Empire Wine & Spirits
By Jen Nonenmacher, Photography by Mindi Sokoloski & Dan Cutrona Photography
Empire Wine and Spirits, located at 164 Summer Street in Kingston, is a boutique-like store offering an amazing selection of wine, beer, and liquor at the best prices around. But Empire doesn’t stop there—they also offer a fantastic assortment of gifts, a wide variety of cigars (they have a very large, multiple-door humidor!), offer special promotions and host unique tasting events that are open to the public. Conveniently located in the Stop & Shop Plaza in Kingston, this well-organized establishment makes finding what you want—or what you want to offer your guests—extremely easy!
The selection of wines, beers, ciders, and liquors in every price range is vast—in fact, I challenge you to look for something you can’t find. And if for some reason they don’t have it, just ask! Their helpful employees will do their best to get it for you! From classic favorites to local microbrews I was incredibly impressed with the selection of beer and equally impressed with the variety of wines. Speaking of wines, I would be remiss not to mention the “4*2*Go” deal that is offered all the time and changes at the beginning of every month. This special promotion is one of the store’s claims to fame. Here is how it works: Every month the experienced staff at Empire selects four red wines and four white wines and they are available in three varieties of 4-bottle packages so that you can choose to purchase 4 bottles of red, 4 bottles of white, OR a combo featuring 2 bottles of red and 2 of white. The cost of the “4*2*Go” deal is always $39.99, however the value of the wines if purchased separately is at least $55.00 to $65.00—you just can’t beat savings like that anywhere! As the owner, Vicki McMenamy, points out, “This is not just a great way to get a good value, it’s awesome for our customers who want to try new things since we change it up each month. Great for yourself or give one as a gift.”
Empire holds weekly wine tastings each Friday from 4-7pm and each Saturday from 3-6pm. The eight wines featured in the “4*2*Go” deal are the focus of the tasting held on the first Friday of every month from 4-7pm. I can’t think of a better way to socialize and try out some new beverages than coming down to Empire for a complimentary tasting. In addition to these weekly tastings, Empire Wine and Spirits hosts three 
major annual events in the store: The Grand Beer Festival in May features over 25 different pour stations and 100 different beers to sample, while the Spring and Fall Grand Wine Tastings in March and October always have at least 150 wines to try. Empire offers free admission, food, raffle prizes and more at their major events and welcomes you to join them. All this, plus a variety of smaller events held all year round. Call the store or visit their website to sign up for their emails. They’ll keep you up to date with all that’s happening!
In addition to the beverage and cigar selection, Empire Wine and Spirits sells a variety of gifts, glassware, and trinkets such as gorgeous silver and glass wine stoppers, coasters, themed-gift bundles, wine glasses and champagne flutes, wine bottle gift bags, tags and cards, and women’s bedazzled fitted T-shirts featuring things like martini glasses and cute sayings like, “My doctor says I need glasses!” And yes, they sell the actual martini glasses too!
It’s really great (and sadly unusual) to see a business who does not consider customer service to be a lost art—at Empire your business is valued and they aren’t afraid to thank you with fantastic events, unbeatable prices, tons of selections and excellent service! Whatever your pleasure—a local brew, a bottle of wine, a particular type of liquor, a rare cigar, a hostess gift for a summer gathering—Empire Wine and Spirits promises to deliver.
164 Summer St # B, Kingston, MA (Next to Stop & Shop)
Mon-Thur: 9am-9pm, Fri-Sat: 9am-10pm, Sun: 12pm–6pm
781-422-9999
