Q:  I’m new to wine. What’s the best way to learn more about it?
Tom: Welcome to the club! The best way to learn is by drinking it (responsibly), and Charlotte has plenty of affordable options. Weekly wine tastings are held all over the city, and they’re a fun, low-pressure way to explore different styles. Assorted Table Wine + Shop inside Uptown’s The Market at 7th Street still has one of the best deals around every Tuesday at 5 p.m. — taste five quality wines for $5 and get a $5 gift card to use at any time, so basically free. Other places offer still inexpensive tastings with the added additions of quality small bites. Places of note include Foxcroft Wine & Food, Dilworth Tasting Room, The Everyday Market / LoSo, Walter’s Wine School (Mimosa Grill and Harper’s Café), Reid’s Fine Foods, and Coquette. Once you think you’re ready, start going to the full wine pairing dinners around town. Just about every fine dining restaurant in town offers at least one every month or two and provide a deeper dive into how wines work with food. Many of the above offer dinners in addition to the smaller tastings, but I’d also add The Fig Tree, Counter-, Chapter 6, Fin & Fino, Dressler’s, Rosemont, and all the city’s Napa restaurants. You can check our Calendar for wine events of note, and don’t forget our daily wine specials list where you can save on enjoying the grape every day.

Q: Are there any coffee shops offering fall-themed drinks that are not pumpkin spice?
Tom: I hear ya. I’m pretty much pumpkin spiced out too. Fortunately, there are some good alternative autumnal coffees to be found. Undercurrent Coffee has a nifty Black Forest latte, a combination of mocha with cherry syrup at both its Plaza Midwood and Optimist Hall locations. In addition, their PM shop is selling “Autumn Sweater,” a brown butter, maple, and pecan combo while the Optimist Hall is offering “Cabin Dreams:,” a butterscotch maple syrup cappuccino. Chief’s in NoDa has an orange and cardamom espresso on its fall morning menu. Tipsy Pickle at Camp North End is offering s’mores and cookie butter lattes. Similarly, Giddy Goat Coffee Roasters has a s’mores cold brew as well as a sweet apple chai.

Have a question for us? Email us at editor@unpretentiouspalate.com and we’ll answer it on our next Concierge Thursday!