K&L Wine Merchants

Wide selection of red and white wines from around the world. Whiskey and bourbon selections were also pretty decent, at reasonable prices. Friendly and knowledgeable staff. Can be difficult to find a spot in the back as the parking lot is small, and several spots are reserved for pickups.

Great customer service. I made an order had to cancel after it was shipped and they worked with me. That service is just awesome. Wound up coming I town and had to say thank you!!!

K&L is the best wine shop on the Peninsula and in all the Bay Area. Starting with an amazing and deep selection of wines from all over the world. Very knowledgeable people working there who will help you find what you are looking for and just to talk to about wine. They have buyers who will search for things you want but are not in stock. An incredible online website that is easy to you, incredibly informative and comprehensive. They do home delivery of wine. They have an auction house for buying or selling your wine online. They have temperature controlled wine storage lockers that you can rent. Just an incredibly well run operation. And very fair prices. Highest recommendation

Coming from a jurisdiction where the provincial aka state government monopoly wine & spirits agency, K&L’s selection is both overwhelming and mind blowing! In a good way… Moreover, their depth and breadth of selection would be wasted without outstandingly knowledgeable product consultants. Whether you are in search of a known brand in wine and/or spirits or an esoteric hard to find one, you’ll benefit from the expert advice. Which is communicated in an insightful, consultative manner by their down to earth staff. A real pleasure to discover and shop at! As they also offer paid guided tastings

Love this place — visit every time I'm in California. Great selection of wines and spirits, plus a selection of interesting beers and other drinks. Some vintage rarities as well. In my experience, better prices than other stores. Helpful, knowledgeable staff.

It is true, nothing is forever. I have not been to this store for some 10 years, except for ordering online. When the original owner-family still was running the shop, there was so much expertise and customized suggestions. The best! Now, if I ask a question about a wine, there is not much knowledge among the staff. Mostly people are shrugging their shoulders and know how to run the register. At the best, you find one person who drinks wines and knows something. The selection is pretty good though.

Great selection of all sorts of spirits and beers. Helpful and knowledgeable staff. I went for a wine tasting event. They have tastings a few times a week. Very cool way to try something new. Highly recommend!

Ordered delivery of Isle of Harris gin and delivery to the East Bay was very quick. This was my first trial order but I will definitely be a regular customer. This gin is simply unavailable elsewhere and highly recommended btw.

K&L Wines is hands-down the gold standard for wine shopping in the Bay Area. If you're serious about wine -- or even just wine-curious -- this is the place. The selection is unmatched: thoughtfully curated bottles from every major region, plus plenty of small producers you won't stumble upon anywhere else. Whether you're hunting for a weeknight Pinot, a Champagne to impress, or a hard-to-find Bordeaux, they've got it -- and usually at a better price than expected. The staff here is incredibly knowledgeable without being pretentious. They actually listen to what you like and guide you to something that fits your palate and budget. I've learned more from two minutes at their counter than from hours of online "best wine" lists. No gimmicks, no distractions -- just wine, and the people who truly know it. Still the best selection in the Bay Area, and easily a 5-star experience every time.

I've been to K&L Wine Merchants several times over the years for their excellent wine selection, but recently I've been diving into bourbon and I was pleasantly surprised to see how well they cater to that as well. They have a solid selection of store picks, and during a visit a few days ago, I noticed some great prices on a bottle I was eyeing but didn't end up purchasing at the time. I stopped by again today, and Sonny helped me out. We had a great conversation, and I really appreciated his knowledge and recommendations. I walked in planning to pick up one bottle and ended up leaving with an extra one I hadn't planned on always a sign of a good visit! Highly recommend this place, whether you're into wine or branching out into spirits like I am. Knowledgeable staff, great selection, and fair prices.

Still the best. Whether it's wine or spirits, no place is better. If you have the patience, preordering is a great way to get exceptional products. Service is exemplary.

