After my delicious dinner at Cal's Wood-Fired Grill in West Springfield, I needed to get up and walk around a bit before hopping back on the Mass Pike and driving west towards my hotel. Directly across the street from the restaurant was a gigantic warehouse with a huge lighted sign advertising "Beer, Wine, and Liquor" and I knew I needed to go see what was there.
I am quite sure that a choir of angels started singing as soon I walked through the front doors at Table & Vine, and I truly had to stop and gasp as I took in the sights. This was the largest collection of beer, wine, liquor, cheeses, and gourmet foods that I had ever seen under one roof. Pardon me while I kneel down and say a few words of thanks before grabbing a shopping cart. "Look at all my precioussssssssss"
Sorry......where were we? Oh yes, this was a truly amazing collection of spirits as far as the eye could see. Hard-wood floors, subdued lighting, excellent signage -- all to showcase nearly 4,000 varieties of wine, over 2,700 spirits, 1,700 domestic, imported, micro and craft-brewed beers, 150 artisan cheeses and 1,500 specialty foods. I felt like I was walking through an adult version of IKEA with people shuffling up and down the aisles, behind their carts as they paused to marvel at Table & Vine's collection, and then looked carefully at the prices which were certainly reasonable.
According to the signage, Table & Vine has about ten thousand items in stock, so I knew that I was in for an exciting evening. They have one of the world's largest temperature-controlled wine cellars, and a vast collection of spirits, including their enormous variety of Cognacs, Armagnacs and single-malt whiskies. Oh yes, this was Bourbon Heaven for me!
I was very impressed by their huge assortment of microbrewery and imported lagers and ales from the world's best known brewers, as well as some of the smallest, local brewers located around the country, as well as in the Pioneer Valley of Massachusetts.
As if the beer, wine, and spirits wasn't enough, Table & Vine carries a wonderful assortment of gourmet and specialty foods, including imported, domestic and local cheeses, olives, fine pâtés and terrines, charcuterie, oils and vinegars, exotic spices and condiments, jams and jellies, coffees, teas and hot chocolates, sparkling waters, handcrafted breads and crackers, award-winning hors d'oeuvres, imported chocolates, beautiful, mouth-watering cakes, pies and tarts......*gasps*
I picked up some artisanal cheeses and whole-grain crackers, as well as a bottle of High West's American Prairie Reserve Bourbon to share with my Dad when I see him this weekend. Table & Vine is truly an amazing store that I'll visit again the next time that I'm in the area. read more