Which wine shop near Boston has the best selection?

The wine shop near Boston with the best selection is the one that carries the styles you want to drink, and The Wild Duck at 86 Massachusetts Ave is one place to check. We carry more than 4,500 products from more than 700 brands, and wine is one of our categories, from red and white to sparkling, rosé and sake. Below we explain how to judge any wine shop's selection and what you can find at ours.

Which wine shop near Boston has the best selection for what you want to buy?

The wine shop near Boston with the best selection depends on the bottle you are looking for. A shop that is strong in Italian reds may be thin in crisp whites, and the reverse is also true. For that reason we suggest you decide what you want first, then check shops against that list.

The Wild Duck is a liquor store at 86 Massachusetts Ave, Boston, MA 02117. We carry more than 4,500 products from more than 700 brands across more than 100 categories. Wine is one of those categories, and it sits next to liquor, beer, ready-to-drink, mixers and snacks.

We give you our own numbers and our own categories so you can decide for yourself.

What wine does The Wild Duck carry, and how is it organized?

Our Wine category is divided into smaller pages so you can look by colour, grape or country. You can start with Red Wine, White Wine, Sparkling Wine or Rosé.

If you already know the grape, there are separate pages for Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noir, Merlot, Malbec, Zinfandel and Syrah. For white wine, look at Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Grigio and Riesling.

If you shop by country, we have pages for French Red, French White, Italian Red, Italian White, Spanish Red and Spanish White.

There are also pages for less common styles: Fortified Wine, Fruit / Dessert Wine, Sangria, Kosher Wine, Sake and Mead.

How do you judge which wine shop near Boston has the best selection?

Start with breadth and depth, and keep them separate. Breadth is how many regions and styles a shop covers: reds, whites, rosé, sparkling and dessert wines. Depth is how many producers and vintages sit within one style, such as several Rioja or several Burgundy bottles instead of a single one.

A shop with many labels but only one or two per region is broad. A shop with fewer labels but a real spread inside a few regions is deep. Neither is better in itself. It depends on whether you want to explore or to find one specific bottle.

Count what is on the shelf rather than what a website claims. A shop that can tell you its numbers, as we can tell you ours, is usually one that knows its stock. At The Wild Duck we can say that we carry more than 700 brands, which gives you a sense of the spread before you visit.

What should you look for on the shelves of a wine shop near Boston?

Look first at how the wines are arranged. Shelves grouped by region or grape let you compare bottles side by side, and that is a sign that someone has thought about how you will shop.

Check the condition of the bottles. Wine should be kept away from direct sunlight and heat, and bottles with corks are best stored on their sides or at least out of bright light. Dusty, faded labels on bottles that have sat in a warm window are worth a second look.

Notice whether there are bottles you do not recognize. A good selection includes some producers you have not heard of, not only the names found on every supermarket shelf. Among the makers on our brand pages are 90+ Cellars, Domaine, Barefoot and Bota Box.

Which bottles can you start with at The Wild Duck?

If you are not sure where to begin, a few named bottles give you a starting point. Vena Cava Cabernet is a red for those who like Cabernet Sauvignon, a grape that usually gives a fuller, firmer red wine.

For white wine, Marmicas Verdejo is made from Verdejo, a white grape from Spain that is often served well chilled. Villargeau Giennois Blanc is a white from the Giennois area of the Loire Valley in France.

You can also look at Mason Parel Vendanges. If you want something outside grape wine, TOZAI TYPHOON SAKE is a sake, a Japanese drink made from rice.

To see what has recently been added, you can look at our New Arrivals page.

How do you read a wine label when choosing a bottle?

The label tells you more than most people expect. The producer and region matter most. Wines named for a place, such as Chianti or Sancerre, follow rules about grapes and methods for that place, while wines named for a grape tell you the variety but less about style.

The vintage is the year the grapes were harvested. It matters more for some regions and styles than for others, and many everyday wines are made to be drunk young.

Alcohol by volume gives a rough guide to body. Higher figures usually mean a fuller, warmer wine, and lower figures a lighter one.

If the label leaves you unsure, ask a person in the shop what the wine tastes like and what you might eat with it. A good answer is specific, not a list of adjectives.

Can you order from the wine shop near Boston for pickup, delivery or shipping?

Yes. Besides walking in, The Wild Duck offers pickup, delivery and shipping. Pickup runs from 9:00 AM to 11:00 PM Monday to Saturday and from 10:00 AM to 11:00 PM on Sunday.

Delivery runs from 9:30 AM to 10:30 PM Monday to Saturday and from 10:30 AM to 10:30 PM on Sunday. We also serve Cambridge and Brookline, and each town has its own page: Liquor Delivery in Boston, MA, Liquor Delivery in Cambridge, MA and Liquor Delivery in Brookline, MA.

The Store page is the place to start an order, and our Wine Delivery in Boston page covers wine delivery in particular. You can read about collecting an order on the In-store pickup in Boston, MA page.

Where is The Wild Duck, and when can you visit the wine shop?

The Wild Duck is at 86 Massachusetts Ave, Boston, MA 02117. The shop is open Monday to Saturday from 10:00 AM to 11:00 PM and on Sunday from 11:00 AM to 11:00 PM.

Our Google rating is above 4.5 out of 5 from more than 60 reviews. That is a rating from customers, and we quote it as that and nothing more.

You can read more about the shop on the About Us page. If you are buying for someone else, Gift Cards are available, and our gift guide lists wine, spirits and beer gift ideas.