I like this place. You want good wine, they have good wine. Always a fun conversation at thanksgiving to ask about new wine ideas instead of the same old same old.

K&L is one of the more popular wine retailers in the peninsula and LA area. Their network as well as their services provided make for a very smooth and easy wine buying experience, even if you don't love within their Territory for pickup. During the pandemic when things were on lockdown KL was one of the more convenient options locally by offering shipping and eventually contactless pickup. All stock is shared between their warehouse and 4 retail locations. The great part is the ability to transfer these within network so you can have a wine that's exclusively in Hollywood shipped to redwood City if you please. Tastings are also available with schedules posted on the website. You usually get a lot of bang for your buck during these events between the selection which you won't be able to sample in most wine bars or wineries. Just remember to be careful when the wine flows so does the wallet.

Always a great selection at a variety of prices - inexpensive or your whole years salary - everyone in there is willing to help you at any budget too - with beer, wine, champagne, even Calvados - seriously love coming in here and seeing what we will find next. When we are in the neighborhood

Nice little shop with a surprisingly large selection of items! They also have locations in LA and SF -- this one is the most convenient for South Bay folks. Grabbed a couple of craft beers including some Estonian beers (definitely not something you see every day). Would be interested in coming back to take a look at the wine selection some time (which seems to be primarily what they are known for -- beer is definitely the "side hustle" in comparison)! Service is quick and efficient, and yes, they do card like any responsible institution should. I also like how they offer lots of useful details about each item on their website as well as live stock counts in each location. The information really helps folks who may not have as much depth of knowledge and are looking to try new things.

best possible customer service .. delivery service is fine tuned designed for the convenience of the customer

This review is about one person that has a real lack of customer service ability and they go against the grain of almost all of the other staff I encounter. This person, and to describe them, is a portly (not shaming or negative, just a description) man and younger. He seems to have no sense of how to interact with customers. I've had two very poor interactions with this person and overheard another that was very inappropriate. His replies to questions are definitely lacking finesse as a representative of a customer driven business. The interactions with me were surprising to say the least and the other was down right wrong. His reply to a person was very off base and I felt was so rude and offensive I walked out of the store. I saw the person he made the comment to outside as I was drivng off and asked if that really just happened. They were disturbed though handled it very well. He made an off color remark, which was insulting to the customer that asked a question about a product. His reply was not called for and the question was not asked in any manner other than a simple inquiry. He may not have known what he said was offending the customer though a customer service representative should know better. A human being should know better period. I expect better and I'm saddened by what transpired.

5 stars all the way, and I've never even been inside their store. This place has an awesome selection of wine and whiskey (and I'm sure many other things). I was looking for a bit of an obscure Japanese whiskey and this place had it. The best part, I can place an order for pick-up online. I got a confirmation that they filled the order so I knew they had it before I drove to RWC. The confirmation email had instructions for how to pick up the item. I pulled into their lot, clicked the "I'm here" button, and a nice employee came out with my purchase in like a minute. They checked my ID and I was gone. Entire process took maybe 2-3 minutes. Excellent service and super convenient.

Great selection and knowledgeable staff, but these people don't answer their phone. They just play a message claiming there is one caller ahead of you, and it goes on and on. Promised callback never happens either. Hey, K&L, this is called taking your customers for granted.

K&L was really useful in helping me get a bottle of whiskey that very recently won an award. It was unavailable at BevMo or Total Wine and More. It was easy to buy it online and pick it up at this store.

Like going to an art gallery for wine! Selection is amazing. Worth driving up from Morgan Hill.

Great store with helpful and knowledgeable staff. I sometimes come in with a shopping list and they help me find the wines. When I have needed suggestions on wines I am unfamiliar with, they have helped me out and made good suggestions.

