Best Liquor Stores in Houston: Wine Shops and Texas Spirits

The best liquor store in Houston depends on what you're after. Spec's single warehouse on Smith Street stocks more than 40,000 labels under one roof and has been a Midtown fixture since 1962. Houston Wine Merchant, an independent shop in Upper Kirby, has been curating its own list since 1984. For something rarer, 13 Celsius in Midtown lets you buy any bottle off its curated list of low-production global wines — in a 1920s building with a 40-foot marble bar. This guide covers nine confirmed-open stores, from the Houston institution to neighborhood gems, plus the Texas spirits worth looking for.

The quick list

• Volume and selection: Spec's Smith St flagship — the largest single liquor store most Houstonians will ever walk into.
• Best independent wine shop: Houston Wine Merchant (Upper Kirby), open since 1984, two-time Houston Press Best Wine Store winner.
• Most unusual building: 13 Celsius — a 1920s Mediterranean-style building with a 40-foot white marble bar; every bottle on their list is available to take home.
• Best in the Heights: Reata Cellars, a bottle shop focused on small-production and grower-estate wines.
• Fine wine and service: Richard's Liquors, a River Oaks institution with knowledgeable staff and a strong fine-wine section.
• Best for agave spirits: Goody Goody, with 150+ tequila, mezcal, and sotol brands on the west side.
• Best Texas spirits selection by volume: Total Wine & More, five Houston locations with a dedicated Texas section.
• Best for allocated bourbon: Twin Liquors, Texas-owned chain with suburban Houston locations and a serious rare-release program.
• Best for unusual global wines: Phoenicia Specialty Foods — Armenian, Georgian, Lebanese, and Slovenian bottles you won't find anywhere else in the city.

How we chose

Every store on this list was verified as currently open on its own official website or a confirmed-current third-party listing as of October 2026. We focused on stores with a clear identity: a specialty, a curation angle, or a reason to drive across town. Texas state law requires spirits retailers to operate Monday through Saturday, 10 AM to 9 PM, and to close on Sundays, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's Day. Most stores on this list keep those hours unless noted otherwise.

The institution: Spec's

Spec's Wine, Spirits and Finer Foods — 2410 Smith St, Midtown

Houston's best-known liquor store is also one of the most unusual retail spaces in Texas. The Midtown flagship at 2410 Smith Street covers more than 80,000 square feet, with 40,000+ wine, spirits, and beer labels on the retail floor — plus an in-store deli with imported cheese and charcuterie, a walk-in humidor with 900+ cigars, and a rotating schedule of brand tastings.

Spec's was founded in Houston in 1962 by Carroll "Spec" Jackson and is still family-owned and Texas-headquartered, with more than 180 locations across the state. The Smith Street store is the original flagship and the one worth seeking out. Come for a Garrison Brothers bourbon, ask the floor staff what single malt they are excited about, and leave with something from the cheese counter.

Additional Houston locations at 1900 S Shepherd Dr (Upper Kirby/Montrose), 5130 Richmond Ave (Galleria area), and 14635 Memorial Dr (Energy Corridor area) keep the same hours.

Hours: Typically Mon–Sat 10 AM–9 PM; closed Sunday, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's Day. Check the official site before you go.

Independent wine shops

Houston Wine Merchant — 2646 S Shepherd Dr, Upper Kirby

The city's premier independent wine shop has been on South Shepherd Drive since 1984 — more than 40 years of curating a list without a corporate formula. Houston Press named it Best Wine Store in 2022 and 2025. The focus is French, Italian, and emerging-region bottles, and the staff can narrow down your options fast if you give them a grape and a budget. Online ordering and delivery are available. Find more spots nearby in our Upper Kirby area guide.

Hours: Typically Mon–Sat 10 AM–9 PM; closed Sunday.

13 Celsius — 3000 Caroline St, Midtown

This is the best case for why Midtown is worth a detour for wine. 13 Celsius operates in a circa-1920s Mediterranean-style building — one of the few surviving specimens of that era on Caroline Street — with a 40-foot white marble bar and a temperature-controlled cellar. Every bottle on their curated list of low-production, independent-winemaker wines is available to purchase and take home at retail price.

