Free Wine Tastings Every Saturday, 12-5 PM
August 15: Light on Their Feet
It’s still summer in New England, which means plenty of fresh seafood, lighter dinners and evenings when a big, heavy wine just doesn’t sound very appealing. This Saturday’s four wines are made for exactly that kind of drinking.
We’ll start with two fresh, mineral-driven whites that are naturals with seafood and shellfish: an unusual Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc and Chenin Blanc blend from cool, coastal Santa Barbara and an old-vine field blend of native grapes from Portugal’s Dão.
Then we head to the mountains of northern Italy for two reds that are all about freshness rather than weight. Foradori Lezèr and Muri-Gries Santa Maddalena show how grapes such as Teroldego, Schiava and Lagrein can make bright, lively reds that are especially delicious with a slight chill.
Four very different wines, all fresh, food-friendly and light on their feet.
2025 Lieu Dit Blanc de Mer: $27
A fresh, coastal white from Santa Barbara County blending Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc and Chenin Blanc. Fermented with native yeasts and aged in neutral oak and stainless steel, it shows citrus blossom, pear, yellow apple and a clean saline finish. Bright, textural and especially good with seafood, sushi or goat cheese.
August 8: American Wine, Coast to Coast
After exploring the wines of Italy, Spain and France, this week we bring the tasting home, with wines from three of America’s most distinctive wine regions: the Finger Lakes, Santa Barbara County and Sonoma County.
Climate change is reshaping winegrowing on both coasts. Warmer seasons can help red grapes ripen more successfully in the Finger Lakes, even as earlier budbreak, frost and disease create new risks. In California, growers are confronting a different set of challenges, including increasing heat, drought, wildfire and smoke. These four wines show how thoughtful producers are expressing their regions while adapting to changing conditions.
2023 Forge Cellers Dry Riesling Classique: $21
Bone-dry Finger Lakes Riesling from ten vineyard sites along southeastern Seneca Lake. Fermented separately in neutral barrels and then blended, it is bright and precise, with citrus, orchard fruit and stony minerality. Pair with oysters, sushi, ceviche or Thai and Vietnamese dishes with a little heat.
August 1: A Mid-Summer Tour of France
France is very much on our minds this week. As extreme heat and wildfires threaten communities across the southwest, including areas near Bordeaux, our thoughts are with the people, vineyards and landscapes affected.
As August begins, our tasting takes us through four very different corners of France. We start high in the Alps with a crisp, mineral Jacquère from Savoie, travel west to Touraine for a lively, peppery rosé, continue to Burgundy for an elegant Pinot Noir, and finish in Margaux with a beautifully mature 2016 Bordeaux.
It is a wonderful French lineup for midsummer, bright and refreshing at the start, then increasingly layered, savory and complex.
2023 André & Michel Quenard Chignin: $23
Imported by Kermit Lynch, this crisp Alpine white made of 100% Jacquère, offers ripe peach, nectarine and citrus layered over mouthwatering limestone minerality.
July 25: Road Trip Through Northern Spain
For wine lovers, there is something especially meaningful about tasting a wine where it is made. Seeing the vineyards, walking through the cellars and meeting the people behind the bottles deepens your understanding of both the wine and the place it comes from. On our recent trip to Spain, we had the opportunity to do all three.
This Saturday, we are bringing home some of our favorite discoveries from the journey, or at least the ones that export to the US. We will travel from the coastal vineyards of Getaria to the historic cellars of Rioja, with a stop in Galicia for one of my favorite white wines of Spain. Along the way, we will share stories from the wineries, the winemakers we met and the remarkable places we visited.
Join us for five wines that capture the freshness, history and diversity of Northern Spain, including lightly spritzy Txakolina, elegant rosado, mineral Godello and two beautifully aged Riojas.
2025 Ameztoi Getariako Txakolina Blanco: $27
Light, crisp and gently spritzy, this traditional Basque white offers bright citrus, mouthwatering acidity and distinctive salty, briny notes. Made from 100% Hondarrabi Zuri grown above the Bay of Biscay, it is a joyful match for seafood, olives and pintxos.
July 18: The Grapes of Piedmont
This week we’re heading to Piemonte, one of northern Italy’s most celebrated wine regions and home to some of the country’s most distinctive grapes. Set against the foothills of the Alps, Piemonte is best known for Barolo and Barbaresco, but its story reaches well beyond Nebbiolo.
On Saturday, Jo-Ann, our Italian wine scholar, will guide us through a beautiful range of Piemonte wines. We won’t taste every grape the region has to offer, but we’ll explore many of its classics, from crisp Cortese in Gavi to delicate rosato, elegant Pinot Nero, expressive Nebbiolo and the wonderfully aromatic local grape Ruchè.
It’s a tasting that shows the range of Piemonte: fresh whites, graceful reds, historic estates, local traditions and wines deeply tied to place. Come taste why this region remains one of Italy’s great wine treasures.
2024 Grifo del Quartaro Gavi: $20
A classic white from Piemonte, made from 100% Cortese grown in the village of Gavi itself. Fresh and dry, with pear and apple fruit, a subtle almond note and a smooth, clean finish. Stainless steel fermentation and no oak keep the focus on freshness, purity and balance. A beautiful aperitif and a natural match for seafood, sushi, grilled shrimp or fresh cheeses.
July 11: A Taste of the Loire Valley
This week’s tasting is a tribute to the Loire Valley, one of France’s most diverse and quietly thrilling wine regions. It may not be the first place people name when they think of French wine. Bordeaux, Burgundy and Champagne usually get there first. But for anyone who loves variety, freshness and food-friendly wines, the Loire is essential.