Excellent selection of Bourbons, Scotch and Tequila. Parking is tight so don't bring your full size truck

My experience with their online system and curbside pickup service were great! First of all, they had the gin that I've been looking for. It's a yearly release and I haven't seen it at other stores. Then the ordering process was easy. I got an notification email the next day that my order is ready for pickup. At the store parking lot, there were signs with clear instructions on requesting your order to be brought out to the car. I appreciate seeing the pickup status bar on my phone. Even with other cars at the lot, the pickup took less than 10 minutes.

Incredible selection, mediocre customer service. I've been coming here for years and almost always find what I'm looking for and then some, but lately the customer service has really disappeared. You aren't greeted when you come in, employees are just hanging out in the back and in the checkout area, and when I've asked for help the last two visits I made the folks told me they would grab someone for me and then just didn't. In the past I've gotten great recommendations and excellent service so hopefully I've just caught them on off days, but when you're spending a couple hundred dollars on wine and liquor it would be nice to get some help

Outstanding selection and a truly great staff. This is the place to go if you want rare wine and spirits.

I love a store where everyone you talk to goes out of their way to make you feel welcome and makes sure all your questions are answered. Beautifully arranged aisles and well-marked displays that are easy to navigate. Outstanding variety of wines from California and the world. I was quite impressed with their whisky collection which includes a fine selection of distillery bottlings as well as some unusual proprietary bottler offerings. I even found my favorite (and hard to find) single malt Longmorn. Parking in the back. Great store.

Called for some information on some vintage wines and left my ph number and never heard back from them. Not like the past.

A broad choice of types of alcohol and a fantastic selection of alcohol makers. The staff was very welcoming at the Redwood City location, taking the time to pick alcohols that would work great together for a tasting I organized. They also host wine tastings on-site. We attended a session and had a blast.

I had a great experience with online ordering and pickup here. The instructions were simple and actually worked - I waited less than 2 minutes for the employee to come out with my order, no fuss, no muss.

Well, stocked, wine liquor and beer don't forget the beer... friendly, helpful staff there to answer all your questions

I purchased this 2013 Realm "The Absurd" online on 10/20, and picked it up at K&L Redwood City on 10/25. I was expected to have one of the best home lunch today(10/30) with my friends. However, I was very disappointed after I pulled out the cork. The cork condition was terrible, considering this is a relatively new vintage(2013, 7 years old). Check out the opening video (https://youtu.be/kaBQ__hxfKI). I pulled out a glass of wine, it smelled stale and I could only tell it's alcohol from my nose. The wine body has a dark brown color. However, it tasted boring and flat, without any aromas and flavors, very short and weird finish. I literally can't get any complex flavors from this bottle, and I can't recognize it's a Realm wine if I blind taste it. In this case, I am sure this is a corked wine, so my friends and I went to K&L Wine Merchants after lunch. We drove 40 minutes to the store at Redwood city with that bottle still almost full. We introduced ourselves to the staff and were told to wait outside due to covid while they took our wine inside for inspection. We stood outside for about 25 minutes until the staff (T) and manager (J) came out and delivered the inspection result. They started by saying that there is absolutely no problem with this bottle of wine and denied our request for a refund or replacement. They described this wine as delightful and said we should enjoy it despite the fact that the wine is as bland as water barely has any flavor. We showed them the cork which the wine stain reaches almost 75% of the entire cork, and the video we shot when we opened the bottle for the first time. They argued that the stain does not penetrate the cork thus this cork is still considered functional. They even try to prove themself right by showing us a cheap bottle of wine that smells like vinegar. We told them that the lack of smell and flavor in the wine is also considered as corked wine. The staff(T), who claimed themself knowledgeable on vintage wines and a big fan of Realm caller smiled and said "I would definitely enjoy the wine" and justify their reason with one word "Silky". The whole time, they ignore the fact and attempt to trick us to believe that this is the true taste of the 2013 Realm Absurd.