The hours reflect bar timing rather than retail timing: typically Monday–Wednesday from 4 PM, Thursday–Saturday from 4 PM to 2 AM, Sunday from 1 PM. Browse the bottle list on their site before you visit. This is the place for a bottle of something you have never heard of that someone actually cares about.

Reata Cellars — 633 W 19th St, The Heights

Reata Cellars fills the bottle-shop-plus-wine-bar niche in the Heights at 633 West 19th Street. The focus is on small-production, grower-estate, and independent winemaker bottles — nothing from mass-market labels. Wine tastings, live music nights, and chef-prepared dinners give it a community feel beyond pure retail. A monthly bottle club runs under the name the Inner Circle.

Hours: Typically Wed–Sat from 4 PM, Sunday 1–6 PM; closed Mon–Tue. See what else is on 19th Street in the Heights shopping guide.

Richard's Liquors — 2545 Kirby Dr, River Oaks

Richard's has served the River Oaks neighborhood from Kirby Drive for decades, with a second location at 1665 S Voss Rd in the Galleria area. The Kirby store specializes in fine wine, with staff who know their Bordeaux from their Burgundy and can find a bottle for a special occasion without pushing you toward something you don't need. Locally owned and operating in Houston since the 1960s.

Hours: Typically Mon–Sat 10 AM–9 PM; closed Sunday.

The big-selection stores

Goody Goody — 2680 Highway 6 S, West Houston

The Dallas-founded chain (est. 1964) has been consolidating its Houston footprint, but the Highway 6 S location in the West Oaks area is open and fully stocked. The standout category is agave: 150+ tequila, mezcal, and sotol brands across a price range from everyday sippers to allocated bottles. If you're building a mezcal shelf or looking for something beyond supermarket shelves — see our mezcal guide for why Houston is Texas's agave-spirit capital — this is the west-side address to know. Total wine count tops 8,200 labels.

Hours: Typically Mon–Sat 10 AM–9 PM; closed Sunday.

Total Wine and More — Five Houston locations

Total Wine runs five stores across the city: near the Katy Freeway (2857 Katy Fwy, Ste 100), the Galleria (5016 San Felipe St), the Medical Center (2617 W Holcombe Blvd), Willowbrook (7640 Cypress Creek Pkwy), and Northwest Houston (7055 Hwy 6 N). Every location carries a dedicated Texas spirits section that typically stocks Tito's, Treaty Oak, Balcones, and TX Whiskey alongside national brands. In-store tasting events run regularly; check the Total Wine site for the current schedule.

Hours: Typically Mon–Sat 10 AM–9 PM; closed Sunday.

Twin Liquors — Suburban Houston locations

Texas-owned and in business for more than 85 years, Twin Liquors is the specialist for allocated bourbon hunters and Texas spirits collectors in the suburbs. The Houston-area footprint is suburban: Kingwood (4505 Kingwood Dr), plus locations in Katy, Pearland, Humble, Cypress, The Woodlands, and Webster. What sets it apart is the allocated bourbon program — knowledgeable staff who track releases and a deep SKU count — plus a strong Texas section. If you are in the suburbs and looking for a rare bottle, this is the first call.

Hours: Typically Mon–Sat 10 AM–9 PM; closed Sunday.

The unusual find: Phoenicia Specialty Foods

Phoenicia Specialty Foods is not a liquor store in the conventional sense, but its wine and beer section is the most adventurous in the city. The Westheimer store (12141 Westheimer Rd, Westchase, 55,000 sq ft) and Downtown market (1001 Austin St) stock bottles from Armenia, Georgia (the country), Lebanon, and Slovenia that you simply will not find at Spec's or Total Wine. Château Ksara from Lebanon, orange wines from the Republic of Georgia, underdog Italian regions — the selection reads like a wine atlas. Hours differ from the Monday–Saturday package-store rule: both locations open daily (Westheimer typically Mon–Sat 8 AM–9 PM, Sun 8 AM–7 PM; check the Downtown location hours on the official site). Beer and wine are sold under a separate retail license, so Sunday purchases are legal here.

