California Wine Merchants

Friendly, lots of great wines, somewhat limited whiskey selection though.

We visit Laguna for a few days every year after the Pageant.We have tried many of the restaurants and California Wine Merchants is by far our favorite.

Fantastic tastes and good values for California wines

This place may look like the type of high end place you avoid because there are cobwebs in your wallet. Don't! I work down in the area and discovered it walking to the train one day. They had a wine tasting so I went in. Taylor and Jen were there and they welcomed as if I was coming into their home. We talked about the wine being tasted and about other wines and spirits, the neighborhood.

Since that first day, I have come back on many occasions. I will travel into the city to buy wine or spirits from parties or friends than use the one down the block from my house. They have your high end wines, along with wines that taste high end for $9.99 to $13. They taste everything in the store. And, it all tastes wonderful.

I found out about this fantastic neighborhood biz when they did a free tasting in my apartment building. They have been my go-to wine shop ever since. The staff is the biggest plus-- small, dedicated, knowledgeable, and unbelievably friendly. They treat everyone like old friends and NEVER make you feel like a moron for not knowing a muscat from a muscadet. The inventive wine labels use normal human vocabulary ("spicy" as opposed to "hints of leather"). The selection is boutique-y and California-focused, but they offer amazing bargains by focusing on small producers. Extra bonuses include PET FRIENDLY and FREE TASTINGS every Friday 5-7pm (also every Thursday in the summer).