Gordon’s Fine Wine & Culinary Center

I organized a women’s Meetup group to go to a Whiskey and Women bourbon tasting seminar at the culinary center. It was $ 45 and well-​worth it. The speaker was great, the bourbon was tasty, and I learned a lot. The giveaway of a bottle of Knob Creek and the muddler basically made the class free. Nick from the shop was very friendly, knowledgeable, and made everyone feel welcome. He even sent a thank you note to everyone. I would definitely go back for another class.

A large group of coworkers and I signed up for one of their wine classes. It is hard to coordinate a group of nine people, so we were very excited when this happened. We were furious, however, when 36 hours before the event was to take place, the class was suddenly canceled. Not only was there no explanation, but when asked what Gordon’s could do for us, they stopped responding to emails after the first one… Which said simply will still honor your class at a later date. No other emails were responded to at all. The lack of business-​like conduct was appalling.
While I voiced my opinion to Ken Gordon at the time, I was beside myself when our rescheduled class, which was to occur today, was canceled with just 26 hours notice again! My advice to you is to avoid all of their classes as they are not reliable, and I don’t even know if they’re worth the effort.
Also — to support my validity, I have only given reviews to places worthy of four or five stars before. This is my first rating under 4 stars…

I attended the Spring Wine and Cheese Tasting last night. It was FABULOUS! I had a Groupon for $ 25 which equated to a tasting/​lession for two ($ 90 value). The instructor was great and very knowledgable about cheese and wine. They were delicious. He is the owner of Formaggio Kitchen based in Cambridge. It was a fun experience and I learned a ton. I will definitely be going back to try the other tastings.

Awesome! Great lineup of events and tasting to really broaden your horizons. My wife and I have been to about 15 events here and all are really well done.
Sign up for something you’re interested in. Do it now, you won’t be sorry!

We purchased a Unilocal deal for $ 20 for $ 50 worth of classes at Gordon’s. We went on Thurs nite for the SomSmack event which is a $ 65 class. The event started at 6:30pm which we weren’t a big fan of since we had to sit in traffic for an hour to get there (they didn’t really start til 6:45 which was a relief). The event was two hours long during which the chefs from Tryst cooked up four delicious dishes. There were two competing sommeliers who were able to taste each course, then had 4 minutes to find the best pairing. We each got to try two wines with each course and vote for the winner. It was a lot of fun and I’d highly recommend it — classes sell out every month so I’d book early. You can see who the chef will be in advance, but don’t see the menu until a week or so beforehand. I’ll be looking into other events in the future!

This review is based on a bridal shower hosted for my best friend in May 2010.
The staff at Gordon’s were excellent — particularly Lindsay who was my point of contact in planning the event. I knew a wine tasting bridal shower would be perfect for my friend and Gordon’s was the right venue for it with ample parking, a large enough facility (we had 40 guests) and a fantastic sampling of wines. They let us bring in a cake and we brought flatbread pizzas from Figs with no issues although we could have also arranged food from their recommended in-​house caterer.
I was a bit nervous at first that things wouldn’t be set-​up properly since I arrived a good 30 – 40 minutes early and the room wasn’t prepared yet. The staff amped up quickly though to get the room ready (we had a mix of high cocktail tables & chairs as well as lower table settings for elderly guests and for gifts) and everything was set by the time guests arrived.

Great food
and
great service
This is a review of a Holiday party for the New England Scientific Manufactures Association that was held at the Culinary Center at Gordon’s. I’m not much for fancy type parties but I have to admit this was an impressive display of culinary talents.
Chiefs Paul Turano and Anne Moynihan kept my unsophisticated palette entertained by such delicious, delicate and delightful creations like Mionetto Prosecco, wild mushroom and goat cheese tart, braised escarole and pumpkin bread pudding. At the end warm apple crostata and butter pecan ice cream filled up any remaining space in my cavernous gizzard. Some truly incredible food.
In between courses different wines were passed and and discussed. Since I know virtually nothing about wine it was a fascinating and mesmerizing experience. I never applied such adjectives as zingy, fruity, silky, toasty, or round to booze before.
The food was prepared on a table right in front of the audience and servers and chefs were personable, funny, entertaining and just as nice as can be. I learned that there is more to food and booze than just seeing how fast you can shove in down your throat. It hard to imagine a place to hold an event better than Gordon’s Culinary Center. Oh yeah, they also sell a lot of cool booze in the store on the other side.

my wife took me to a scotch class there a few years back and we have been hooked ever since. before we became parents, we would go to almost an event a week, sometimes two or three. this place is THAT GOOD! they have classes ranging from wine tasting to cooking classes to even sommelier competitions. something for everyone!
our favorite really has to be the sommelier smackdown. two sommeliers from local restaurants compete to see who can better pair wine with food. you get to enjoy a four-​course meal cooked in front of you, and after each course, the two sommeliers run into the liquor store and search for the perfect pair. the event ends with a secret vote by the attendees, with the winner returning the following month to defend their title.
really a great, fun time for anyone looking for a unique night out, without being overly expensive.

I registered for a Homebrew evaluation and competition at the Culinary Center. I followed the instructions on the site, spent the night before preparing the entries and battled the rush hour traffic. Anyway, I show up only to find out that I was not on their list and could not participate. Apparently they had sent out another email which I did not get and the initial registration process was irrelevant !
I got the feeling the place was run by amateurs. They should stick to running the liquor store or hire people who can organize these events correctly.

Great events and even better prices! They have classes for wine tastings, food pairings, beer tasting, and even mozzarella making classes. Many times throughout the month there are free events to get you in and trying various wines. The First Friday tasting is the best free thing to do outside of the city!
If you follow them on Twitter or sign up for their emails you can hear first thing about upcoming events.

I had to make a special page for the Culinary Center @ Gordon’s because of all of the amazing events they throw, that are totally different from the simple booze shopping expereince.
Sommelier Smackdown, once a Unilocal event and now a monthly happening is just about the coolest event out there! Think of it like a «dinner and theater date» only, your theater is standing in front of you joking away as they cook your meal and battle to pick the best wine! $ 65 bucks gets you a four course meal, cooked right in front of you by Chefs Louie and Ian of Sel De la Ter and pours of 8 different wines, picked by well known Sommelier’s around town! The Sommelier’s battle to pair the best wine with each course as you are entertained by cooking jokes and quips like «Chuck Noris can smell what the rock is cooking, because the rock is his person chef» that fly through the air right next to wine knowledge and cooking tips!
I must admit, I love it so much, I have been going to the last 3 months straight and plan of being a pretty permanent fixture!
If you are really into wine, and wine makers, make sure to check out the calendar of other events and lots of well known wine makers come through Gordon’s for tastings.
Hope to see you at the next SMACK DOWN!