Direct Wine Shipments are an independent, family run wine importers and distributors. This…read moreAladdin's Cave of wine is an absolute delight to visit. Prices range from bottles under £10 to bottles worth hundreds of pounds - so be careful you don't accidentally knock one over as you explore the shop! All wines are grouped by country of origin and the selection is vast. They also stock some gins, whiskies, liquors and spirits. Staff are exceptionally helpful, knowledgable and pleasant. Direct Wine Shipments run wine tasting events, classes and evenings all year round. I'd highly recommend the Christmas Wine Tasting, which at £20 makes for a lovely afternoon on a cold, wet, windy November or December day. These book up extremely quickly though, so you need to book tickets immediately when you see the events appear on Direct Wines Shipments website. I recently attended the late November Christmas Wine Tasting Event which was brilliant. Hosted by wine expert Peter Morris Wilson, we sampled ten wines and heard all about them in proper wine speak. An informative and fun day. Our wines were five whites including Champagne, Alvarinho, Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc, four reds and a dessert wine served with Ditty's Mince Pies. There was plenty of crusty white bread on the tables and our wine glasses were quickly filled, which I was amazed at as approximately 100 people attended the event. It was superbly well organised. There was also a 15% discount on all wines on the day of the Christmas Wine Tasting, so a lot of people took advantage of this and purchased bottles and boxes of wine. An excellent day and an excellent store.

This is a fantastic spot for all things wine and sometimes the odd spirit or two!! The range of…read morewines are very extensive from a modestly priced bottle right up to the expensive ones. The sommelier is great and will guide you. They run wine tasting evenings also. Well worth a visit.

I live attached to this building. It has, for that reason become my last bastion of booze if a walk…read moreto Tesco is considered too far. Wineflair is just beside the bookies on Cromac Street and is really the usual sort of place you tend to find around Belfast, there is nothing particularly outstanding. The beer, although bland and macro in every sense is reasonably priced however the hilariously small wine selection is unbelievable. You're talking maybe eight types of red, ranging from £4.50 (for utter dyed alcoholic water) to £8 or 9 for utter guff at that price, I mean we're talking £7 for a bottle of Hardy's standard mediocre Shiraz... not good. One of the guys I've dealt with is sound, spoken to him a few times and 'shot the shit' as the phrase goes. That aside it's a little pricey and limited range wise. However, if you are looking for booze in the area and there's nowhere else,... have at it.

Sainsbury's Off Sales is the best in Belfast. It has a vast range of wines, beers, spirits and any…read moreother beverage you could possibly want. In my opinion it sells the best wine of all the supermarket chains. I rate it even more highly than some of the smaller independent off licences. The reason for this is that Sainsbury's wines are definitely, by far, the best quality, selection and price. It's also a lovely large, well designed off licence with a bright, clean feel and exceptionally helpful staff. Top marks.

Not the cheapest but by far the best range of everything and best selection of gifts and craft…read morebeers of any big chain . Easy to find well organised store and knowledgeable staff.

Great handy store on albertvridge road, shop 4 u are opened to 10pm even on a Sunday , selling…read morefresh fruit and veg, sweeties , newspapers and a wide range of groceries, off licence in store too, on street parking, atm available.

Stopped in to pick up something particular, and only had a minute to chat. This is a tremendous…read morestore. Excellent selection, knowledgeable staff. Wish I had been able to spend more time.

I can and do drink pretty much anything - Father Jack on the Toilet Duck has nothing on my house on…read morea Friday night - so while I do occasionally splash out on a nice bottle of red wine, I am more often to be found with a bottle of rose at a maximum price of £5.99. And considering myself quite cultured among my Buckfast-swilling friends too. As such, the Vineyard isn't an offy I go out of my way to, specialising in proper wines and drinks for those who drink for taste and actually keep the cork of a bottle of wine to put it in the bottle and keep it for later. I do call in fairly often as it's on my way home, and no doubt embarrass myself terribly by going for the £5.99 or £4.99 rose, but I care not. The Vineyard is about the best place on the Ormeau Road to go if you want to buy someone a nice bottle of wine as a pressie, or to bring to someone's house if they're making you dinner. But I call in mainly for convenience rather than choice, although clearly that's my fault for being such a pleb.

This is a strange, strange bar. Now I wouldn't usually drink here at all. There's a bar up the…read morestairs which I used to go to quite a lot and this meant occasionally I would have to call in to McElhattons. It has the appearance of looking like a friendly welcoming bar, I mean, come on! Its Purple! But when entering you realize this is very much a local bar, for local people. There's never to many people there, but everyone who is is staring at you suspiciously. This is even more intimidating because of the strange, half finished furnishings that scatter around the bar. In saying this, I was completely fine to sit down and have a drink. The novelty of me seemed to wear off pretty quickly and the locals got back to staring into their half empty Guinness'

This is certainly not a bar I would normally drink in as it's a bit of my beaten track, but on one…read moreoccasion after a shift at the Irish News (adjacent to the bar) I called over for a quick pint to celebrate the weekend. The bar is quite traditional and would certainly have been a popular haunt for the journos back in the day. The Belfast Telegraph is just beside the bar too so you do get a mixture of writers and reporters in for a post-work tipple. It's an old man pub in that it does attract an older crowd and doesn't pander to new tastes and developments in the beverage world, which I admire. I had a pint of Guinness while I was there and it was exactly how it should be. Not overly chilled, in a branded tulip glass with an appropriately sized head. If you are in the area and want a pint or a short then you probably will enjoy a quiet pint in this establishment. If you're looking for a something a bit more modern and lively then it might be best you head elsewhere.

Wine Flair is in a handy location on Amelia Street just across the road from gorgeous BYOB…read morerestaurant Byblos and not far from BYOB restaurants The Lantern on Wellington Place and The Allotment on Upper Queen Street. Very, very convenient. It's a small off licence so doesn't have a huge range of wines and drink. However you'll find some decent enough wine here at a variety of prices. They could display the prices of all wines more clearly as I noticed some bottles clearly marked and others not. Staff are friendly, chatty and helpful. Great if you're heading to a BYOB restaurant in town and have forgotten your wine!

Not a huge off licence but has a lot for its size. They have a good selection of beers on offer at…read morethe minute and a few wine offers. The staff are always happy to help. It takes card but also has a free cash machine in the shop.

Great selection of wine, beer and spirits from around the world. The Wine Company is an independent…read moreoff licence located on the Ormeau Road. Often has wine tastings on Saturdays from 1pm to 9pm. Helpful and friendly staff too.

A gem of an off licence with the focus firmly on the wine. The staff are knowledgeable, helpful…read moreand entertaining in their very strong opinions and it's great to catch the free tastings they have on Saturdays - invariably it's something lovely and tempting which they ply you with and you end up spending more than you intended! The selection is vast with a huge selection from the various regions of France. I haven't had a bad bottle of wine from the place yet and there have been many!

Definitely a better winemark than other branches as you don't have to press a button and wait until…read moresomeone opens the door. The staff are a lot more willing to make conversation with you and very helpful. Id been looking for a strong tasting ginger beer and they knew straight away that they only has a ginger and whiskey beer in stock that was new.

Great local off licence, on street parking, lots of selection of fine wines and beers also craft…read morebeers, also sell snacks , staff are friendly and helpful.