Beer, Wine & Spirits in Cambridge

During the two-hour foray, samplers will tipple high-end wines with bite-sized pairings to match. Learn techniques for sampling wine, pairing tips, and which wine fits best in which glass (example: wine from a square box will not fit in a circular glass). There will be five or so wines to try, which you can read about in vivid detail here to prep your buds for the journey ahead. After your palatal field trip is complete, you can pick up a bottle of your favorite sampled wine for $10 off retail. Bottles range from $16 to $30.

Soft breezes skip off the shores of Amos Lake, rustling through trees and across the grassy acreage that surrounds Dalice Elizabeth Winery, where second-, third-, and fourth-generation Italian Americans share the secrets of their polished craft. Having dispersed its all-natural specialty foods and wines internationally, the winery's founding family continually impresses the palates of casual indulgers and contest judges alike, churning out grape-to-bottle chardonnays, merlots, and sauvignons that cannot be found on the shelves of local stores. In addition to tastings, the winery hosts winemaking and cooking classes, during which glasses clink between aspiring chefs and vintners as they learn to entertain houseguests or polite burglars with style and ease.

Carol Russell comes from a long line of winemakers—her father, Herbert, and grandfather, Max, crafted sparkling wine at their vineyard in New York. After dreaming of rebooting the family tradition for quite some time, she moved to farmland in Westport, Massachusetts, in 1982 and her family planted their first vines four years later. Today, the winery family cultivates 80 acres of grapes including chardonnay, pinot gris, pinot noir, and riesling.

Made through a combination of old-timey and contemporary techniques, the sparkling wines, table wines, and aperitifs have earned more than 20 gold medals and twice-filled glasses at the White House. Wine flows year-round at the Westport Rivers’ store, which hosts tastings, an art gallery, and autumnal hayride vineyard tours where guests meet the giants who squash the grapes with a single stomp once a year.

Home to more than 100 varieties of tea, Herbal Infusions Tea Co. immerses visitors in all things tea. Knowledgeable staffers stock the shelves with their own popular blends, including eucalyptus-grapefruit tea and organic cacao tea alongside a fleet of white, green, oolong, and black teas. They also sell tea-making accessories such as teapots and filters. In addition to offering advice on steeping the perfect cup to any customer who asks, they hold tea-themed workshops that range from pairing cheeses to developing pinkie-finger fitness regimens.

The Coastal Wine Trail Market gathers together the appellation's nine coastal producers, whose vines speckle hillsides along the southern coasts of Massachusetts and Rhode Island. Each winery—Truro Vineyards, Travessia Winery, Coastal Vineyards, Running Brook Winery, Westport Rivers Vineyard & Winery, Sakonnet Vineyards, Greenvale Vineyards, Newport Vineyards, and Langworthy Farm Winery—sends representatives bearing bottles and fully housebroken grapes to the Westport Fairgrounds building. Under exposed beams, they greet guests alongside local chocolate, cheese, bread, and other culinary artisans, including Hearth Artisan Bread, Shy Brother's Farm, City Girl Cupcake, and Hana's Honey. Visitors may learn about and perhaps purchase each producer's favored libations—mostly whites and sparkling wines but a few reds—which are characterized by their growing proximity to the coastline and the dual-climatic influences of Gulf Stream waters and the screams of passing waterskiers.

Owner Svetlana Yanushkevich has spent the majority of her life surrounded by wine. She grew up on the southern peninsula of Ukraine, in a territory renowned for its 2,000-year-old winemaking tradition. After moving to the US in 2002, she built upon that foundation by managing wine programs at prestigious restaurants and earning a diploma from the renowned Wine and Spirit Education Trust in London.

In 2010, Svetlana added "wine-shop owner" to an already impressive résumé when she opened the doors to WineNot Boutique, winner of The Hippo magazines Best Wine Shop in 2011, 2012, and 2013. Today, WineNot Boutique's visitors gather to enjoy tastes from around the globe and, perhaps most importantly, benefit from Svetlana's wealth of knowledge. This year, Svetlana has partnered with local merchants to host a 7-night guided tour of one of the world's most renowned winemaking regions, as well. Collectible wines, artisan cheeses, and gourmet foods parade across the shop's shelves, and wine education events, such as weekly complimentary tastings, let novices ingest loads of wine-related facts without having to eat the pages of their Wine for Dummies book.