The Wine Hotel (aka Terroir LA)

A wine geek's dream, the Wine Hotel is a relatively new boutique wine shop in LA. Several years ago this location was built as a wine storage facility where you could rent temperature controlled cellar space. Not so long ago, new owners took over and have started a slow transformation into something even better. From what we understand, although it is still called by its prior name, the Wine Hotel, the goal is to change this over to "Terroir LA".

You will have a hard time finding the wine shop unless you know its there. The big Wine Hotel building on 3rd is hard to miss, but the entrance is on the back, facing the alley. There you will find a small but excitement-packed cellar full of interesting wines for sale. The buyers here are certified wine geeks who go out of their way to find exciting and unique wines that other wine geeks will love. Passionate about wines from the Jura? This is one of the only places in the city with more than a few selections. Love Burgundy? They've got that too. How about the Loire? The Languedoc? Austria? Sherry?

Unlike the bigger mega-wine shops that can stock wines from almost every region around the world, these guys focus on truly great wines that are unique and full of character. As the name-to-be (Terroir) suggests, they search out wines that are unique to their place of origin, regardless of the price. While they have wines ranging from under $10 on up to quite expensive, they simply don't have room for any crap! So you can buy here feeling pretty confident that you are getting something interesting.

This is definitely highly-recommended. Because of the small size, personalized customer service is great here, just ask the staff (usually either Paul or Dan) for help and they will happily give you many suggestions or tips. But if you are looking for sheer size and variety, some of the bigger wine shops may be a better choice.

Of note, they have started offering interesting wine tastings but the only way to find out about them at this point is to ask in the store or get on their email mailing list!

The Wine Hotel
5800 West Third Street
Los Angeles, CA 90036
(323) 937-9463

Hours*:
Monday-Saturday 11-7
Sunday CLOSED
*Please note, hours may change, please call the store for details

Cheers!