wine-sense

"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."

"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 Gewürtztraminer, 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."

"Samantha has the ability to ALWAYS choose the best wines for all occasions. Let her know what your looking for and she always picks a winner. She knows her wines and the service is excellent"

"Samanta is a kind, knowledgeable, humble and helpful owner. She has an amazing thought out selection of wines all at incredible values. My favorite wine store by far and I always look forward to going in and learning (tasting) more."

"I have never had a better, more personal and rewarding experience buying wine. My friend who is a chef brought me there under the pretense of it being 'his favorite place to buy wine'. The place is about the size of a bedroom with two walls of wine. Every bottle in there is carefully chosen and usually has an intricate story about why it's there. The Italian lady who runs the store, Samantha Turner, carefully selects each bottle and often, week-to-week most of the store is entirely different. You may think all of this effort translates into expensive wine but this is not true. Many great bottles are below $20 and some are below $10 and she has wine tastings all the time. Support local business, especially when it's a fantastic one... Go there!"