What a lovely boutique store with an interesting variety of labels and vineyards. Really…read moreappreciated the knowledgeable staff and inspiration to try something entirely new.

Friends of ours had been to VinoDivino several times, but we finally got there last night…read more The store is really cool - love the shelves - i want them for our home. Each column of shelves is a particular varietal. Each shelf has a card that shows the information, the scores, the price, as well as information about the wine, what it pairs with and how long the bottle will be good for ("drink now" "enjoy for next 3 years" etc) We agree with Megan - we were not looked down upon for our ignorance with Pinot Noirs, and bought several that were recommended to us. Raphael is easy to talk to and he is passionate about wine, so he is more than happy to share his knowledge to help expand your understanding of wines. When we paid, we got a card for each bottle that allows us to write our own tasting notes, in addition to all of the information that the cards on the shelves lists (pairings, tasting notes, timeline etc) Also, we opted to give our email address, which will allow us to track our purchases and our "wine portfolio" and we are working towards a store credit (based on our purchases). Also - the website is robust - it allows you to search for wines using a variety of choices - by food you want to consume with it, by price, by region, by varietal. All in all, go in and speak with them - you will be hooked !

Had a wonderful time with our company Christmas party, we usually rent restaurant space but Joe put…read moretogether a wonderful package, 3 great locations. Wine was incredible. Food pairing was unmatched, the shrimp ceviche at Rosa Mexicano was incredible. Joe was very attentive to our guest needs, catering to allergies. The water front locations is very scenic. Definitely recommend!

DO NOT WASTE YOUR MONEY! We did the Ink Block tour last week and it is overpriced and I had a very…read moredisappointing experience with the owner over costs. He is the dodgiest businessman I've ever encountered, to the point where I feel obligated to write my first Yelp review. I do not like sharing negative information but this treatment pushed me to share my experience so that it won't happen to anyone else. To reserve a tour, you first have to pay a deposit at the time of booking (fair enough) but then you have to pay in full for each person ($70/pp) the week before the tour. The owner, Joe, also encouraged me to pay for gratuity for each person ahead of the tour but at least I didn't do that piece on my credit card. So before even setting foot on this tour, I paid $840 for a party of 12. As luck would have it, our tour date was the weekend of Winter Storm Riley, that super windy Nor'easter/ Bombogenesis! We had friends joining from out of town who couldn't make it due to canceled flights and power outages. I got in touch with Joe the morning of our tour and told him 3 people couldn't join us (which later turned into 4 ppl), could he please help us out so we didn't have to pay in full for everyone who wasn't able to attend due to extreme weather and got the response of "Hey no problem! I will look when I get home... I'm already down here setting up.. so just come have a good time! :-)" Foolishly, I thought this meant he would help us out. I was wrong. Although Joe was at the restaurants before, during and after our tour, and had them rearrange the place settings to be set-up for our smaller group, he claimed there was nothing he could do about the extra $280 I had paid. I talked about this with him at the end of the tour (he awkwardly showed up at our last stop and took over for our much more personable tour guide) and he kept telling me that he would look into when he got home on his computer but there was nothing he could do now. While we were standing in the restaurant. Read: I don't want you to stiff us on the tip. (I did still tip our tour guide.) So the next day I followed up with him and asked for an update on the extra $280 I paid and was told he was working with the restaurants to see if he could get a refund for what he paid. When I reminded him he had told me this would be "no problem", he ended the email by saying "So I'm working with the locations to see if I can retrieve money back so I need some time. I promise I will do my best to help you out." I wrote to him and asked for another update yesterday, 7 days after our tour, before I wrote any reviews. No response. After not hearing back from Joe, who had told me he was "working with the locations", I decided to call one of the locations. Guess what? Joe had never contacted them. The owner was very sorry to hear this and said of course he would have helped out. He even kindly offered us free food the next time we go in since, as he said, we were getting "a sh!tty deal". The restaurants were great. Once caught in this lie, Joe told me there was nothing he could do about a refund but he offered me another wine tour. Riiiiight. A few ways Joe could have made this less painful of an experience was (1) not to lie repeatedly about helping me out with a refund. Why string me along? (2) given us something for the $280 I paid. If nothing else, give us the wine that I had pre-paid for, or the small bites at the restaurants. Just as a good business gesture of "Hey I'm sorry so many friends couldn't make it due to the insane weather and you have to eat the costs...here's an extra _ANYTHING_ for your trouble!" He had enough time to tell the restaurants our group size was smaller, just not enough to return some of the extra money he pocketed, so we paid the extra money for absolutely nothing. For $840 we got: 3 stops at restaurants basically next door to each other (Area Four, Lion's Tail, Fuji) At Area Four: 1 bottle of red, 1 bottle of white (retails for $19.99) poured amongst 9 people (incl tour guide) plus two small cheese flatbreads At Lion's Tail: 1 bottle of red and 1 bottle of white poured amongst 9 and two meat/cheese boards (several vegetarians on our tour but you don't get asked about the food that's been pre-arranged) At Fuji: 1 bottle of wine and 1 of champagne poured amongst 10 people (owner, Joe, jumped in here) plus edamame and spicy tuna rolls for the table (again, many didn't eat these) In summary, we paid $840 for 6 bottles of wine plus nibbles from the host kitchens that many wouldn't eat, and got lied to by the owner for a week until he gave up the lie and told me he has a no refund policy. It was painful. Please don't make the same mistake!