Can't say good enough things about this team! Today's my birthday and I had a pick up and while riding the train also found a few additional bottles on their site that I was hoping to pick up. Once they started my pick up, I let them know the bottles I was hoping for and everyone ran in different directions to help find everything... They were faster than a Formula One pitstop team! I was in and out in just a few minutes and got back ion the train that I thought I was 100% going to miss. They saved me an hour which really meant a lot to me. And obviously amazing inventory of so many different bottlings from around the world. Superb!

Shelter in place review: sooooo stoked with my recent K&L haul! These guys might just have the best rum (all spirits and wines, really) selection around. Best part is they put the order and deliver it directly to your home themselves--no third-party service or anything like that. Browse their dope selection online, pay and then select your delivery day/window. Easy peasy. I found a bunch of stuff that was either sold out elsewhere or not even available, not to mention the stuff they get made exclusively for them. This time around I ordered a Hamilton Jamaican Pot Still Black, Hamilton 86 Demerara, Blended Navy Style Caribbean Rum, White Rhum Agricole, & Teeda Japanese Rum from Okinawa (that I absolutely can't wait to bust open). Posted below are pics of the products. Thanks, K&L! Expect another order soon.

It's no coincidence that K&L tops national lists for wine shops. Their selection of wines and spirits is truly legendary and the staff are knowledgeable and helpful. They have great tastings most weekends which are an opportunity to explore local and global wines, beers and spirits.

K&L remains consistently excellent. My father introduced me to the place nearly 30 years ago and it has been a mainstay for my purchase of wine and spirits since. They have upper their game in several areas as of late. The now have an excellent selection of bourbons, whisky in general, and craft beer, in addition to their wine. Also to note, they are quite active in the Pre-Arrival game and I have yet to not receive a delivery in timely fashion. I was fortunately unaffected by the Premier Cru debacle and part of it was the already established relationship I had here. They have a robust auction site and if you take store credit there is no commission. I am quite pleased with the service I received from Sean Fernandez, who was my point person in the auction department Its the customer service however that really set them apart. The recommendations are spot on. There is also none of the usual up sale game. If you give a range in terms of price, they stick to it.

Went to K&L Wine Merchants Redwood City to purchase wine for a party I was throwing with my friends. They were able to provide me with useful information on the flavor profiles and origins of the wines I was interested in, which made the purchasing process easy and enjoyable. The store had a vast selection of wine to choose from. I appreciated that the prices were reasonable, and I was able to find some great deals on some of the wines I purchased. I'll definitely be returning to this store for my future wine needs.

K&L does so much more than just wine. They truly are a full service business. We were looking to host a Wine/Whiskey tasting during these strange Covid times. So many things had to be kept in mind for safety. After speaking with David G. I felt so good about our plan. He was knowledgeable about wine AND whiskey, he was concerned about safety, and he found workarounds for us such as Video tastings! Thank you so much David! We appreciate you so much!

Huge selection of wine with some beer and price is very reasonable. I made a purchase online for self pick up in the redwood city location during the pandemic. I placed an order in the morning and my order was ready for pick up later that day. It was a curbside pickup, when I got there they had a bunch of staff waiting outside so somebody helped me as soon as I showed up. The process was smooth and quick.

This was the only place in Bay Area that had the bottle of wine I was looking for in stock. And only one bottle. So, I made the trek from SF down to Redwood City to pick up a bottle of 2015 Juslyn Perry's Blend for Thanksgiving dinner. When you arrive, you park outside and and they bring it out to you and place on a cart outside your car for a true contactless pick up. Highly impressed with how placing an order was so easy and I felt super safe ordering from here during this pandemic. Wish this place was closer!

We order wine delivery from K and L during this Covid19 Pandemic, We love their website and the staff favorites feature. Informative ! The staff had great taste too.

