Drink Up: Urban Grape Wine Shop

By: Lindsay Tucker

If you’re in the market for wine but can’t possibly stomach another trip to Blanchard’s or the ever-teeming Trader Joe’s, Chestnut Hill’s Urban Grape has your back. The owners, husband-and-wife team T.J. and Hadley Douglas, have created a unique wine-buying experience by combining customer service with a focus on getting the community enthused about wine.

The boutique shop, which opened in June, allows customers to sample up to 16 wines before deciding what to buy. To help you assess your particular likes and dislikes, wine-educated (but not snobby) staffers are available to walk you through the tastings. From there, it’s easy to pick the perfect bottle to fit your taste buds and your budget, thanks to the shop’s system of organizing wines by weight (whether it feels light, medium, or full in the mouth) rather than by variety or region.

Even better, the Douglases have put together a series of wine-centric special events, all of which are free and open to the public. We’re stoked for the Yoga and Wine Tasting on Sunday, March 13, a 90-minute celebration of wellness and good wine in conjunction with Healthworks Fitness. Healthworks instructor Jill Braverman will lead a 45-minute Vinyasa yoga class before breaking out the bottles, chosen because their names (like Fulcrum Pinot Noir and Illumination Sauvignon Blanc) signify balance, illumination, and inner peace. And what better way to shake off the Sunday blues than with some soothing reds and whites?

Seating is limited; to sign up, call Healthworks in Chestnut Hill at 617-383-6100. For more details and a schedule of upcoming events, visit the Urban Grape’s events page.