Here, hypothetically, could be your itinerary on any given Wednesday, should you wish to pursue the pleasures of wine from one part of town to another.
All that's required: good friends, an open heart, and enough fare for the T ride home.
Start at 5 p.m. at Federal Wine & Spirits on State Street. The place is cavernous, the steps downstairs to the tasting are treacherous, and the wines they pour are always (always) worth the effort.
Between 5:30 and 7:30 p.m., make your way to Rialto in Cambridge. Wine Director Brad Nugent will hand you two tastings, one white and one red, gratis. (This week he's pouring a 2007 Furmint from Austria and a 2007 Cabernet Franc from the Loire.)
Hungry yet? Head back over to the Bristol Lounge at the Four Seasons and pull up a chair for their Burgers & Burgundy offering. Anytime between 5 and 10:30 p.m., order their super-special Bristol burger (with truffle fries, housemade pickles and Vermont cheddar cheese) with two half-glasses of Burgundy, all for $30.
Or try the three-courses-for-$18 Pasta Tour at Tavolo in Dorchester. They spotlight a different part of Italy each week -- this time around it's Roma -- and as for what to drink, just put your trust in the folks at the bar.
Then, for a light finish to the evening, try Sel de la Terre's Long Wharf location for oysters shucked fresh at $1 each from 10 p.m. to 12:30 a.m. Round those out with a crisp sparkling wine or a clean Sauvignon Blanc, and you've got yourself quite a nightcap.
DAILY TIDBIT:
The TImes of London reported yesterday that French viticulturalists are trying to generate new profits from the by-products of wine production that used to be discarded. Producers are developing medicines and supplements based on leftover materials such as grape seed extracts. One such product from the Loire is called Dionysox, a drink made from skins and other grape residue that is the non-alcoholic equivalent of two glasses of wine.
