Great Austin Wine Locations

Austin is fortunate to have the best places to buy and sample the most unique, interesting and well made wines from all over the globe. Here are some of my favorites, in no particular order of preference:

Central Market - North Lamar

A great selection with a great staff and good prices. These guys all know and love their wine (and beer, Greg makes some kick butt homebrew). Laid back, funny and seriously knowledgeable, you can be sure to walk out with the perfect bottle for any occassion.

4001 North Lamar
206-1000

HEB Austin 3 - Hancock Center

Yes, a grocery store, yes an HEB no less. OK before you click that mouse button, hear me out. I have one word: Steve. Steve Williams, the wine steward at Hancock is "da bomb" "da Man" when it comes to a great cheap bottle of wine. There is no place in Austin that has a better selection of great, nay killer, wines for under $12 a bottle. Heck, his floor run of great wines $9.99 or less is worth the trip itself. I discovered this hidden treasure during a regretable minor period of fiscal shortfall resulting from an employment market correction. I still buy wine there today. If it says "Steve's pick" on the sign, you are going home with a great bottle of wine at an even better price. Steve picks em, and picks em well. Look for the tall guy in the red shirt, that's Steve and say howdy. He'll be glad to help you.

41st and Red River

The Austin Wine Merchant - The Austin Wine Merchant

Nobody does it better. The last remaining "small fine wine shop" in Austin, with the ultimate in personal service and selection. Something to impress the most seriously jaded wine geek is lurking on their shelves, the staff to recommend it for you, and they have the finest selection of Burgundy in town. Sine qua non in the Austin wine world

512 West 6th Street
499-0512

Whip In - Whip In

Wait, I can hear you say, Whip In? The beer place?? True, true, Whip In is famous across Texas as having the definitive, nay encyclopaedic selection of beer in the state.

Less well known, however, is the wonderful, eclectic and well chosen wine selection. No Yellow Tail or Gallo here. Nosirree Bob. Arden, Dipak and the gang wouldn't hear of it anymore than they would case stack Keystone 24 packs. Instead, you will find only the "cool and groovy" bottles of wine, which is only fitting given that Whip In is the "cool and groovy" now second generation "Mom and Pop" store in South Austin. Ouch, I mean, Arden and Dip have a kid, but, well, they're still too cool to be "mom and pop"...well you get my point. Drink way outside the box... head down to Whip In and tell em "RoMaMo" sent you, they'll know who you mean.

I 35 South, frontage road between Woodland and Oltorf.
442-5337