Total Wine & More

totalwine.com

Second Place: Once Upon a Vine

Third Place: Corks & Kegs

Total Wine & More may not offer that intimate neighborhood vibe, but if mind-boggling selection at volume prices is what voters seek, their needs are covered. The Maryland-based chain's website is particularly useful, offering consumer and critic reviews, info on tastings and a handy guide to "Great Values Under $10." Once Upon a Vine, in its 10th year, houses a wide beer and wine selection, but stakes its claim on the fruit of the vine in Virginia. It carries between 200 and 300 wines from state vineyards. It also now offers growler fills for the draft-to-go crowd. Locally owned Corks & Kegs joins the readers' top three this year. You can sign up for its newsletter to get the scoop on discounts, beer and wine events and did-ja-knows. As in: Did you know wine has so many organic chemical compounds it is considered more complex than blood serum? Transfusion, please.