In the last two days I shipped wine to friends from the SF site (they live closer to this store) and picked up wine at the RWC site (I live closer to this store). Their process for curbside pick up couldn't be any easier ... 1) order online at https://www.klwines.com and receive a confirmation email 2) you'll receive another email that your order is ready to pick up 3) park in the designated spots 4) click on the link in the email "I'm parked..." and follow directions 5) wear a mask, show your ID when staff shows up with your wine 6) they'll place your order by your car for you to load Happy holidays to us! Thank you K&L.

K&L has a very great select whiskey selection i very much enjoyed my visit and look forward to going again I have specific bottles that I wish to add to my collection. I recommend K&L to any one who collects .

** Review is not for their wine selection ** K&L came up on web searches for beer in the Redwood City area and as I wasn't able to make it up to the Russian River Brewing Company or Lagunitas on my last trip to the Bay Area - I figured I'd try my luck at one of the stores. Actually walked out of K&L with quite a bit of beer but that's because I picked up multiple bottles of the same name to try. The beer selection, though they may carry some names that Southern California merchants may not see regularly, isn't very lengthy. In fact, the amount of beer, compared to wine is probably in the area of 9 out of 10. Not that I'm complaining as K&L doesn't have "beer" in it's name. Staff was awesome! Knowledgable. Friendly. Fellow beer afficionado. Even gave me pointers on shipping beer/wine as well as suggestions that lined up with some of the names of beers that I've tried and liked. Just know that if you're looking for wine - this definitely is a place to go. For beer, it's a hit or miss. I hit the target on my visit, but no bullseyes.

Plenty of Wineeeee! Great amount of Spirits as well. Was hoping for more of a beer selection but its a wine store and thats makes sense with the name and everything.

I was devastated when nearby Beltramo's closed down, but I'm glad I was able to find somewhere with a comparable selection and service. I had heard about K&L previously, but never ventured farther down El Camino to give it a shot. When I finally walked in the doors, I knew this would be my new go-to wine shop. They have a large and vast selection here, with tons of imports. I like to try new wines and varietals that I've never tasted before, and I'm definitely able to do that at K&L. Their prices are also very reasonable and there are options for every budget. Okay, the best part. After my first visit, I was browsing their website and learned about their wine clubs. They are a great deal! I joined the cheap one, also known as the Best Buy Wine Club, which is only $20 a month + tax for two bottles. I just have to come down to the store once a month (woe is me) and get two bottles of wine for $10 each. It's a totally awesome deal and I really like getting random bottles chosen for me - just another way to explore! They have higher tier clubs too, if that's your fancy, and can ship them if you pay for that. You can also reorder prior bottles at the member price as long as they remain in stock. If you drink wine regularly, there's no reason not to join!

I love chardonnay. Since the fires in NorCal, I have trouble finding the taste that I have come to love. I've wondered if it's because of the fires and the effect on the soil, grapes, etc., Or is it because of what winemakers put IN their wine BECAUSE of the fires? Someone explained to me (and I have read) that with the pandemic, there were supply chain issues getting French oak barrels. A friend bought some wine from K & L's website, and had it shipped to her in Oregon; then she drove to the Bay Area to visit me with a bottle. For a long time I couldn't find what I thought was "KNL" Wines and finally, FINALLY I discovered it was "K & L" and that's drivable! Redwood City! Who knew? and Whoo-HOO! As other reviewers have observed, many people order on the website and employees bring the purchase out to their car. This place is a well-oiled machine. My friend and I did go in, and met "Neal." I explained my disappointment with even pricy wineries' newer vintage chardonnays, and that I hated that big vanilla BOMB on my palate at the finish. I mentioned 2 or 3 that I really liked. He knew exactly what I meant, and confirmed that American oak DOES have more vanillin than French oak. He was discreet, but also alluded to the fact that many people in the USA actually prefer this taste. Definitely not me. He spent a long time with both of us, describing his recommendations and why he thought we might like them. There were different price ranges suggested, and no upselling or "steering." I bought 5 bottles and my friend 2, and we are working out way through them, making notes and planning our case purchases, LOL. Also, I tasted a beer in Spain in 2019 that I really enjoyed, and Neal gave me not only his card, but the beer buyer's as well. I can't emphasize enough that there is stellar customer service--both in effort and knowledge. It's a long drive from South County to RWC, but well worth it. I will be back!

