Square Deal Wine and Cheese Company

Looks Like they are closed… Bummer! They were really nice people.
Note on the door tonight said «Closed-​have a nice summer»
The store appeared to be emptied out.
Especially a bummer because I paid for the June wine club shipment and went tonight to pick it up, obviously I won’t be doing that!
Oh well, I’m sure my woes are tny compared to theirs.

Square Deal is a great place to buy wine or cheese. As my wife summarized it, the shop is «well curated» on three levels: presentation, selection, and care. The selection is limited, but in a careful and thoughtful manner, and more often than not my wife and I find ourselves in agreement with the palate of whoever does the store’s purchasing. As such we don’t have a lot of anxiety or difficulty in buying wine here.
Unlike other bottle shops, the place is not stacked floor to ceiling with a million and one choices in some sort of loose organization by grape varietal. One walks in to find a store well laid out with wines broken down by region, nice art on the wall, and a cheese counter in back. Navigation and comprehension is easy and inviting. The feel is more of a casual and friendly art gallery or bookstore, than a wine shop. There is also a handy account tracker, recording every purchase, so should you particularly like or dislike a bottle the staff can recall your purchase history to help you find or avoid it.
The owners have taken great care to find great wines in a range of prices beginning at around $ 10 and going up from there. If you’re looking for less than $ 10, I recommend you go to Trader Joes because this store can’t and isn’t trying to compete at that price point. The labels tend to be from small or emerging producers not commonly found in other bottle shops, but who appear to sell on a consistent basis to the owners. Most are from France and South America, but there are notable representations from Germany, California, and Oregon. The owners appear to travel a lot to maintain these relationships, and the winemakers will show up at some of the frequent tasting events in the store. Incidentally, as others have noted the store is kept at a comfortably cool temperature. Great for the wine, and great for the customers on a hot day. I plan on shopping here a lot come August. ;-)
The new cheese counter in the back of the store is a worthy successor to Steve’s Cheese, which moved out and into a bigger space a few months ago. The store still has plenty of cheese related events, including the attendance of cheesemakers and other such things.
If you haven’t been here, get on their mailing list and make your first visit one of their many tasting events. It’s a great way to sample the wares and have a good time.

I have no idea how I ended up on SD’s email list, but I did (without ever having visited the store). And after four months or so of reading about the latest shipment from France, or the wine and cheese tasting on Friday, or the slicing of a giant wheel of Parmesan made into a social event, I finally ended up at a blind tasting last night. It was my first formal wine tasting, and could have been really awful… but it wasn’t. I even enjoyed myself. People asked questions, offered opinions, we heard good stories from our well-​traveled host… and almost nobody used their little spit cup. Thank god, because we were all gathered there for FUN, after all :-) My only complaint is that the tasting event started about twenty minutes late, and so ran close to two hours altogether (a little longer than I had planned on). In those twenty minutes, however, I was able to get a nice long look around the store. It’s sparsely decorated, with crates stacked on the floor according to grape and region, and nicely done chalkboard signs pointing you in the right direction. Most bottles seemed to be between $ 10 – 20, with a few more in the $ 25 – 40 range– I don’t think I saw any below $ 10, but that’s fine by me. Judging by the nine wines we tasted, I think you’d be safe trusting the recommendation of the men who run this store. Next time the BF and I are about to pick up another bottle of Cabernet at the grocery store, hopefully we will think twice and take the time to go see our new friends at SD. I’m confident they will have a suggestion that will make our dinner at home more of an «event»… pretentious, yes, but delicious, moreso! I’d recommend SD for a stop to buy a bottle of wine, and also for their events/​classes/​tastings (which I think they do regularly, on a more casual level, on Saturday afternoons). Check it out– but be prepared for a «relaxed» (i.e., not punctual) evening.

Great wine shop and well Steve’s Cheese draws me in more than the wines. But really they have great events, wines to fit anyone’s budget and they really know the wines they sell. They have some great specials now and then so it is worth getting on the email list. Stop in and pick up a bottle and then get some cheese, and hit St Honorie (sp?) for bread and you are all set for a good night!

One really can’t expound on all the great reviews that Square Deal undoubtedly deserves.
The friendly, courteous, and unpretentious staff will seek you out and help you find just the right wine whether if shopping by appellation, varietal, or as so often is the case, price.
They will let you in on many of the very good deals that may be found in the various crates organized about the premises.
You get the feeling that you’re in some mafiosos’ cold secret warehouse where a fresh shipment of bargains just «came in».
There’s nothing like a fine Rioja under $ 20.00

You’ll notice that every one of these reviews gives Square Deal the highest marks, and there’s a reason for that: this is a wine shop of true oenophiles, passionate, friendly, and down-​to-​earth (pun intended). They focus primarily on smaller wineries you won’t find anywhere else, and encourage, nay practically require, that you ask them questions about what you’re looking for. Their recommendations are never less than interesting, and quite often excellent. I’ve yet to stray above $ 20 here (and one easily could), and have always been pleased with the result.

My «deal seeking without giving up quality» sister turned us onto this place. Inside is no fluff (which makes it cool), but you can easily scout the wines. If I recall correctly, they focus on small bottlings of high quality wines for a reasonable price. I’m a big Oregon Pinot Noir fan and asked for a recommendation for a French version. The guy (I’m sorry I don’t recall his name) recommended a 2005 Reserve called «Alsace» for $ 25. It was excellent. The staff was really helpful, clearly loves what they do and are very good at. It was fun to shop among them. Also, don’t miss Steve’s Cheese at the back of the store. Amazing stuff.

