The Boston Wine Expo Returns in 2026

The Boston Wine Expo is returning in 2026, back at the Park Plaza Hotel, on Saturday, March 7 and Sunday, March 8. The 2-day event will feature over 100 participating wineries from all over the U.S. and select international ones as well. The new Expo is organized by Raffaele Scalzi, the Boston Wine Expo Show Director and Founder of Scalzi Hospitality Corporation.  

There will be two Grand Tastings on both Saturday and Sunday from 1:30 – 3:30 p.m. and 4:30 – 6:30 p.m. At each Grand Tasting, you will be able to taste many different wines, to expand your palate and experience wines that are new to you. Please note that tickets to one Grand Tasting do not allow you access to any of the other Grand Tasting events. Tickets are now available HERE. The Saturday 1:30-3:30 session costs $89, while the other three sessions cost $93.08. I'll note this is a slight decrease from last year's price of $95 per session.

They are planning to have 12 different Tasting Classes, but none of them have been listed yet. Last year,  each class lasted 90 minutes, and tickets cost $75 per person. I'm sure that the schedule of Tasting Classes will likely be added in the near future. So, just keep an eye on their website to learn what new Tasting Classes get added.  

A list of the participating wineries and distributors has also not yet been released. When that information becomes available, I will post an article with my own recommendations for the wine and spirit booths that Expo attendees should visit. 

I've attended the prior Boston Wine Expos, and overall, I've been very pleased to see its return. It's a smaller, and more intimate event than what the Expo used to be when it was at the Seaport Hotel & World Trade Center. I have tasted numerous excellent wines at these events during the last two years. I would like to see more diversity in the wines they showcase, but we shall see what this years bring. In the near future, I'll also post my advice and suggestions for making the most of your Boston Wine Expo experience.  

For additional information, sponsorship + exhibitor opportunities, and to purchase tickets, please visit Boston Wine Expo. 

Rant: DON'T DRINK & DRIVE.....OR ELSE!

As the holidays approach, nearly all of you are planning to attend festive holiday parties with family and friends. I want to give you an important piece of advice.

Now, it couldn't be any simpler so please listen carefully. This is one of the most important pieces of advice you'll receive this holiday season. Please, please, please give this your full attention!

If you've had too much alcohol to drink, if there's any, absolutely any, doubt in your mind, don't drive. Just don't do it! Any questions? 

Once again, I step forward with probably my most important Rant of the Year. It's an absolutely vital issue for everyone who enjoys alcohol of any type, from wine to beer, from Scotch to hard cider. With the imminent advent of the holiday season we reach a potentially dangerous period for those people who over indulge, who drink too much at parties, feasts and gatherings. There is nothing wrong with that, and you can drink as much as you desire, as long as you give up your keys to someone who is sober, and you do not drive.

As I've said multiple times before, and which I'll repeat year after year, "If there is any question, no matter how small, whether you are too intoxicated to drive, then don't. If your family or friends think you have had too much to drink, don't drive. Just don't. It is not worth the risk by any calculation." Err on the side of caution so that if you have any doubt of your capacity to drive, then please don't drive. Take a taxi or Uber, catch a ride with someone else, walk or sleep it off. Just don't drive!

Rationally, we all know the dangers of drinking and driving. We endanger our own lives as well as the lives of others. Every year, we hear multiple news reports about terrible auto accidents, some with fatalities, that occur because a driver was intoxicated. Families are torn apart, lives are ruined, and much more. Why don't we learn from all these incidents? Even if you don't get in an accident, you might get arrested for drunk driving, with all the attendant high costs, and not just economic. You might even end up in jail.

About 8,000 people were arrested for drunk driving in Massachusetts in 2024, and about 75% of those arrested were men. That's a huge figure, showing that far too many people still don't understand that they should not drink and drive. Did you know that if you only had two drinks in a hour, you might still have a blood alcohol level over the legal limit? How difficult is it to understand? DON'T DRINK & DRIVE! I'm sure drunk driving incidents in other states are just as significant.

As a more sobering statistic, 12,429 people (including over 280 children) in the U.S. were killed in drunk driving accidents in 2023. In 2021 and 2022, each year had seen over 13,000 fatalities, so the numbers have decreased a small amount, but that's obviously still far too many deaths. It needs to change and change now. 

