Most off-licenses will loan glasses for a party free, if you buy the drinks there.

Independent Supppliers

Classic Wine (aka 'The Deli')
254 Cowley Road. Tel 01865 792157
Open: 1-3pm and then 4-11pm daily
The Deli, as it is known despite not having sold any food except crispy snacks for some years, has a remarkable range of beers, many reduced heavily in price due to being way out of date. Also nice Belgian ones, and organic wines. No glass hire.

The Grog Shop
13 Kingston Road. Tel 01865 557088
Open: 7am-11pm daily
Once splendid independent off-license now less splendid, and with more of a 'supermarket' range. Free glass loan and delivery service within town boundaries, we think.

Stevens Garnier Ltd.
47 West Way, Botley. Tel 01865 263303
Open: Mon, Tues, Wed, Sat 10am-6pm Thu, Fri 10am-7pm
Posh wine warehouse and retail shop for those who know their stuff. Parking available.

Wine Palace
47 Westlands Drive, Headington(/Barton). Tel 01865 763716
Open: 10am-10pm daily
We have no idea about this one I'm afraid - do let us know!

And further afield...

Andrew Chapman Fine Wines Limited
14 Haywards Road, Drayton, Abingdon OX14 4LB. Tel. 01235 821539
Website 24 hours; shop open Saturday mornings 10.30am-1pm for free tastings & purchases; call for appointments at other times.
Family run specialist mail order business with nearly 1,000 wines (ranging from limited releases of fine and rare bottles to over 30 wines under £5). Glass hire; wine gifts including personalised wines; beers; even olive oil. Minimum purchase 12 x 75cl. Delivery free within Oxfordshire.

The Oxford Wine Company
Standlake, nr. Witney. Tel 01865 301144
Open: Mon-Sat 9am-7pm, Sun 11am-4pm
Serious wine warehouse with helpful and extremely well-qualified staff. Bulk purchase, fine wines, tastings, free glass hire, internet ordering.

Chains

The Whisky Shop
7 Turl St - Tel 01865 202279
Open: Mon - Sat 9am - 5.30pm
Just what it says on the tin - many many different varieties of whisky, including four huge barrels of unusual brands (£7 - £10 for a taster bottle of about 3-4 glasses-worth). We think they are a chain but it's a nice idea and they have a friendly Scottish bloke behind the counter, which always lends atmosphere.

Oddbins
108 High St, OX1 4BW - Tel 01865 725254
7 Little Clarendon St, OX1 2HP - Tel 01865 558838
Unit 10, 263 Banbury Rd, OX2 7HN - Tel 01865 552407
Open: Generally 10.30am ish - 9pm ish, though prone to seasonal & regional variation
Oddbins are known for wine expertise (the Little Clarendon Street having its own dedicated fine wine department, and occasional free public tastings) and the wide variety and high quality of their wares. (Plus their High St branch reportedly sells more Pimms than any other single outlet in the world.)

Majestic Wine Warehouse
381 Cowley Road. Tel 01865 716959
Open: Mon-Fri 10am-8pm, Sat 9am-7pm, Sun 10am-5pm
Wine megastore of almost Calais-like proportions. Easy parking. Free glass loan (deposit required) and helpful, knowledgeable staff.

Victoria Wine*
6 Cherwell Drive, Marston. Tel 01865 744043
146 Oxford Road, Cowley. Tel 01865 749465
Open: Mon-Thu 11am-10pm, Fri & Sat 10am-10pm, Sun noon-10pm. Seasonal variation likely
More standard multibooze. Free glass hire if you buy your wine there.

Bottoms Up*
239 Banbury Road, Summertown. Tel 01865 556537
1 St Clements Street, St Clements. Tel 01865 722341
Open: daily 9am-10pm (-10.30pm Fri & Sat), Sun 11am-10pm
Standard alcoshop with a relatively upper-end range (compared to those below). Glass hire available. Generally aimed at the enormous local student population.

Wine Rack*
15-19 George Street. Tel 01865 794813
Open: 10-10pm Mon-Thu (& Sun, we think), and until 10.30pm on Fri & Sat
Mid-sized, standard town centre locale. Free glass hire if you buy your booze there. Don't expect the staff to help much on busy nights as they'll be busy deflecting fighting drunkards and thieves.

Threshers*
15 Old High Street, Headington. Tel 01865 762701
Open: Mon-Sat 10.30am-10pm, Sat 10am-10pm, Sun 11am-10pm. Some seasonal variation
Smallish, standard alcoshop. Free glass hire and helpful staff.

The Local*
153 Walton Street, Jericho (the 'fine wine' specialist branch, apparently). Tel 01865 553174
289 Iffley Road. Tel 01865 250571
3 Courtland Road, Rose Hill. Tel 01865 711000
238 London Road, Headington. Tel 01865 761090.
Open: Mon-Sat 10ish-10ish, Sun noon-10pm. Some seasonal & regional variation
Eyecatchingly bright, cheap and cheerful-looking alco-minimarts that look like their marketing strategy was devised by Stelios. Don't usually have glasses for loan - try Threshers instead.

*These shops are all subsidiaries of the giant Thresher Group, and are ironically arranged in descending order according to the demographic they are pitched at. (We're not joking.)

For shops a bit further out of town, see: CityVisitor: Wine Merchants in Oxford