Great Washington State Wine Available in Los Angeles



By Kori ~ January 4th, 2010.

Universal Studios HollywoodFor years, I’ve had friends tell me that they can’t find the great Washington State wines that I tell them about where they live. So with the help of Wine-Searcher.com and a lot of legwork, I’ve set out on a mission to prove them wrong.

This is the fifth in a series of posts to help you find great Washington State wines in the major cities and areas all around the country. So far, the series has featured New York City, Chicago, Atlanta, and Houston. Today, I’m searching for Washington State wine in the Los Angeles area. Since I’ll be in L.A. for my cousin’s wedding in February, I’m anxious to find out where I might be able to find some good Washington State wines.

Here’s the format: To be selected, a store first has to have a Wine-Searcher.com rating of 4 or higher on a scale of 1 to 5 for customer service, reliability, etc. Next, it has to stock Washington State wines that we really like. Finally, they need to be an online retailer as well, so that if you don’t live close enough to the store to drop in, you can still purchase their wines.

Based on the Wine-Searcher rating alone, I would only have two Los Angeles area retailers to recommend, K&L Wine Merchants and The Wine House.  However, because I have personally done business with and been pleased with the service at three other retailers in the area, Wine Exchange, Napa Cabs, and Beverages and More, I have included them in this list as well. I’m hoping that some of our readers will weigh in with their comments if they know of other Los Angeles area wine retailers with a good selection of Washington wines.

Of the five retailers that I’ve selected, K&L Wine Merchants has the largest overall selection of Washington State wines which includes a good mix of mainstream and high end wines. Wine Exchange comes in as a close second.

Listed below are the five retailers with their street addresses and links to their websites. Please let me know how you find their service and selection when you visit in person, and don’t hesitate to ask us any questions you might have about any of the Washington wines they are offering.

K&L Wine Merchants, 1400 Vine St, Hollywood, CA

Wine Exchange, 1500 E. Village Way, Orange, CA

Napa Cabs, 14702 Central Ave, Chino, CA

Beverages and More, 7100 Santa Monica Blvd, West Hollywood, CA

The Wine House, 2311 Cotner Ave, Los Angeles, CA


Filed under: American Wine, Great Washington State Wine Available in (City), Washington State Wine

Reader's Comments

  1. Brian White | January 4th, 2010 at 8:08 am

    Well unlike what you found in Houston LA has all kinds of places! In my trips to LA I have also found a nice place call The Wine Club – 2110 E McFadden Avenue, Ste E Santa Ana, CA.

    They also have a pretty good selection of WA wines, but they do vary.

    Another place that can have some good deals, but they again vary with selection and stock on hand is – Los Angeles Wine Company – 4935 McConnell Ave. Unit #8 Los Angeles, CA.

    Whenever my trips take me out west, I for sure stop by these two and for sure The Wine Exchange!!!! I also love K&L Wine as well! They even have an occasional WA/NW wine column in their monthly newsletter!

    Awesome picks Kori….keep them coming!

  2. Jill | January 4th, 2010 at 8:55 am

    Hi Kori,

    There are a lot of smaller wine shops who have good WA state selections that you don’t mention: among them, Larchmont Wine & Spirits, Silverlake Wine, and my own store, Domaine LA.

    I haven’t been great about updating my wine-searcher feed, but some of the bottles on my shelves include Owen Roe, several from Charles Smith, and Amavi. I realize this is hardly exhaustive, but for a store of a few hundred SKUs, having 7 slots for Washington wine isn’t insignificant, statistically speaking.

    Neither Larchmont nor Silverlake have their inventories online.

    All this is to suggest that if LA people shop locally and frequent the smaller, more boutique-oriented stores — not just the more “super-store” locations suggested in this post — they won’t be left without some good options.

    Best,

    Jill

  3. Kori | January 4th, 2010 at 2:36 pm

    Brian,
    Yes, there are a lot more options in LA than Houston. Thanks so much for sharing your recommendations based on your trips to LA. Always good to hear from someone who has actually been to these shops.

    Jill,
    You make an excellent point about smaller shops like your Domaine LA. Unfortunately, the criteria I use for this series of posts points to shops that carry a larger selection of WA wines. I did check out your online selection (hoping to include you in this list). I’m glad to hear that you have added some more WA wines. Keep up the good work. I hope we have a chance to visit your shop when we are in LA next month. Cheers!

  4. Jill | January 4th, 2010 at 7:36 pm

    Kori, unfortunately until the distributors start showing me more wines from WA, I won’t carry more. That’s more or less what it comes down to — I have to taste it before I can stock it, and the brokers and distributors do not heavily focus on WA down here.

    I would love to see you if you’re able to make it to the Hollywood area. While I don’t have the 4000 wines that Winex or K&L sport, there is a specific perspective and point of view to the selections, which I hope you’ll appreciate.

    All the best,

    Jill

  5. Mark | January 5th, 2010 at 7:52 am

    I have ordered on-line from each of the sources you have listed and found them all reliable. If your local wine merchant does not sell the wine you want, you should consider buying vineyard-direct. Some vineyards will sell you small quantities of their wines for personal consumption. If you have a favorite Washington State small producer, consider joining their wine club.
    You will receive one (or more) bottle of each of their wines as they are released. Check the web site of the vineyard to see the terms of each vineyard’s wine club.

  6. Kori | January 6th, 2010 at 3:59 pm

    Jill,
    That’s a familiar story…it all depends on the distributors. Hopefully in time, some of the distributors in your area will carry more WA wines.

    Mark,
    So good to hear from someone who has personal experience with all of these retailers. Glad you’ve found them reliable. Great suggestion to join wine clubs if you find a winery or two that you really love.

    Cheers!