Wine Tastings at Top Shelf, Beacon Hill

It's your favorite neighborhood grocer, you Beacon Hiller. You've stopped in for fresh produce and specialty dinner ingredients, but what you really love about Top Shelf on Charles Street is the wide range of wine, beer and liquor in the back. Betcha didn't know they throw a sweet wine tasting party every Friday night from 6 to 9!

Well, fine, it's not exactly a party party, but the knowledgeable and very generous (wink wink) staff (plus different wine experts weekly) offers everyone from the very wine savvy to the very wine stupid an interactive tasting of at least five to six different wines. They even let you pair with the finest meats and cheeses in all the land.

What better way to multi-task: warm up for your walk to that Friday night soiree, and arrive with a bottle of wine that you can actually spit some knowledge on. Brilliant.