Bacchus Wine Cellar

My fiancé and I happened to pass by Bacchus on a very hot day when we were in Georgetown. We love wine and we also love cool air conditioned places when it’s nearly 100 degrees out, so we decided to check it out. This little wine shop has tons of wines to choose from and it’s organized fairly intuitively. We ended up purchasing a bottle of rosato wine, which was reasonably priced and tasty. The shopkeeper tried to dissuade us a bit. I could tell he probably wanted us to buy a more expensive bottle, but we had our hearts set on a less expensive rosato.
Overall, good. But I’d appreciate not having a shopkeeper try to change our mind when we can decide for ourselves.

While I wanted to like this store as my husband and I just moved here from Boston I will not be back. While I like the funny sign in the window and the store was cute, it I was treated like an unwanted intrusion — not a customer. While the gentleman behind the counter with the fancy (frankly cool) mustache tried a little to pay attention the other gentleman at the register seemed annoyed I was cashing out, after he very happily cashed out the man in front of me. I paid for my 2 $ 20 bottles of wine but had to listen to the man behind the register huff and puff like he was frustrated as my credit card ran like «how annoying she buy something from me and use a credit card» and when it ran he just put the receipt on the counter and left my wine on the counter and didn’t give me a bag,…he never said thank you and just left me standing there. Then he cashed out the next customer, was super friendly to him, bagged up his 2 bottles of wine and thanked him. Then as I asked for a bag he let out a huge sigh and waved to his partner and said get her one of those small ones… I guess maybe he doesn’t like Notherners (his partner was joking with his friends there is no good food above the Mason Dixon line .are you kidding me!) or maybe he just doesn’t like women as he was friendly to the man before me and the man after me — they both got very different service! …either way I was in a good mood this evening and one visit to this store ruined it… it took me the walk home to shake off how rude I was treated after spending $ 42 there… I will not be back and nor will my husband and we LOVE WINE! Hopefully I find a store that makes new customers feel welcome in this area!

I love this place. Cozy and warm environment with a tremendously helpful and friendly staff — not to mention a wonderful selection of fabulous wines!

This is our favorite wine and liquor store in DC. Bassam and Max are so helpful and always make me feel like a member of their family whenever we stop by. They often do wine or whiskey tastings which is nice for us to find new things, and fun. There is a negative review about his prices, which is factually incorrect; Bassam’s prices are comparable to Total Wine. Regardless, you cannot put a price on the sense of community and trust that we feel when we walk through Bassam’s doors.

I really just stopped by to get a bottle of white win for a friend but was really impressed with their wine selection and their alcohol selection. I’m much more of a hard liquor person myself so was happy to see so many craft distilleries represented here as well as quite a few bottles I’d never heard of before.
The guy was really friendly and picked out a few bottles for me. I actually came to get a bottle of pinot gris but didn’t want to pay more than $ 20. After I explained my friend used to live in Germany and loves sweet wine he steered me in another direction and I ended up with a demi-​sec german riesling.
Can’t speak to the prices as I don’t live here so didn’t really compare. Checked out the Pernod and it seemed in line with what I’m used to here in SF.

***CAUTION*** Ripping off customer. This guy has a good selection, but he’s ripping off his customer by charging double market value. I unknowingly paid $ 140.00 for a bottle of Barter House Bourbon, which I later learned sells for $ 75.00 dollars. Anybody who’s ripping off the local customers should know better.

I am a wine and whisky club member here and cannot speak highly enough of the service provided by Bassam and Max. This is an excellent wine and liquor store. The selection is much different than a more generic store (e.g., Total Wine). Lots of small batch whisky and lots of wine from all over the world. If you aren’t sure what to get, Bassam and Max are always happy to help. If you’re in Georgetown, stop in and check it out.

Review just for friendliness and the amazing scotch whiskey he picked out for me. Just stopped in to pick up a bottle of wine, so I’ll update this if my review is any different after that. I went in saying I’d like something for someone who likes Macallan 21 but at a much lower price tag. The answer — Edradour. I swear I don’t work for either company, but wow. They have a great selection of interesting and different liquors and wines. I don’t think it’s on the budget-​conscious side, but so far it’s been worth it.

I had a wine emergency. My friends were coming in from across the country and I needed a private place to have an intimate gathering. I had heard about Bacchus from a buddy of mine in DC and decided to give it a shot. I wasn’t disappointed.
The event was only $ 30 a person for two hours and the wines were great. We had our own private sommelier who poured for us and explained all the wines. 4 people, five bottles of great wine, great little snaky things to stuff my face with, and two hours later I paid $ 250 and cabbed it back to Arlington. The space was gorgeous, the wines were superb and the service was outstanding. If you want a cute little shop to get some awesome bottles this is a fun place to visit in Georgetown. If you want impeccable service with a real VIP feel for a customized event — well, this may be the only viable game in town. I mean, doing this in a private dining room at any decent restaurant would have been 4 or 5 times as much and definitely not as much fun.
Next time you want to have a special event and do something a bit different give Bassam a call and see if he can make something happen!

Convenient and a nice selection of bourbon — but way overpriced (even for Georgetown). I am willing to pay a premium for hard-​to-​find items, but these folks are just ridiculous. Pearson’s right up the street has a decent selection and much better prices with friendlier service.

