If you find yourself in Northampton Massachusetts and want to experience a wine and cheese filled weekend here is my 24 hour guide!
24 Hours in Northampton,
M.A.
FRIDAY
12:30 p.m.
1. Juice Fix at
Haymarket Café
Start
off your wine and cheese adventure with an energizing and healthy non-alcoholic
beverage at the Haymarket Café, diagonally across from Northampton town hall.
Inside this charming two-story café there is a juice bar upstairs and a full
service restaurant downstairs, serving breakfast, lunch and dinner. For a light
snack at the juice bar try a freshly baked snicker doodle or Haymarket’s most
popular selling juice, “Lucky’s Immune Boost ($4.50), made with ginger, beat,
carrot, apple, Echinacea and vitamin C. The atmosphere of this café is cozy and
friendly with displays of antique paintings and mirrors covering the walls. Sit
down and relax among students, professors, artists, and townies on comfy carpet
covered benches with a favorite book. Downstairs you will find a wide variety
of reasonably priced vegetarian options such as a tofu-vegan scramble with
Portobella mushrooms, roasted red peppers, soy sausage and shallots ($6.95) or
for cheese lovers like yourselves, a grilled cheese with gruyere, avocado,
tomato, Dijon mustard and basil mayonnaise ($6.75) Haymarket cafe is a great
place to unwind and is open until 11 p.m. on weekends.
1:30 p.m.
2. Stroll Through Smith
College Botanical Gardens
Up
the hill from Main Street are the Smith College Botanical Gardens covering
approximately 12,000 square feet of the campus. The botanical gardens, built
over 100 years ago by L. Clarke Seelye, are the home to an extensive variety of
gardens, greenhouses, exhibitions and plant collections. Wander around this
beautiful campus while receiving an education about the importance of the plant
kingdom. Open daily with no entrance fee; the botanical gardens are a beautiful
getaway within the city and the 6,600 different kinds of plants, many of which
are native to New England, are sure to soothe even the most frazzled urban
souls. Let yourself get lost around the Smith College campus and don’t forget
to smell the flowers along the way.
3 p.m.
3. The Perfect Plate of
Cheese
Are
you finally in the mood for cheese? Walk down to 24 Main Street to The Foundry
for lunch and be sure to ask them for the cheese plate menu. This quaint lunch
spot has a relaxing atmosphere with dark wood walls and is covered with modern
paintings. If you like to people watch, settle into a comfy barstool or a
regular table if you prefer. There is a variety of interesting coffee drinks as
well as a full wine and beer menu. Order off of the A La Carte menu and create
your own cheese plate! Choose from 4 cheese choices including Brie ($2.50),
Cave-Aged Blue ($3.50), Chèvre ($1.50) or Aged Vermont Cheddar ($3). You also have the
option of adding slices of Soppressata ($4) or extras slices of French
baguette, strawberry preserves, sliced pears, mixed olives and a few others for
$2. The Chèvre and Brie on a slice of a French
baguette pair very nicely together and the sliced Soppressata gives just the
right amount of saltiness to the plate. The friendly staff and acoustic music
in the background only add to awesome vibe of this great lunch spot.
4:30 p.m.
4. Winery off the Beaten
Path
Hop
in your car and take a 15-minute picturesque drive to Mineral Hills Winery
located where Northampton meets Florence. Having just returned from studying
abroad in what many argue as the wine capital of the world, Florence, Italy, it
is safe to say that this suburb is the wine capital of Northampton. As you start to feel like you are driving into
the middle of the woods you will come across a sign that says “Godard’s Red Hen
Farm, Mineral Hills Winery” and you have reached your destination. As the sole winery
in Northampton, it is definitely worth checking out. Walk inside the green tin
roofed barn-like building and meet Susan Godard; wine maker, beekeeper, farmer,
mother and schoolteacher. Susan will proudly tell you herself, “We make
everything by hand!” This family run farm and winery opened in October of 2010
and Susan along with her husband Larry do it all. While Larry is out back
picking grapes in the vineyard by hand, Susan is either beekeeping to make
honey or working in the store. For $6 you can do a wine tasting with a choice
of 5 of their homemade wines. Their wine list ranges from their signature
Blueberry wine to Golden Harvest Apple wine with many other interesting wines
in between. If you are curious about their farm Susan will give you a tour of
their wine making room and take you outback to their 6o acres of land and
vineyards where Larry is hard at work. They even hold parties on their property
for wine lovers throughout the fall season. While a little off the beaten path,
visiting Mineral Hills Winery will give you the chance to sample tasty wines in
a tranquil environment and in the company of kind and hard working farmers like
Larry and Susan.
