Vintage Berkeley

If you are looking for exquisitely curated wines from around the world, with special attention paid to affordability (huge selection of great wines under $30) then this is your place. I've been a patron of Vintage for years, and what's not to like? The location is gorgeous (a former pumping plant thats been transformed into a cozy, intimate space with a garden out front that changes with the seasons). And the shop is nestled right in the heart of Berkeley's Gourmet District with Peets, Saul's Deli, Cheeseboard Coop and Pizza, Andronico's, and Chez Panisse as next door neighbors. Inside you will find wines by color, grape, and region. It's not an enormous collection, but a lot of thought and experience has gone into presenting customers with something new and surprising. If I can't find myself making an easy decision, the staff have always been patient and helpful in finding the right bottle for my needs. Vintage also offers several different wine clubs for people who like a monthly or bimonthly grab bag of adult grape juice (including the occasional bubbles!). This is the wine store I wish I had as a neighborhood shop. For now, it's a well deserved destination (along with Kermit Lynch Wine Shop) that has yet to disappoint. Give it a try!

I genuinely love this wine store. We moved to the area in October and have been frequenting this shop ever since. They have an eclectic selection of imports and lots of Californian wines, along with a *ton* of organic wines! The staff is awesome. I don't look like the typical wine connoisseur. I'm a disheveled Native guy and I often get side-eyed (or followed) when I go to fancy wine stores or, or god forbid I go wine tasting. Ironic. I may not look like the typical wine nerd, but I'm the adult child of a sommelier and, while I'm far from a somm myself, I know my stuff (sort of). I've never been made to feel out of place or strange in this store. On the contrary, the staff always makes me feel right at home. They are all so eager and happy to answer questions and recommend some good wines. We joined their wine club and have been enrolled since January. It's a GREAT wine club. The selections always come with excellent notes on the winemaker, flavors, and what you might want to pair it with. And the sense of humor of the staff comes through in their notes. They are funny! You can get a taste of that while in the store. Most of the wines that they sell have cards written by the staff about the winery, wine, and the flavors in the wine. At least once a week they have wine tastings that are around $10 for non wine club folks and $5 for wine club members. I've been to a couple and they're great fun and great wine too. And if wine isn't your favorite, they also have a small selection of local Bay Area beers (Ghost Ship Brewery has the BEST IPAs), and some sake as well!

Great selection!Lots of lesser known wine regions with quality and affordable bottles. The staff is super helpful with choosing between wines. They also have tastings with importers introducing you to new favorites that would otherwise have been difficult to find

My aunt sent me a gift card for the holidays (I know, what an aunt, am I right?!) so, I packed up the fam and we schlepped up to north Berkeley. Love this spot from the outside. It used to be a municipal building and it has the cutest little front yard with a few benches. Love.We went in, and it's pretty bare bones. Not a ton of attention, but thankfully 75% of the wines have very clever and fun note cards to help guide you on your journey. A majority of the wines range from about $19-$30 from all regions.I have yet to try said wines I picked up, but they all were not your run of your mill brands. I've actually never seen any of them (nope, I did see a Broc Cellars), so that's a great sign. I like supporting some smaller producers.A great little wine shop. I'm sure if I lived closer I'd be in much more frequently discovering new finds!

Tons of wine options to select from. From what the owner/manager told us, the value prop is for consumers to buy a nice table wine without paying premium prices. We came here for a brief wine tasting and the owner popped open a fresh bottle of a white wine for our group to sample. I didn't particularly care for the wine, and it would have been nice to do more of a traditional tasting to try a few different options, but still a pleasant experience, albeit brief. If you're in the area and need a bottle to pair with dinner that night, definitely stop into Vintage Berkeley.

Summary: Four of us came here one Friday night ~7:10 pm, and caught the end of the happy hour event consisting of flight of bubbles, and only were able to try 3 of the 5 which had been offered. We were charged a a discount rate of $5 a person which was considerate of them. The (non-bubbly) wines here are very reasonably priced ($10-$30/bottle), but I did not try them. The biggest issue I have with this place is about its strange, inconsistent hospitality.... It was raining when my friend and I arrived, and there was an older couple in their mid-40's in the shop with us. My friend and I are in our mid-20's.There were two women helping out in this shop: one older and one younger lady. My friend and I waited for the older lady from the shop to finish helping the older couple, and then asked her about the wine tasting options. We explained that there would be four us in total -- two were still on their way. The older lady actually politely told my friend and I to go to Cesar's "if we wanted to get a drink". It did not seem like she wanted to serve us. Meanwhile, I saw in the back that the older couple she had just helped was getting set up with a flight in the back. I asked about the wine tasting about they were doing in case it was different from the one we were inquiring about, but she insisted that the shop had run out of wine: "Sorry, it was a crowded afternoon, people really came in and finished off the bottles. We don't have any left." (paraphrased)She told me briefly about their email list, and then my friend and I turned to leave the shop to go back into the rain, having been there for only a few minutes. Then the two others in our party arrived. One is very outgoing and walked straight to the younger lady in the shop, asking for a flight.She promptly served us and even gave us a discount. I was baffled, and looked around for the older lady who had suddenly disappeared. (???)We had a nice time in here in the end -- it turns out they had just run out of two wines. I have no idea what happened in the beginning. I have never been shoo'ed out of a store, but it sure felt like that. I hope Vintage doesn't treat all their younger-looking customers this way.2/5 for a strange, disappointing customer experience.

I've shopped at Vintage Berkeley in the past and been impressed with their selection and service every time. The one time they recommended and I purchased a stinker -- bad bottle? Bad vintage? Dunno -- I went back to the shop the next day with a nearly full bottle and they gave me an exchange for something new. Exactly what I would want and expect from a local wine shop. They also have regular tastings etc. so you can take advantage of their in-shop expertise. All of that said, this is a review for their response and service during the coronavirus crisis. I ordered a case of wine from them on 3/21 fully expecting to wait as long as week or more for delivery. We're all social distancing but I assume lots of us are probably also still drinking... maybe more than usual. My point is: we need booze but we're all pretty limited on where we can get it and everything is taking longer than usual. I got my case of wine today -- two days after ordering -- and they called to let us know it was being dropped off and everything. So if you're trying to do your part by staying out of the shops but you also still want to enjoy a glass of something with your quarantine rations, drop these fine folks a line. You'll be happy you did.

We walked in here just on a whim. Outside the building says East Bay Municipal District Vine Street Pumping Plant. The guy seemed friendly enough, but he didn't try to sell us anything or help us look for anything.I don't care for wine so I didn't look at the bottles at all. I missed the FREE tastings by an hr. Free tastings are:M-F 4-7pm; Sat 2-4pmOnly thing I liked was they had Free copy of Edible East Bay vol 2 no.2 Winter 2007 magazine. It's only printed 4 times a yr and u can pick up a FREE copy here, otherwise a subscription is $28/yr.I'll go back for FREE tasting and for FREE Edible Eat Bay which is published April, July, Oct., & Jan.Store hrs:M-F 11a-9pSat 11a-8pSun 12p-6p---Updated 4/21/07:Picked up my Spring 2007 copy of Edible East Bay Sat 4/21/07, still FREE. Got one for friend too.

Bottle of Matthiasson had a $89 tag on the shelf. Cashier rang me up at $94, said tag was wrong. When I asked to honor the price he didn't and offered a refund instead. Don't know if this is bait and switch, but sent complaint to ca ag either way. What a poor experience.

Came here because berkeley imports was closed. Gentleman working at cashier was unhelpful and generally unfriendly. Left because why drop money at a place like this?