the lack of a better term, out there. I would typically not expect to feel like I am on a Safari when I go to buy alcohol, but to each their own I guess.

I am not a wine guy so I will review in terms of craft beer, which they are technically a fine establishment for.
THE GOOD:
* PRICE. If there is a store in the area with better across-​the-​boards pricing I have yet to find it. Expect to spend approx $ 1 less per six pack than you would at their closest competitors (from a price standpoint)
* SELECTION. If not the best selection in the area, Champane’s is definitely in the top 3.
* LOCATION. Easy to get to, plentiful parking, plus you can be in and out pretty much as quick as you want to be
THE NOT-​SO-​MUCH:
* DECOR. Usually I don’t let this type of thing influence me but in Champane’s case it is just too… weird. The place is filled with all these exotic African safari hunting lodge taxidermy creatures. I’m sure the owner is very proud of all this stuff but it’s rather unsettling to me and also a bit out of place in the context of high-​end wine/​beer store. Kind of like if you opened an ice-​cream and candy shop full of graphically violent horror film memorabilia.
* SINGLES. With how much space is available in the store, Champane’s could easily do a better job of breaking six-​packs down into singles for purchase. With the amount of varied craft beers on the market, it’s nice to be able to try out a single before committing to purchase of an entire six-​pack. In fairness, Champane’s does have a cooler up by the register where they keep a subset of beers available as singles. But I would be surprised if that selection represented even 20% of the total beers available in the store. And you have to ask someone at the cash registers for an empty holder, which adds an unnecessary step of hassle to building your own six-​pack vs just keeping some empty ones over there.
* COMMUNICATION. There are some competitors that do a great job of keeping interested customers looped on everything coming in the door on a daily basis (via Social Media, Email, Etc). Waiting for a particular beer to hit the market? You’ll be looped as soon as it’s unloaded off the truck. Champane’s takes more of a pick-​and-​choose approach, highlighting typically one or two beers/​brands weekly. Which is fine for the casual connoisseur but a lot of craft beer fans look for more info than that. Champane’s communications are often a bit hokey as well, or have a tendency to advertise odd items like heavily marked down fruit beers or super cheap frozen daiquiri pouches. Gross.
* RETURNS. They won’t take your returns unless they are still in the original holders. You will probably get some attitude from the staff if you try to return bottles otherwise. This is more of a nit-​picky annoyance than a true gripe, but this sort of thing does make a difference
* DECOR. Did I mention the creepy décor yet?
In short, it’s good store for buying craft beer and perhaps an even better store for wine (though I wouldn’t know). But there are some eccentricities that I could do without. I also believe there are some untapped opportunities for them to improve their customer experience. Just my opinion.

Champagne’s is a must stop if you’re in Warren. Any wine connoisseur would certainly be pleased with the huge selection. All the wine is categorized by location, and there is a premium section that is caged and locked up. I’ve been to a lot of wineries, but unfortunately there is still a lot for me to learn, so I can’t comment much more about it other than there is enough wine there to get a city drunk.
Most of the people I know go there for the beer. Go to the opposite corner of the entrance and you’re hit with craft beers from all over the world. Bam. Right in your face. You’ll find anything from Budweiser to Schlenkerla. You won’t normally find ultra rare beers, although Champagne’s often carries the rare seasonals like Founders KBS (and runs out quickly). Seriously though, and I’m trying to not be a snob, don’t go in there just to buy a case of beer like Natty Ice or Budweiser without your other hand full of actual good beer. It’s just not right.
Do you have celiac disease or drink gluten free for other reasons? There’s a section for you. It’s called WINE, which conveniently takes up most of the store. Just kidding (kinda). There’s an actual gluten free section for beer, located right next to the hard cider section. It doesn’t get much easier than that.
They also have a fairly large liquor section to the back right from the entrance. While not the largest selection, they often carry the Michigan distilled staples and higher class liquors compared to something like your run-​of-​the-​mill liquor store. You’re not going to find much of the aged variety, so don’t get your hopes up.
And now to the good stuff. To the right of the registers (when you’re facing the street), you’ll find all the wines that are on sale. Sure, you might be a beer or liquor person, but familiarize yourself with a couple types of wines you like and save a few bucks. If you’re apt to like sweet wine, moscato is my personal favorite, and always a good bet. Ice wine is very good too, but it’s also one of the most expensive types.
Are you thirsty now? Look for the cooler. You’ll find single bottles of beer swiped from packs, chilled to perfection for your instant satisfaction, each individually priced. Look to your right again, since you’re facing the coolers, and you might find some more specials sitting in the middle of nowhere. And to the right of that, you’ll find random nuts and other edibles that no one really buys.
If you want in on some ultra special deals, sign up for their email list. You might get a couple emails a day, but you’ll have a one-​up on everyone else. Seriously, it’s like being in some sort of club. You’ll soon become a super saver lush. I’ve bought bottles of wine from Germany for three bucks each, where I’ve seen the exact same wine elsewhere for twelve a bottle. And the bottles are shaped like cats! Moselland Riesling if you’re interested, although I don’t think they have any left. I probably should have bought more. One year I bought about thirty dollars worth of some sort of malt beverage where I would have normally spent a cool hundred or more elsewhere. The reason for the price reduction? The company was reducing the alcohol in the product. Yep. At twenty-​five cents a bottle and 12% alcohol, you just can’t beat that. Talk about a cheap summer. Don’t be surprised to see things marked down 75%. You don’t always see deals like those, but when you do, keep calm and stock up.
Champagne’s also has wine and beer tastings, normally at least once a week, but unfortunately usually not on Fridays, Saturdays, or Sundays. I have yet to go to one, but one of these days.
I have never been to a store with better beer or wine prices, ever. Beer prices seem to be about 10%-20% less than other places, especially compared to other wine/​beer stores (:cough: Red Wagon Wine Shoppe: cough:). The liquor prices seem to be about the same as other places, but if you find a place with better prices on beer or wine, I’d sure like to know where that is. I won’t go there anyway since Champagne’s is just down the street from me, but I’ll have to move someday.