We went here for the Christmas festival of trees event. My family had a blast and it was the…read moreperfect Christmas activity! We especially loved the model Christmas villages room and the room of unique Christmas trees. The mini Christmas villages were so intricate and detailed and it was a massive collection. The artistic Christmas trees were creative and unique - I especially loved the national parks Christmas tree! Next to the last activity which is the Christmas trees collection, there is a fire pit in which you are given sticks and a s'mores kit. A perfect way to end the day! Highly recommend coming here for the Christmas event and will be sure to come back and see the gardens when it's back in season (no snow). My only critique is that for the last day it closed at 4pm which didn't give us time to see the lights at night decorations.

The Garden at Elm Bank is awesome -- especially this time of year!…read more Between the lights, to the model train city, to the Food Trucks, to the S'more "kits" and fire pits, this place is AWESOME this time of year.

Everything about this store is fantastic - the easy browsing layout, the careful selection of wines…read moreand craft beers, and the friendly staff who are always quick to ask if you need help finding something or to answer questions. Beyond the loyalty program that gives you perks like $10 off your first $30 purchase, or the latest, $10 off ANY purchase, this Vinodivino hosts a ton of free events. For the past three Saturdays they've held themed tastings of bold reds, sparkling wines, and cab sauv complete with cheese and crackers and fruit. I consider myself extremely lucky to live close to such a great community gathering place and resource. Whenever I need to keep the house stocked with great wine or find something fun to bring to a party, this will always be my go-to.

I've only been to Vino Divino once, but plan on going back…read more I was the only shopper when I walked in and the person working the counter immediately greeted me and came over to help me. He was super knowledgeable and answered all my questions. I liked the decor - open, basic, clean. And they had information on each bottle right under its little cubby, along with 2 different ratings (1 from the store and 1 from Wine Advocate. Price-wise, it's a bit more than some other places, but it's a local store (they have another location in Newton) and I'm always glad to support local places. When I paid, he informed me that they have a frequent buyers club (it's free) and he gave me a card with information about the bottle I bought. He also emailed me the card, which is great. (For the record, I got a Cantine Riondo NV Prosecco which was very tasty.) I wish the prices were a bit lower, but they weren't even THAT steep.

We used Lorraine for a family vacation to Arizona. We started in Phoenix, while there went to the…read moreApache Trail and Scottsdale. We then went to Sedona, the Grand Canyon and Flagstaff. It was a one of the best trips we ever took. The hotels were excellent. All of her suggestions for sight seeing were excellent. I highly recommend Cruise Planners and would use them again for future trips.

We worked with Lorraine to plan a custom 11 day trip to Italy with stops in Rome and the Amalfi…read moreCoast. Lorraine's knowledge of the area was extensive and she got us INCREDIBLE deals on flights and hotels. She was even able to accommodate special requests such as needing exit rows (my husband is very tall and needs the legroom for a long flight). As someone who had never used a travel agent before and always thought it may be cost prohibitive, I was wrong! Lorraine was able to keep us under budget so that we had extra money to do little excursion tours to the Roman Forum, the Vatican, and Pompeii (all bucket list places for me!). She also was able to advise when tours weren't really necessary - our trip to Capri was a good example - we were able to easily tour the island ourselves and take a ferry. Above all, she made it so easy - presenting options clearly and booking everything quickly. The itinerary she gave us to follow was top-notch and had all necessary contact info on it. I really can't say enough good things about Lorraine - she made my dream trip a reality!