Each time you drink and drive, you endanger yourself, your passengers, pedestrians, cyclists, and people in other vehicles. Let someone else drive you, whether it be a friend or family. Take an Uber or public transportation. Leave your car where it is parked as you can always pick it up the next day. You have plenty of options so there is absolutely no reason to drink and drive. Be responsible.

I don't want to lose any family or friends this year due to a drunk driving accident. I don't think anyone wants to lose their loved ones either. Your family and friends would rather you didn't drink and drive as they don't you to die in a terrible drunk driving accident. So please just don't!

I should also add that this applies to driving while under the influence of any drug, from marijuana to cocaine. Drugs also negatively alter your driving abilities, and legally you can be charged with operating under the influence of those drugs, and not just alcohol. 

DON'T DRINK & DRIVE.....OR ELSE!

Rant: Restaurant Expectations Failed

Over the weekend, friends invited us to dinner, to celebrate our 30th Anniversary. We dined at a local high-end steak house, a restaurant that none of us had previously dined at. I've read some positive reviews of the restaurant, but was aware of a few complaints as well. I've been to many other high-end steakhouses, so I had big expectations for this restaurant, especially considering its high menu prices. However, would it compete on the same level as these other steakhouses? 

Overall, I wasn't impressed with the restaurant, and it didn't live up to my expectations. Personally, I don't plan on returning there again. There are plenty of much better options if I want to visit a high-end steakhouse. 

First, their customer service started off very well, when our friends were able to change our original reservation, moving it up a week, fitting us in on a Saturday night. That seemed like a good sign, and even raised my expectations ever higher. When we arrived, the restaurant was quite busy but we were able to sit immediately. I liked the look of the restaurant as well.

Second, as the restaurant was packed, it was noisy, making conversation difficult even just across the table. If it's tough to speak to my dining companions, there's a problem. Unfortunately, this seems to be a common issue at too many restaurants. Why should that be so? It doesn't seem that it would benefit a restaurant to be so noisy.

Third, there were a number of issues with the food. In general, they were small issues, but they weren't the type of issues I expect from a high-end restaurant. Their dishes should be close to impeccable, to justify the quality and high prices of the restaurant. For example, one of the salads included an inedible lettuce stem, the part of the lettuce you normally discard. Why would anyone include it on a dish? It didn't add anything of value to the salad.

In addition, my Arancini didn't possess the crispy exterior they should possess. It tasted fine in other respects, but I expected that a high-end restaurant would have ensured the crispiness of the arancini. My lobster tail was a bit overcooked, and thus a little tough. Overall, the dishes were generally tasty, but they didn't reach the quality I expect from a high-end restaurant. 

Fourth, there were service issues, with the main problem being that our table ordered a second bottle of wine but our server never brought it. There were a few other smaller issues as well, and the server didn't appear to be new. However, I also noted that at two nearby tables there were dishes/glasses that were dropped or fell to the floor, and our server was nearby at both incidents. 

In addition, although the restaurant was well aware we were celebrating our 30th wedding anniversary, the restaurant did nothing to commemorate that occasion. They certainly were not obligated to do so, but high-end restaurants commonly do so. It gives people an additional reason to consider such restaurants for special occasions.   

This restaurant isn't new, and has garnered some very positive reviews in the media, but my experience didn't live up to my expectations. With all of the other high-end steakhouses in the area, I have no incentive to return to this restaurant. Could it have been simply a bad day? Maybe, but I'm not going to spend all that money to find out. They had a single opportunity to impress me and failed to do so. 

What are your expectations for a high-end restaurant?  

By the way, I'm not going to identify the name of the restaurant. It's not necessary for the basic point of this rant, and before naming it, I would need to speak to the restaurant, to discuss their response to my complaints.

Thursday Sips & Nibbles

I'm back again with a new edition of Sips & Nibbles, my regular column where I highlight some interesting, upcoming food and drink events. I hope everyone dines out safely, tips well and are nice to their servers.
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1) On November 1, Margaritas Mexican Restaurant, located at 211 Moody Street, Waltham, is getting the party started early with the debut of their weekend Brunch service. Available weekends from 11:30am-2:00pm, Margaritas will be dishing out classic Mexican breakfast specialties, creations with a signature twist, and brunch-favorite cocktails.

