A local wine shop is preparing to celebrate a new chapter in Alexandria this weekend.
D.C. wine boutique DCanter is hosting a grand opening for its second location, DCanter Alexandria, from 12-4 p.m. Saturday (April 4) at 1101 King Street, Suite 112. Led by couple Michelle Lim Warner and Michael Warner, the shop focuses on sustainably made and organic wines sourced from small, independent producers.
Grand opening festivities will include “an open-house style tasting featuring a selection of wines we love, plus a few surprises throughout the afternoon, including a Golden Cork hunt for special prizes,” the business said in an email announcement. The first 100 guests will also receive a gift.
“We can’t wait to see you, make some new friends, and share joy through wine with our new community,” the business wrote.
In addition to wines, the new shop plans to offer gourmet food pairings, a “Good Juice” section with bottles under $20 and a “Bottled Art” section with “rare, single-vineyard and premium selections,” Lim Warner previously told ALXnow. Wines are arranged by flavor profile.
“We don’t expect everyone to know what a Carménère, Pinotage, or Châteauneuf-du-Pape tastes like, so the shop flows from light to full-bodied, white to red,” Warner said.
Other store features include a “Concierge” wine shopping service and programming like wine classes, tastings and small-group global wine tours. The shop’s next trip, a tour of Austria, is slated for December.
The first DCanter location opened on Capitol Hill in 2013 at 545 8th Street SE. In Alexandria, the new shop joins two other businesses, — a Fresh Baguette and an Orangetheory Fitness — on the ground floor of the CityHouse development. CityHouse, an office-to-residential conversion, held its grand opening in March.
Warner previously told ALXnow that the Old Town neighborhood “immediately felt familiar to us in the best way” for their new shop.
“Like Capitol Hill, it’s a neighborhood with a strong sense of community: walkable, locally rooted, with people who care about where they shop and who they support,” Warner said. “At the end of the day, we want to be part of a neighborhood, not just open another store.”