6 p.m.
5. Center for Fine Wine,
Craft Beer and Gourmet Cheese
As
the sky starts to darken head back downtown to do some well-earned shopping at
Provisions. Towards the bottom of the hill on Crafts Ave. is one of the areas
premiere locations for fine wines, craft beer and specialty cheeses. Several times
a week they have wine tastings, including wines such as Cabernet Sauvignon,
Italian wines like Chianti Rufina, wines from Southern France such as Malbec,
Vegan Wine and even maple wine. Provisions also hosts’ beer events and offers
wine seminars a couple times a month. Stop by the cheese counter and sample
from the wide variety of local as well as European cheese. Try a sharp and
tangy hard goat cheese that goes by the name “Danby” or creamy blue cheese made
with goat’s milk known as “Shaker Blue”. Right next to the specialty cheese
counter is a meet counter with all different types of Prosciutto, salami and
much more. There is a homey feel to the
store as the owners attentively walk around asking customers if they need wine
or beer recommendations or just want to ask questions in general. Provisions
has almost every kind of wine your heart could desire from all over the world totaling
1,100 wines. They also sell many unique craft beers such as Mikkeller, gluten
free beer and pumpkin beer. It is easy to spend hours browsing through this
vast selection of beverages, wine accessories and wine books, making it a
definite a must see for wine and cheese lovers. 
7 p.m.
6. Continuing Your Wine Education
Nestled
right in the heart of Thornes Marketplace is the independent bookstore Booklink
Booksellers. This store originated in Brooklyn and moved to its final
Northampton destination in 1997. This two-story bookstore has a variety of
fiction, non-fiction and travel books but also sells gifts and greeting cards
and has a café in the midst of it all. Open till 9 p.m. on Fridays, Booklink is
the perfect place to browse and find an interesting book on wine or brewing.
Surrounding this bookstore are the legendary Herrell’s Ice Cream shop, Heavenly
Chocolate, and Paul & Elizabeth’s Natural Food Restaurant. After you find your ideal wine book with the
help of welcoming staff, settle into a cozy chair with a hot or cold coffee
drink on the second floor at the Post Card Café.
8 p.m.
8. French Dining in Noho
A
wine and cheese filled day in Northampton would not be complete without a fine
French Dining experience. Nestled close to the Smith College Campus on West
Street is Bistro Les Gras. On a Friday evening this small bistro has a romantic
and soothing ambiance. Although it is usually filled it never feels overcrowded
and older couples, graduate students and intellectuals fill the tables and bar
area. The candles on each table give an intimate vibe and the bartender smiles
as people walk in the door and are seated. The extensive wine selection is
overwhelming with bottles ranging from across the county to all over the world.
For white wine lovers you might choose the Gruet, a full bodied sparkling wine
with an aroma of pears and spices ($7 a glass or $2 to taste) or a 2004 Kumeu
River Chardonnay from Australia. After dinner try a light and bubbly Italian
Prosecco di Conegliano to cleanse your palate. Those who prefer red wine might
enjoy a Bourgogne Pinot Noir with a smooth flavor of ripe fresh black fruits.
If you don’t prefer red or white try the Southern France Rosé made in Provence. Chef Daniel Martinez uses local
and seasonal fresh farm ingredients to create elegant dishes and his menu is
constantly changing. For an appetizer try the Artisan cheese plate ($15) with
different cheese options every day. For a pasta course try the Gnocchi a la
Parisienne, French dumplings, delicate squash puree and petit king oyster
mushrooms ($9). This dish goes very nicely with a glass of Chardonnay. With the
attentive staff and Chef Martinez’s creative and flavorful menu, Bistro Les
Gras is the perfect French Dining destination to end your wine and cheese
adventures in Northampton.
10 p.m.
9. Spa Time
After
a satisfying meal at Bistro Les Gras and a few glasses of fine European wine,
you might feel up to one more adventure. Before heading back home or to your
hotel or bed & breakfast walk less than a minute up West Street to the East
Heaven Hot Tubs and Paradise Spa. It is open until 12 a.m. Monday-Friday and 1
a.m. Saturday and Sunday. If you are feeling tired come back well rested in the
morning when they open at 11 a.m. This little Asian-themed oasis has a variety
of wooden spas and romantic hot tubs on the roof as well. To rent private hot
tubs for an hour is $32.50 per person and while this is on the expensive side,
it is definitely worth it. Between the relaxing music, the crackling cozy
fireplace and wooden tubs, East Heaven is the perfect place to end the day.
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