Stretching from central France toward the Atlantic, the Loire offers castles, riverside villages and an incredible range of grapes and styles. This week we’ll taste four classic Loire expressions: Sauvignon Blanc from Coteaux du Giennois, Chenin Blanc from Vouvray, a textured Touraine rosé, and a biodynamic Cheverny red made from Pinot Noir and Gamay. Save the airfare and come explore the Loire with us, one glass at a time.
2023 Berthier Coteaux du Giennois: $25
A softer Loire Sauvignon Blanc from just north of Sancerre, grown on flint, limestone and clay soils. Organically farmed and aged on fine lees, this is citrusy and gently mineral, but rounder and less razor-sharp than classic Sancerre.
June 27: Gigi's Garden
Join us this Saturday as we explore the latest releases from Gigi's Garden, the approachably priced , honest, and thoughtfully crafted wine collection from Browne Family Vineyards of Walla Walla, Washington. Inspired by family traditions and made by a family-owned winery, these wines celebrate the simple pleasure of gathering around the table with friends and loved ones. The Gigi's Garden story begins with Grandma Gigi, an avid gardener, whose warmth, generosity, and love of hospitality inspired the project.
June 6: Blind Tasting Challenge
Ever Wondered How Good your Palate is?
This Saturday, we’re hiding the labels and putting your senses to the test with a Blind Tasting Challenge. Come taste with us, trust your instincts, and see what happens when the wine does the talking.
You’ll taste four wines and try to identify:
The grape variety
The country
Bonus points for the specific region
The top tasters will win a prize, along with very well-earned bragging rights.
May 30: Label Art: What's on the Bottle Matters
You can’t always judge a wine by its label, but sometimes the outside of the bottle gives you a pretty good clue about what’s inside. This week’s tasting is all about label art, not just as decoration, but as part of the wine’s story.
These four bottles show how much a label can say. Big Salt gives you the coastal, breezy feel of the wine before the first sip. Love You Bunches turns carbonic maceration into a playful pun. Threadcount uses its quilted design to suggest texture and ease. And Canard’s Resurgence tells a much deeper story of loss, recovery, and giving back after the Glass Fire.
The wines are just as varied as the labels: a fresh, aromatic white, a crisp rosé, a juicy carbonic red, and a full-bodied Cabernet with a powerful backstory. Come taste how the outside of the bottle can help tell the story of what’s inside.
2025 Big Salt White: $20
A dry, aromatic Oregon white with a label as bold and breezy as the wine itself. Fresh and saline, with lemon, grapefruit, ginger, aloe, white flowers, and a lightly textured finish from brief skin contact. Great with oysters, shrimp, sushi, Thai food, goat cheese, or salty snacks.
May 23: Wines for the Long Weekend
Memorial Day weekend has a way of moving everything outside, even if spring has been slow to cooperate. It’s the weekend for gathering with family and friends, opening the pool, firing up the grill, and hoping the weather finally gets the memo. This Saturday’s lineup is built for exactly that kind of weekend, with wines that feel fresh, festive, and easy to share, from a lively Armenian pet-nat and a textured Spanish white to classic Provençal rosé and a grill-ready California Syrah. Whether you’re serving vegetables, seafood, cheese, chicken, burgers, or barbecue, there’s something here for the table.
2024 Tushpa X Lab Pet Nat:$25
A lively, gently sparkling Armenian wine made from the rare native Lalvari grape. Fresh, bright, and lightly fizzy, with citrus, green apple, herbs, and a little texture from its natural pet-nat style. Fun for a holiday toast, salty snacks, cheese, grilled shrimp, or fried chicken.
May 16: Springtime in Italy
Spring has fully arrived in Italy, and this week, it looks like it may finally be starting here too. We’re leaning into the moment with a lineup of fresh, vibrant Italian wines that feel just right for warmer days, longer evenings, and food that gets a little lighter.
This tasting travels from the hills of Veneto to two very different corners of Tuscany, then on to Le Marche, with four wines that show just how varied Italian wine can be. There’s a bright, mineral white from the Valle d’Agno, a pale Tuscan rosé with a Provençal wink, a fresh and floral Rosso di Montepulciano, and a juicy Rosso Piceno from the hills between the Adriatic and the Apennines.
In other words, Italy in spring: lively, colorful, food-friendly, and ready for the table. Come taste with us.
2023 Masari AgnoBianco: $16
A bright, mineral Veneto white made from Riesling and Durella, with citrus, white flowers, herbs, and a creamy-crisp texture from lees aging. Fresh, fragrant, and great with oysters, grilled shrimp, goat cheese, or spring vegetables.
May 9: Wine and Roses for Mother's Day
Mother’s Day has a way of calling for something a little more thoughtful, but that doesn’t mean it has to be overdone. This week’s lineup is built for exactly that: beautiful, food-friendly wines that feel special without making a fuss;
There are pink bubbles for the first toast, a bright Austrian Grüner for appetizers and spring dishes, a fresh Lake Garda red that plays beautifully with lighter fare, and a classic Southern Rhône red for the main course. Whether you’re cooking for Mom, bringing a bottle to the table, or taking her out and opening something good later, there is a bottle here worth sharing. Pick up the flowers. We’ve got the wine!
Dibon Cava Brut Rosé: $16
A pretty pink Cava made from 100% Garnacha, with fresh raspberry, blackcurrant, and fine, lively bubbles. It’s dry, festive, and easy to love, perfect for appetizers, brunch, or the first toast.