Indulge in plates like Breakfast Tacos with farm eggs, a meat choice (carnitas, bacon, chorizo), crispy potatoes, peppers, scallions, a blend of cheese and cilantro served with sour cream and salsa fresca; Mexican Churro-Style French Toast with cinnamon sugar-dusted French toast doused in dulce de leche sauce, topped with vanilla cream and pineapple salsa; Carnitas Benedict, crispy pork carnitas and poached eggs atop an English muffin with a smoky chipotle hollandaise, served with crispy street corn potatoes; and the vegan Classic Southwest Tofu Scramble with marinated tofu, charred peppers, onions, black beans, tomatoes, jalapeños and cilantro served with grilled flour tortillas.

Get your sip on with a collection of Mexican-inspired cocktail specialties including the Bloody Maria, Michelada, Tequila Sunrise, a Proseccorita Flight, and more. 

Rant: Holiday Wines? Don't Be A Cheapskate

The holiday season is here, and many people will stop by their local wine shop to purchase wines for parties, dinners, or gifts, for Thanksgiving, Christmas, or other holidays. Let me provide you an important piece of advice, which applies to all the wine you'll purchase this holiday season.

Don't be a cheapskate! 

In preparation for the holidays, people stock up on wine to serve their guests at the various parties, feasts, dinners and celebrations. Often, because they are buying bottles in bulk, purchasing multiple bottles, their primary concern is price, not quality. So, they too often buy the large, commercial "value" wines, the brand names which are known to everyone. 

Please don't do it! 

It takes almost no thought to buy such wines. Though such wines might be drinkable, they aren't going to impress anyone. You've chosen to take the cheapest route possible, in both price and time. These wines are generally industrial products, created to taste the same year to year, and you never know what additives might be in these wines. They are like the McDonald's of the wine world. Do you really want to serve such wines to your loved ones, your family and friends?

There's a better way. 

If you're hosting a holiday party, don't you want to impress your guests? Or do you want to be known as the person who bought the cheapest wine available? Don't you want your guests to leave the party talking about the great time they had, telling others about the delicious wines they enjoyed? Or would you rather have them later complain that the wine was unappealing? It only takes a little extra work and price to elevate your wine selections.

I certainly understand the need to control your wine costs when you are providing for a number of guests. You don't have to buy $50 wines to impress your guests and you don't even have to spend $20 per bottle. I've purchased numerous $10-$15 wines, only a few dollars more than you might otherwise spend on those "value" wines, and brought them to parties where the other guests loved them, wanting to know where they could buy them.

There are good and interesting wines at this price point, if you know where to seek them out. If you want your holiday celebration to be even more popular, then you should serve those type of wines. The extra effort will elevate your party and please your family, friends, and other guests.

How do you find these inexpensive but interesting wines? At whatever wine shop you visit, it might be best to ask the wine store staff for recommendations of their best value wines. They should be able to direct you toward those inexpensive wines which will be more interesting and delicious than those cheap commercial wines. For example, at Victoria Hill Wine, Spirits & Gourmet in Melrose, where I work, I can recommend a number of much better value wines, from Vinho Verde to Montepulciano.

Most wine stores also offer a discount for bulk purchases, commonly 5-20%, and sometimes for as little as 3 bottles, which makes your wine cost even less expensive. And these are usually discounts that the wine store doesn't provide for the large-scale, commercial "value" wines. So, with those discounts, your prices for these better value wines can be even closer to that of the large-scale, commercial "value" wines.  

If for some reason you can't ask a store employee for some recommendations, then my best advice for selecting a good wine that is $15 or under, is to buy a Portuguese wine. I think some of the greatest value wines are coming out of Portugal, especially at this price point. Chances are that if you purchase a Portuguese wine costing $15 or less, you'll find a delicious wine, much better than similarly priced wines from most other regions. And there are plenty of Portuguese wines available in that price range. There is probably no other wine region where you can find as many good wines at that price point.

You also should know that paying a few dollars more for your wine can make a big difference. When you start considering wines priced from $15-$20, your options increase drastically. You can find some interesting wines from all over the world in that price range, though they still offer value. And if you are buying in bulk where the wine store offers a discount for larger purchases, you can save enough money so that the wines end up priced closer to $15 or less per bottle.

So this holiday season, don't buy the same old cheap wines. 

It won't take much effort to select some better choices, and still very inexpensively. In the end, you'll impress your guests, make your holiday party more memorable, and drink better wines.

(This is a revised version of a post originally from 2009.  It's an important enough issue to raise it again.)