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November 2024 by Michaela O'Hara
After grabbing dinner ingredients at Whole Foods, my mom & I realized we needed some wine to go with it. We searched for nearby wine shops and conveniently, there was one just steps away from WF!
We made our way over to “wine-sense”, a lovely and inviting shop. Upon entering, we were greeted by the owner, Samanta. After just a minute of being inside, we heard scratching and sliding, and suddenly, a beautiful Wheaten Terrier came bounding out from the back room to also greet us! The best kind of greeting, I think. His name is Oscar and he’s as cute and friendly as you can see here. Ok, back to the wine ->
The selections were all amazing, at shockingly decent prices. My typical experience with wine shops (in California, where I am based) is that I go in knowing I’ll be spending way too much, eventually regretting my purchases and wishing I had just gone to Trader Joe’s where I know I can get a nice organic Italian wine. However, this was not one of those snobby shops. Samanta’s wine offerings are unique, with a widespread collection. We told her what we were looking for, based on what we’d be pairing it with and she gave us 3 of her top choices, which was so helpful as a decision-maker over-thinker.
After picking the first option (an Italian red), she also invited us to stop by at a tasting happening that evening, a France vs. Italy tasting, where they’d be tasting 5-6 wines from different regions of each country. We were delighted to be invited, as our airbnb was a quick 10 minute walk away and we had no plans that evening besides making dinner.
My mom and Samanta chatted for a while longer, as Oscar (the adorable pup) and I hit it off, and eventually we left, feeling so lucky that we stopped by and found an amazing shop with a lovely owner!
The tasting that evening was perfect, with a wide selection of wines to taste and fantastic pourers with plenty of information & history to provide as we sipped. Follow them on instagram @winesense for upcoming events!
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May 2024 by kris s.
You know how important it can be to be passionate in what you do. Well, that is the owner of Wine Sense....Samanta. She is someone who is vested in what a patron (and friend) want for solid wine offerings. If it was not for her listening to what her loyal, yes loyal (including myself) patrons like then this wine shop would be nothing special. If you want special with good wine being a result then go visit Samanta. And enjoy!
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February 2024 by Ian MacKay
Nice little shop and the owner’s dog is adorable
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July 2022 by Tania Gianino
Great wine shop. Always great recommendations. Highly recommend
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July 2022 by CeCe S.
Unusual, unusually satisfying wines at every price point. The most knowledgeable owner/proprietor you will ever meet.
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June 2022 by Kathryn Contarino
Samanta is Italian, travels the world and has relationships with vintners everywhere to pick interesting unique and delicious wines. As others have said, nothing is very expensive here and she won’t try to upsell you. She doesn’t need to. Yes there are some more pricey bottles if you ask for them but there is so much variety in a reasonable and wide price range that you can get great wine without spending a lot. As a regular customer sometimes I just call her and knowing what I like she puts together a case for me and I am always delighted with everything I open. This is a special little shop and Samanta is a lovely person to talk to about wine or about anything else. Worth a visit whether you know a lot about wine or want to learn. If her dog is in the shop working, extra bonus.
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December 2021 by Tania Gelormini
Great wine shop. Always great recommendations. Highly recommend
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November 2021 by Kara West
Sam has great suggestions for wine!
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October 2021 by Sarah Bennett
Wonderful wine shop. Owner is so personable and knowledgeable!
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July 2021 by Gary Cushing
Makes sense
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January 2021 by Matt B.
Love wine-sense. Great selection and the owner/proprietor is super personable & knowledgeable. Highly recommended!
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March 2020 by Peter Campbell
Friendly. Great selection.
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July 2019 by Dan Fionte
Wine Sense is an unassuming little one-room store tucked away at the back of a narrow parking lot (it's easier to see and access from the Whole Foods parking lot next door actually) but they have a loyal following and they really know their stuff. They would have to or they wouldn't be able to stand up to the fierce local competition. Andover has many shops which sell wine, good wine, and several of them have great wine managers, but none of them quite provide the same service that Wine Sense provides and Wine Sense is the single wine-only shop. The owner and staff are knowledgeable and can pick wines based on food pairings and personal tastes and they keep a log of everything you purchase so if you can't remember the complicated name of that wine you bought the last time you were in, they can tell you what it was and depending on the season may have it in stock. What is most wonderful about this store is that they don't just have the same old wines, and they don't just sell super expensive wines. Sure, you can get an expensive Châteauneuf-du-Pape or Barolo, or an inexpensive Gewí¼rtztraminer, Riesling or Sauvignon Blanc, but you can also find varietals and vineyards you have never heard of in your life, some for a song, that will knock your socks off. This is a store for expanding your horizons and branching out that can also meet your needs when you want to revisit an old favorite. It's remarkable that in such a small shop you can find wines which have been recently rediscovered and reinvented, down to earth inexpensive wines found on the tables of Sicilian shepherds and Basque fisherman alongside the loftiest of grail-like French wines. It's worth a look to say the least.
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March 2019 by Michael Dwyer
The best by far!!! Samantha very friendly and knowledgeable. Always directs you to exactly what you are looking for. Everything I have bought there on her recommendation has been spot on! She also knows how to spell Champagne.
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November 2018 by Alex Suarez
Unprofessional, inexperienced. Did not even know what Champaign yeast was nor do they carry wine making kits. Not to mention it looked like a teenage party going on when I entered.