In interest of full disclosure I don't play golf, and I didn't play golf here…read more In fact I didn't even see this place in full daylight. I was there at night for dinner for an interview. I had no idea that this place was some fancy place until people started talking about it. First off those that claim it's the oldest country club in America are flat out wrong. There are country clubs that outdate it by nearly a century. 1882 isn't even that old considering it's Boston. My buddy lives in a building older than that right now. Anyway this review isn't about how old or first or not first this was as a country club and golf course. It's more of a plea that just because you are a member here, it's not a good idea to host an interview dinner here. The reason is because it's a bad venue to hold an event like that. The facilities are old and decrepit feeling. It smells old too, and not in a good way. The waiters look like they are part time kids from high school (actually they better be, or they are definitely breaking some child labor laws). The food had small portions and it was not good (probably because it was prepared by the fore-mentioned children). I think it primary reason why people host events here is because they are trying to impress others by showing off that their are part of this exclusive club. However those attempts will likely backfire if you have to explain what a big deal this place is to people that don't care in the first place. You are far better off booking a nice restaurant instead.

Visiting The Country Club to compete in the GNCC Men's Club Curling National Playdowns was…read moreintimidating both on the competition front and the fact that it was held at a country club. Not exactly the environment that I'm used to but in the end they were hospitable and the tournament went relatively smoothly. Despite the relative stuffiness of the club, all of the hosts left us to our games and did not interfere. The bar system was a bit convoluted since we had to purchase tickets and then buy drinks with those instead of just buying straight up. I understand that is a regulation since we weren't members but it was still a bit annoying. The other main aspect that was under the club's control was the curling facility. On a positive side, the ice and the facility were very clean and well maintained. The warm room was well appointed and comfortable both on ice level and in the viewing room above. The Country Club had fantastic cameras and screens on both sides of every sheet giving a clear view of the other side of the ice to the people on the ice and watching the games in the warm room. The ice team did a pretty good job overall but on a couple occasions the pebbling fell apart more than usual toward the end of our games. They were 10 end games with a 9 minute practice session but you expect a little better quality. Thursday night the ice fell off after the 5th end and was completely different than in the earlier part of the game which was confusing to both teams. Overall it was a great experience and I would be happy to play at The Country Club again.

I attended my first class with the Paint Bar yesterday and couldn't be more delighted. I'm…read moreimpressed how they were able to quickly bring the program online in light of the unexpected challenges of the virus. They even offered to deliver the supplies until shipping was available so people could participate. The teacher broke the steps down to simplify a complex painting, and carefully demonstrated each of the techniques. They even broke the class out into breakout rooms so friends could work together from home. Overall, it was a terrific experience.

The Paint Bar is a lot of fun, and no matter how little talent you have (I can't draw a circle…read morewithout Powerpoint), you can indeed create a masterpiece (ok, maybe it will only sell for $2 at your garage sale in 10 years, but your very small children will be impressed). I suggest arriving 30 minutes early, so that you don't get stuck in the line waiting for paints and can focus on importing things like buying a glass of wine. It also helps to be seated near the small stage in front so that you can easily see the example completed painting on the wall. They rotate through a selection of different ones, which are specified on the website when you buy your tickets, so don't pick a class that will paint a lame one like the happy dolphin! Also, you need to see the instructor, who will demonstrate painting an additional example on the stage. The instructor was quite funny, and fairly clear in explaining the individual steps one by one, although she went pretty quickly. The full 2 hours are necessary to complete the painting, and if you fall behind, you will miss some of the tricks or paint combinations. If you bring a date, be sure to praise how much better his or her piece is than yours, over and over again. Artists are sensitive, and who knows, you might get lucky later. If you have talent, maybe your painting will end up in Somerville's Museum of Bad Art, and not in a garage sale!

Great and interesting selection of wines, very well-priced. No complaints there, but the customer…read moreservice is -very- hit or miss. For example, I was in a couple months ago and had a great time talking to the gentleman (older, clean-shaven) working. He pointed me in the direction of a couple neat bottles I wouldn't normally have thought about, and his recommendations clearly came from knowledge and understanding what I was interested in. I went back tonight (Friday November 7), though, and despite two employees (a heavier man with a goatee and a woman with bangs and glasses, both middle-aged) working, I was in the store for ten minutes looking around without either of them saying a word to me, despite both of them coming within five feet of me. Not a "how are you?" "can I help you find anything?" "I'll be right with you". Literally nothing. There was only one other customer in the store in that time -- I put my bottles back and walked out. If the owners/managers read this, definitely worth talking to these two -- I've spent plenty here in the past, and customer service this poor was a big turn-off tonight.

Fantastic selection great prices. Employees are really helpful. Will definitely be coming back…read more Also they have magnums!