Huge selection of beer, wine, and liquors from around the world. Everything is priced reasonably and well organized. The staff is knowledgeable and helpful to guide you to something new you might be looking for.
When seasonal beers are phasing out, they have amazing sales to clear out the inventory.

LARGE selection of beer and wine at very good prices. It’s probably the largest selection of Michigan beers in the area. They also offer craft beers from around the country such as Flying Dog, Blue Point, Pyramid, Lagunitas, Oskar Blues, etc. And they have a lot of import beers as well. Most beers are warm on the shelf. They only have a couple coolers with individual beers in it, so this isn’t the best place to stop if you’re on your way to a get-​together. Or, grab one chilled beer out of the cooler to drink first while the others sit on ice.
They host wine and beer tastings for a small fee. Sign up for their email list to receive updates on events and specials.

Champane’s is where this journey started. I made a 6 pk to take to a party. Unfortunately, I really didn’t know much about craft beer or what I liked. Now that I have explored many beer stores and able to compare, I have to say that Champane’s has the best prices for single bottles, 6-​pks and up. The variety of 6-​pks, etc is pretty good. The single bottle selection is decent but not great. I wish they offered a bigger selection. They definitely have the variety to do so. They’re all kept in the cooler towards the front, not with the rest of the beer. Champane’s offers tastings for both beer & wine, and they’re really good about announcements on Facebook.
Obviously, Champane’s focuses on wine. This place is massive. I haven’t had the chance to really look at their wine selection, but it’s very impressive. I’m sure the prices for bottles are just as good as the beer. The couple of times that I’ve been here, I have seen people with cases of wine.
The lions in the case are pretty funny and really odd. I can’t help but laugh whenever I go in! It’s so odd!

I have just moved back to Michigan and I wasn’t having any luck finding a decent wine shoppe. I went to the Unilocal message boards and a few people recommended this place. What a find!
Buried in a industrial run down strip mall in Warren that makes Steinbeck’s journey to the West in Grapes of Wrath seem like a trip to Disney World, I would have never expected the variety that I found.
This is not on the scope of say a Total Wine, (a great chain I came across in the South), but it has a great mix of table to celebration wines. They carry a nice mix of reds, whites and sparklings including Michigan wineries whenever they can.
They have a nice selection of beer, again with a great mix of local breweries. Their prices on reds were a little high, but in line with other places. More importantly they had some wines that I love that I haven’t seen any where else in the state, so it is worth the markup no questions asked.
The staff is very friendly and accommodating. I know enough about wine to know I don’t know much, but regardless of your knowledge/​comfort level the staff we will work with you in a relaxed Midwestern way.
To Recap:
The Good: A definite one stop shop for beer, wine & liquor. Great selection, varied price points, friendly, knowledge staff.
The Bad: A few items were a little high, the neighborhood (right across from the GM Tech Center) is a little rough.
The Band This Shop Most Resembles: Jimmy Buffet. Very easy to be wasting away in Margarittville in a place like this.

A diamond in the rough? Actually more like a gem in a strip mall.
Who would expect this depressing stretch of highway and strip malls to contain an oasis of beer and wine? Across from an industrial facility of GM or the like lives Champagnes Wine Cellars filled witha rather large and unique selection. After 5 months under the thumb of the LCBO in Toronto, it was very pleasing to the eye.
I spent most of my time in the beer section here which contains a few highlights;
1) A very nice selection of local Michigan (and Michigan-​adjacent) brewers including Founders, Flying Dog, and Bell’s. Nice to see some of the more interesting, larger-​format one-​offs from these brewers as well.
2) A pretty good selection of beers from out West including New Belgium 6-​packs priced around $ 10/​pack. They also have some of the standard Sierra Nevadas, Anchor Steams, etc.
3) A high-​quality selection of Belgians. I was rather shocked and delighted to find a small quantity of barrel aged La Trappe quads (a real favorite of mine) for the hefty sum of $ 15/​small bottle. Ok, fine, it’s expensive because it’s rare… I’ve never found it elsewhere in the states. I didn’t see any Achel’s though which was on my quest.
I didn’t spend as much time in the wine section, but it was extensive and had a pretty good selection of wines from California, Australia, Chile. Their European wines I would say are aimed at the mid-​range buyers (which is certainly the top of my range). Not the place to come for a fancy Bordeaux.
Have no fear if your tastes are lower-brow…they stock plenty of cases of Bud Light and 1.5 L bottles of Yellowtail.
The staff member on the floor was very helpful, engaging, and really knew his beers and wines. The staff on the cash register were less impressive. One of my friends had a beer that rang up at a higher price than all of the beers were labeled and they weren’t honor the labeled price.
Overall, I enjoyed shopping here and had some great beers to bring back to Toronto. Highly recommended for a weekend outing to Detroit.