K&L is a great store. It's one of my favorites. They have wines from the cheap to the expensive and rare. Actually, they stock excellent inexpensive wines so it's a good place to fill out your cellar before parties or holidays or just to keep your hands off the expensive stuff while it ages. But, they also have a superb collection of the best of the best so you can spend plenty of money there if you so choose. They also have an excellent selection of all kinds of whiskeys, tequilas, Scotch, you name it. K&L is indispensable, IMO. Their Web site is the place to start shopping at K&L. It is a very good Web site, and it includes auctions.

K&L continues to impress me, especially here at the RWC location. Gary and Ralph in particular really know their stuff -- go to Gary with any question about Champagne, or Ralph if you wanna know Bordeaux. Everyone is so courteous and knowledgeable though, so ask any question and you'll leave with a great bottle AND a little education. Check out their website and look at the "Local Events" tab by the way -- we're big fans of their Saturday Tastings in particular. Also, they frequently organize other excellent events (Grand Bordeaux tasting was the last one we attended -- we got to try some stuff that you wouldn't find being poured elsewhere) as well as their annual Bordeaux event up in SF, where a TON of Chateaux come out to showcase their latest releases. Finally, did you know you can also rent a wine storage locker here on site? This has made it a lot easier to manage our cellar....we put the really good stuff here where it's kept locked up in a temperature-and-humidity-controlled environment (and if we REALLY want that bottle of d'Yquem, we have to drive over the hill to get it -- so no danger of knocking back something irreplaceable at home some night after a few too many other bottles). Protects your provenance AND your inventory! :)

Great customer service! The staff recommended great wines us to us. Looking forward to stopping by again the next time we're in the bay.

Team went above and beyond to make up for the delivery inconsistency associated with their contracted delivery company during Christmas. I really appreciated the effort and constant communication.

great selection, knowledgeable staff. didn't answer phone and didn't call back so i bought a case of ridge online

Excellent section, best I have seen in Northern California, especially if you include their online inventory which is even more extensive. Prices are fair and at MSRP. Very friendly staff both in store and via email. If they don't have the answer to your question, they will find the answer.

Utter joke. They only offer curbside pickup due to Covid. Fine, but what they don't tell you on their website is how LONG IT TAKES to get you your order, even if it's just one bottle. Ordered at 5 pm, and still no confirmation email shortly before 6 pm so I figure I stop by because surely it can't take that long. Nope. I was told to come back the next day because it takes several hours(!) for someone to get a bottle from a shelf.

Disappointed. I drove an hour to come in to buy a particular tequila, and was told it was out of stock. I picked up something else (inferior) and came home only to look on their website and see they had 12 in stock! Much to my disappointment - I called, but could only talk to their head office (you're unable to actually call the individual store) and explained the situation, and they basically told me to pound sand. I don't necessarily expect them to cover the entire cost of shipping, but I spend thousands of dollars with K&L each year, and was pretty disappointed the guy I spoke to was so dismissive and quick to tell me to drive back in or pay $30 shipping for one bottle.

Simply the best. Great pricing and selection with true experts working there. Please open a store in Sacramento. Please!

There is no way to connect to any actual K&L store so the central line will literally repeat what you see online. However, the reality is that when I drove 45 min to the store, the wine bottle I'd wanted wasn't there even though their online inventory showed it as being in the store and I got the same useless information from their answering service. There are lots of wine sellers in the Bay Area who bother to answer their phones and walk over and check if they have the bottle and hold it if it's the last one so that customers know before spending time and resources on going to the store. Obv I won't waste my time with K&L again.