While checking out the French Festival in Georgetown on ⁴⁄₂₀ around 4pm, alot of it had died down but the weather was beautiful for a leisure saturday stroll. Boyfriend and I saw that Bacchus Wine Cellar was conducting a wine tasting in honor of the festival and we hopped on in. The store looks like you’ve stepped in a wine cellar and there are bottles and bottles from floor to ceiling– awesome! We took a lap and there were tons of people there sipping wine.
We felt kind of lost and really wanted to join all the cool kids and were directed to the front cashier. We paid $ 6 each for their «french festival» tastings and headed on over to the barrel by the front window to join the wine tasting festivities. We sampled three wines (white sauvignon blanc from portugal– huh?, rose, and merlot) Wines were not all that great (white was a cheap screw top and not to knock screw top wines but bleh and for $ 10 you spend on that screw top wine you can score a pretty sweet bottle (or two or three) from Trader Joe’s, yes please!) but for a $ 6 tasting who can complain?
Bacchus does alot of wine tastings and you can subscribe to his reviews and upcoming events. I may go if they’re stocked with a wine I can’t find any place else.

I just visited Bacchus for the first and last time. The man at the register seemed quite annoyed that I wanted to give him money. And after I did, he couldn’t be bothered to say thanks. Why return for more disrespect?

Very nice store, nice selection, wines and liquor are all laid out very nicely. Staff is informative and helpful.
Troy helped me out with picking out wines. I was curious about the Ice Apple Wine but was on the fence about getting it. He happened to have a bottle open and let me sample it, which was a huge help.
I’ll be back again!

Convenient, but über-​pricey.
Here’s some facts, and I have the receipts to prove it:
1 bottle Merus 2007 Cabernet — Bacchus price $ 275; online price $ 120 (wow, do I feel ripped off!).
1 bottle Balvenie 12 y.o. doublewood — Bacchus price $ 59.99; online price $ 43.99
That sums it up.
If Bacchus is going to survive, they can’t fall back on the excuse that other local stores charge huge markups as well. That said, it’s a short drive up to Montgomery County where prices are significantly lower.

Bacchus is much more than a wine shop, it’s the heart of the Book Hill neighborhood. Living on the same block for more than two years gave me a great deal of appreciation for Bassam, Ryan and their little piece of Wisconsin Ave.
One of the most memorable «wine classes» I ever learned from was offered in the beautifully-​appointed little loft above the store. One of the most gratefully received gifts I’ve ever presented someone wasn’t the result of my sophistication or wisdom, it was a solid recommendation from Bassam and Ryan. Always worth a stop. And once they know you, they’ll always wave and cheerily call out, «Hello!», whether you’re walking in or walking by. Flawless service, impressive selection and kindness. That’s totally worth five stars (as are the ever-​rotating, delightfully funny quotes in the window!).

The Perfect Wine Store! Right in the heart of Georgetown. The customer service and selection are excellent. I always ask for advice on a choice and the recommended selections are competitively priced and just what I was looking for. A must visit for anyone who wants to choose the best wine in the best atmosphere.

Bacchus is my fav wine store in DC. Why?
(1) Selection: They carry truly great wines and ones you really can’t find many other places in DC. My only (baby) complaint would be that they don’t carry Rosso di Montalcino, which I kind of crave when I can’t have my bigger, more expensive Brunello.
(2) Helpful service: If you aren’t sure what to get, they’re really great about talking you through what might be a good fit for your meal/​mood/​budget/​preferences.
(3) Loyal and cozy customer base: You can tell they have a clientele that looks to Bacchus as their trusted neighborhood wine shop. The staff recognizes people and goes out of their way to be welcoming (e.g., sip on wines for free Thurs-​Sat evenings when you pop by the store).
(4) Wine clasess: They do educational classes every few weeks in the home up above the shop. A great chance to meet some new wines and people — and learn about both.
(5) The funny quotes in the window.

«Cask Strength»…“Robust Burgundy”…“Matured in 2 Woods”…these are all phrases used to describe the Scotch at Bacchus wine cellar. As a rule I drink nothing but Jim Beam, in the way of spirits, but some of these bottles would make great gifts. «For my brother-in-law’s 50^th birthday,» said one patron, bottle in hand, last time I was here. I like to come here because it’s a sophisticated place with friendly ownership, in a wood-​paneled, eye-​pleasing interior, plus they have some good cheap bottles of wine.
Be sure to check out the map of the champagne region of France in back, and then choose your bubbly accordingly. Veuve Clicquot is the beverage of choice for the Georgetown nobility.

Bacchus, the God of Wine and Revelry would call this place, home. It’s a charming shop at the corner of Wisconsin and Q that sells, higher end wines — while boasting that they always have great new selections every week for under $ 10 per bottle. I personally enjoy this place because I can find Domaine de Coyeux (the best Muscat de Beaumes de Venise I’ve had) for $ 19.99 a bottle. I first had this when visiting the town of Beaumes de Venise in Provence. Most people sip it, I prefer it sprinkled over room temperature sliced peaches and served with vanilla bean ice cream. Try it for yourself and get back to me.
**OPINION PRINCESS HOT TIP** A great way to try out their wines and get a good look at the place is to visit on any given Thursday, Friday and Saturday from 6:00 — 8:30 pm when they hold free informal wine tastings.