Written By Guest Writer Libations / Wine Stores Apr 10, 2012 Private Wine Store Series: Vintage Spirits SHARE VIA: Facebook Twitter PinterestInterior of Vintage SpiritsAt first glance, the inside of Vintage Spirits resembles a beautiful curiosity shop. Bottles are stuffed into virtually every nook and cranny, wooden crates have been turned into extra shelving and asting notes taped here and there. Okay, the aisles might be wider, and the wine is actually very organized in its own way, but all the neat treasures making browsing this shop a genuine treat. Located in the Rialto Hotel, Vintage Spirits occupies the space of the old Dugout, a rough n’ tumble establishment that conjured less-than-stellar sidewalk images in years past. After three years in business, Vintage Spirits can certainly take credit for redeeming that space, and along with the hotel and Veneto Tapa Lounge, have turned the corner of Douglas and Pandora into a destination rather than an area to avoid. According to Manager Ceri Barlow, the store specializes in “the weird and the wonderful.” More specifically, Barlow fancies just about anything from Vancouver Island, as well as wines, beers, and spirits that are obscure or hard to find – like a 1999 Chateau Musar from Lebanon or quirky bottles of rum-infused ginger beer from Jamaica – and is willing to order just about any product her customers request. New and unusual items are, of course, hit or miss (they’ve got lots of Alaska Distillery Smoked Salmon Vodka left, if there are any takers). One of the most wonderful things about Vintage Spirits is their well-stocked Value Under $20 wine section. Packed with an astounding variety of wines from across the world, including plenty of BC picks, the section is straightforwardly split into Whites and Reds. Barlow, who does all the buying for the store, is a WSET III Sommelier. Though her expertise lies in wine and spirits, Barlow is also an avid beer fan, and makes sure the coolers are always well stocked with all kinds of fun products from Victoria microbreweries to the far reaches of the globe. “A lot of my buying is for personal pleasure,” Barlow laughs, “It’s like my own little cellar.” A little cellar that stocks over 4000 different products? If her home cellar is bigger, I’m moving in. Address: 653 Pandora Avenue (at Douglas)Phone: (250) 383-4161Hours: 9:00am-11:00pm 7 days/weekWebsite: www.vintagespirits.caTwitter: @vintage_spiritsEmail: info@vintagespirits.caParking: 10 minute Hotel Zone out front and meter parking on streetDelivery: Yes, on cases within downtown (and with notice)# Staff: 10Manager: Ceri BarlowWine Buyer/Consultant: Ceri Barlow# SKUS: 4000+Store Focus/Specialties: Value under $20, Vancouver Island, unusualStaff Training: Company subsidized wine & spirits coursesMembership: NoNewsletter: Working on it, see website for blogTastings: Yes, stay tuned via website for weekend tastings this summerliquorstoresWine SHARE VIA: Facebook Twitter Pinterest Written By: Guest Writer We get many people writing guest articles for us, as well as past contributors. This is the Guest ... Read More You may also like Food Events / Food News September 18, 2019 EAT Buzz Up-Island & Tofino September|October 2019 The Buzz Up-Island It’s high time for festival season! I anticipate this time of the year all year long when fresh produce is in abundance, ... Read More Food Events / Food News July 3, 2019 EAT Buzz Up-island & Tofino July|August 2019 The Buzz Up-island July 2019 “First we EAT, then we do everything else”(M.K.Fisher) – at least I do anyway. Never short of ... Read More Events / Food News / Places May 3, 2019 The Buzz Tofino May 2019 16th Tofino Food & Wine Festival — 20 top chefs, 75 wineries and 21 breweries to indulge on June 7th – 9th. Friday kicks off The Cocktail ... Read More Events / Food News / Places May 3, 2019 The Buzz Up-island May 2019 Living on Vancouver Island is like living in paradise; however, I think Mother Nature is possibly going to test our resilience this season with ... Read More Beer / Beer & Cider / Drink / Events / Victoria March 24, 2019 A New Beer Society in Town Victoria Beer Week launched its sixth annual festival earlier this month, which ran from March 1-9. In addition to the festival returning for another ... Read More Beer / Wineries & Breweries February 4, 2019 Vancouver Island Brewery’s New Porter and New Re-Rebrand Vancouver Island Brewery unveils new porter along with their new re-rebrand Vancouver Island Brewery held a flight night last week, in part to ... Read More Comments are closed.
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