Square Deal has great wines. The Staff will help you find anything you want. They have good wine at $ 10.

wine spodie odie drinking wine, and eating cheese. It’s a dangerous corner in NW, bread next door and cheese and wine inside. I love the wine here, never have had a funky bottle. It was a bit intimidating the first time I shopped, but once I meet the owners and got the story, hand selected, exclusive distribution cellar temp room, most wines under $ 15 I was hooked. Every purchase is kept on your own web page so you don’t feel like the town fool saying I want more of that ummm french stuff I can’t pronounce. Great e-​mails packed with fun info and specials. Steve’s Cheese tucked in the corner has a small but tasty selection of cheese and cured meats. Dangerous corner indeed.

This place is fabulous. The fellas there are really, really nice, and always happy to take their time and give you the lowdown on their wines. They seem to know everyone at every winery personally, throughout the store, and are happy to discuss them at length.
Every time we visit, we walk out with one of their mixed cases of wine. This is great, because it’s a good price, and not only do you get twelve great wines, but you get this four-​page packet of information, basically with a half-​page story about each of the wines. I love this! We always read their stories while drinking the wines, which makes it so much more personal.

I try to be judicious with giving anything five stars, but these guys have earned it. I love Square Deal and after shopping there, have a hard time buying good wine anywhere else.
It all starts with the passion these guys and gals have for wine. I never get sick of hearing Eric talk about wine because he’s so damn passionate. He’s also not afraid to throw conventional wisdom out the window in the name of finding outstanding wine I’d probably never hear of otherwise.
By now you all know the care they give to the wine they sell in their shop. One important aspect of their process left out in other reviews is that they personally visit or know all of their winemakers. They not only intimately know their wines, they can without hesitation, tell you something about the person/​people who made it. I find this greatly enhances my enjoyment of the wine… to know where it came from and who made it. Maybe you don’t care about all of that and just want it to taste good… it will.
I also really appreciate that while the staff has an extremely refined taste in wine, they don’t expect you to, or judge you if you don’t. Their credo seems to be (and i’ve heard Eric say this) «Wine is meant to be drank.» They don’t get too hung up on cellaring (though will recommend what wines will prosper most with some aging if you ask) or a lot of the posturing the goes on in the wine world.
i also get their newsletter, and damn if that’s not a fantastic marketing tool. every time they send it out i have to fight the urge to rush down to the store and pick up their latest spectacular find. I only feel this way because they’ve never recommended something i haven’t completely enjoyed.
Sure, this is a one-​sided review, but i really do just appreciate this place. occasionally you’ll get opinion disguised as fact, but it’s rare.
ultimately, if anything in your life hinges on being absolutely certain that you are pouring an outstanding bottle of wine, this is where you should buy it.

These guys and gals are the tops! It’s a bit chilly in there because their wine requires it. The wine required it (and got it) before it got to them. It’s a chain of custody thing — you know that every bottle of wine you buy at Square Deal has been treated right (ie, kept at the proper temp) from the time it left it’s bottling facility until the time you walk out the door with it. Does that make a difference? I think so — I buy most of my wine here and I’m happy.
Besides the TLC, SD has a fabulously knowledgeable, friendly, helpful staff. Today I walked in and said I was in the mood for a Tempranillo. Eric said he had a great one but he really thought I should try a Cab-​Malbec blend he just got in. He’s into my head by now and knows what I will like. He was right — I’ll be back tomorrow for a case of it.
They have some pricey wines, but they revel in providing fabulous wines under $ 20. I mean wonderful wines for $ 10-​$ 15 even.
Then there’s Steve’s Cheese on the premises. Five stars as well. But that’s a separate review…

Bring your jacket, because it’s chilly-​cold in here. Square Deal keeps its temperature right at 58 degrees, which is the perfect temp to store wine and freeze your buns off all at the same time.
I can deal with the chill in the air at Square Deal because the place is so darn cool (how could I resist that pun). The inventory is fairly small, because they specialize in boutique wineries, primarily European, with limited production so you won’t have to sift through a bunch of labels suffering from mass production. No Two-​Buck Chuck here, but you will find some pretty delicious deals under twenty bucks.

Great selection of local wines and those from far-​flung regions.
In a nutshell:
–They have wonderful, knowledgeable, I-love-what-I-do-and-can’t-wait-to-help-you owners (Dan & Elizabeth) and staff.
–They will even ship wines as gifts for you depending on your price range. And by the way, they’re not snobbish if your price range is low.
–They will give you new, inventive wine suggestions.
–They do regular tasting and pairing events, including a little food like bread and cheese and normally running around $ 15. Sign up for their regular newsletter to keep you posted on upcoming events.
–They do an occasional farmhouse-​style dinner in their great 3-​table seating area in back of the store.
(These meals involve a few different wines and the company of people you’ve never met but are now sitting next to – like a big old Thanksgiving dinner with other foodies you’ve never met. The night I went to one they served food from local establishments like Busy Corner and Patanegra and it was delicious. You can get the scoop on these through their website).
Check it out if you’re ever in the area.