Texas spirits to look for

Every store on this list stocks some version of a Texas spirits section. Here is what to ask for:

• Garrison Brothers Bourbon (Hye, TX) — the distillery that helped launch Texas bourbon on the national stage. Flagship and small-batch releases appear at Spec's, Total Wine, and Twin Liquors.
• Balcones Distilling (Waco) — Baby Blue corn whiskey and True Blue cask-strength are the core bottles. The single malt is worth seeking out for scotch drinkers.
• Treaty Oak Distilling (Austin) — Ghost Hill Texas Bourbon and Waterloo Gin. Both appear reliably at Spec's and Total Wine.
• Tito's Handmade Vodka (Austin) — the vodka that introduced Texas spirits to the mainstream, still distilled in Austin, available everywhere.
• TX Blended Whiskey (Fort Worth) — a gateway bottle for Texas whiskey newcomers; smooth enough to serve neat, widely distributed.
• Still Austin Whiskey — their straight bourbon and rye are the newer entries in the Texas craft conversation, worth comparing against Garrison Brothers.

For the broadest selection of Texas bottles in one place, Spec's Smith Street, Total Wine, and Twin Liquors carry the deepest range. For harder-to-find small-batch releases, ask the staff at Twin Liquors specifically — they track allocated drops.

Save this: the Houston bottle-store checklist

• For a special-occasion wine under $40: Houston Wine Merchant or Richard's Liquors (Kirby Dr).
• For an unusual bottle you've never tried: 13 Celsius (browse their list online first) or Phoenicia Specialty Foods (Westheimer).
• For Texas spirits to bring home: Spec's Smith St for volume or Twin Liquors for rare/allocated bottles.
• For agave spirits — tequila, mezcal, sotol: Goody Goody (Hwy 6 S).
• For a bottle and a drink in the same stop: Reata Cellars (Heights, Wed–Sun) or 13 Celsius (Midtown, from 4 PM).
• For the widest selection at competitive prices: Total Wine and More — find the closest location on their site.

More drinking in Houston

Pair your bottle with our best wine bars in Houston guide, the best cocktail bars list, or the Houston nightlife guide for a full night out. For the full wine-country experience, wineries near Houston covers eight tasting rooms worth the drive.

Last verified: October 2026.

Frequently asked questions

What is the best liquor store in Houston?

For volume and selection, Spec's flagship at 2410 Smith Street in Midtown is Houston's most comprehensive liquor store, with more than 40,000 labels in an 80,000-square-foot space. For curated independent wine, Houston Wine Merchant on South Shepherd Drive has been the specialist since 1984.

Are liquor stores open on Sunday in Houston?

No. Texas state law requires distilled spirits package stores to close on Sundays, as well as Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's Day. Beer and wine can be purchased on Sundays at specialty markets like Phoenicia Specialty Foods.

What hours do Houston liquor stores close?

Liquor stores in Texas are open Monday through Saturday, typically 10 AM to 9 PM. Texas law requires all package stores to close on Sundays and several state-mandated holidays.

Where can I find Texas whiskey in Houston?

Spec's Smith Street, Total Wine and More, and Twin Liquors all carry dedicated Texas spirits sections stocking Garrison Brothers, Balcones, Treaty Oak, and TX Whiskey. Twin Liquors is the best source for allocated and small-batch releases.

Where can I find unusual or natural wines in Houston?

13 Celsius at 3000 Caroline St in Midtown curates an extensive list of low-production, independent-winemaker wines and sells every bottle on its list to take home. Reata Cellars in the Heights focuses on small-production, grower-estate wines. Phoenicia Specialty Foods on Westheimer carries wines from Armenia, Georgia (the country), Lebanon, and Slovenia.

Does Spec's have a deli?

Yes. The Spec's flagship at 2410 Smith Street in Midtown includes a deli with imported cheeses, charcuterie, and other specialty foods, plus a walk-in humidor. The deli and humidor are features of the flagship store specifically.