Upper East Side Wine Tour

If you're enjoying Cinco de Mayo in Central Park, you might consider ditching the Park and embarking on this tour of free Upper East wine tastings. Just a thought.

Start: 4pmPremier Cru Wine Merchants (2-5pm)1200 Madison Ave, between 87th and 88th; 212.534.6709Wines from Bordeaux, a.k.a., the Wine Capitol of the World (sorry, MadDogville). PremierCruWine.com

4:20pmBest Sellers (3-6pm)1291 Lexington Ave, between 86th and 87th; 212.426.42004-5 wines, varieties to be decided frantically at 2:59pm. BestCellars.com

4:40pmVintage Grape (4-7pm)1479 3rd Ave, between 83rd and 84th; 212.535.6800Instead of wine, VG's hosting a high-end tequila tasting to honor General Ignacio Zaragoza Seguin's 1862 victory over the French. And to get their customers hooked on pricy tequila.

5pmThe Wine Shop (5-8pm)1585 1st Ave, between 82nd and 83rd; 212.517.2550 TWS prides itself on its high "QPR" (quality-to-price ratio) -- irrelevant during their tasting, since any number divided by zero is undefined. WineShopNYC.com

5:20pmYorkshire Wines & Spirits (4-7pm)1646 1st Ave, at 85th; 212.717.5100 A selection of wines from Remy Pannier -- the Remo Williams of France's Loire Valley. YorkshireWines.com

5:40pmPark East Wine & Spirits (4-7pm)1657 York Ave, at 87th; 212.534.2093Patron Anejo, Silver, and Reposado. If a second tequila tasting's too much for you there's a bodega on the corner selling Cherry Vanilla Diet Dr. Pepper and tampons

6pmEast 87th St Wine Traders (5-10:30pm)1693 2nd Ave, 1st Fl, near 88th; 212.369.1822 The Traders are pouring a bottle of red and a bottle of white -- which one you go with will depend on the whims of your 24-year-old trophy wife.

6:20pmWine Lovers (6-11pm)1752 2nd Ave, between 91st & 92nd; 212.831.9463 To be decided, though by this point in the evening, it really won't matter.
It's easy to get lost while drinking. So, print out this map.