Vinery. 3404 Connecticut Ave., NW.
Wish there was a one-stop-shop for a pinot and a philodendron? A natural wine and plant shop called Vinery is coming to Cleveland Park this July from the owners of modern Hong Kong-inspired restaurant Queen’s English and Dupont Circle boutique plant shop PLNTR.
PLNTR owners James Beach and Caitlin Tuttle met Queen’s English chef Henji Cheung and sommelier Sarah Thompson as neighborhood regulars of the Columbia Heights restaurant and teamed up to bring an annual holiday market (and other seasonal markets) there beginning in 2020. At Vinery—which they call a “lifestyle shop”—they’ll combine their passions in an interactive way with tastings and terrarium workshops.
Thompson has turned Queen’s English into an unexpected destination for natural wine lovers and is known for her quirky tasting notes (“red bell peppers, laffy taffy, fun dip”). During the pandemic, the restaurant also started selling take-home bottles for half-off and now has a wine club. But Thompson says they’ve been limited in how much they can carry in their small space.
Vinery will focus on natural wines, but with something for everyone: “We’re going to have more traditional leaning flavors all the way to super funky,” Thompson says, in addition to some non-alcoholic varieties. And if you try something you love at Queen’s English, there’s a good chance you’ll find a bottle at Vinery too.
Thompson says one of her big goals is to make wine approachable at the shop. Even as a wine pro, she’s been lost in other stores where wines come with few details beyond the price, and staff may not always be knowledgable. At Vinery, every bottle will come with a personalized tag that customers take home explaining the grape, origin, region, details about the winemaker, pairing suggestions, and tasting notes.
“We want it to be like more of an open conversation about wine instead of someone going into wine shop and feeling a little bit nervous, like, ‘Oh my God, there’s so many bottles in here and I really don’t know a lot about wine,'” Thompson says.
Vinery aims to take the same approach with its house plants, offering detailed and personalized care instructions. “It’s really important to us that everyone leaves the shop feeling like a more confident plant parent,” says Tuttle, who did marketing for Freshfarm farmers markets prior to opening PLNTR’s storefront in 2022.
The shop, decked out in dark green moody colors, will also have a DIY terrarium station, where you can come in at any time and build your own (with guidance if you need it). It will also have space for both private events as well as public workshops on topics ranging from propagation to mounting hoyas —which, of course, may include sampling some wine too.
Jessica Sidman covers the people and trends behind D.C.’s food and drink scene. Before joining Washingtonian in July 2016, she was Food Editor and Young & Hungry columnist at Washington City Paper. She is a Colorado native and University of Pennsylvania grad.
