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Tucked behind the historic mill buildings on Pleasant Street, just off the Manhan Rail Trail, Tip Top Wine Shop has quickly become a neighborhood destination for wine lovers and curious newcomers alike. The shop opened on Nov. 1, 2023, becoming the first store in Easthampton dedicated exclusively to quality wine. Owned and operated by local residents Miranda Brown and Lauren Clark, Tip Top was built around a simple idea: make great wine accessible, affordable, and part of everyday community life.
For Brown and Clark, opening a wine shop was both a personal and practical decision. Clark explains that the two were ready for a new professional chapter, one that allowed them to pursue their own vision. “Neither of us had started a business before, unless you count my co-owning a hotdog cart with my brother when we were in our teens,” she said. But the idea was also inspired by a gap in Easthampton’s local retail landscape. For years, residents who wanted a carefully selected bottle of wine often had to travel outside the city. “We were both tired of traveling out of town for a decent bottle of wine,” Clark adds.
As longtime residents themselves, Brown and Clark believed the community was ready for a dedicated wine shop. Brown says the response they received while developing the idea confirmed their instincts. “Lauren and I both live in Easthampton, and we had been ready for years,” she says. “Once we started thinking seriously about opening a shop, we asked around town and received an overwhelmingly positive response, so we knew everyone else was ready, too.” That enthusiasm helped transform an idea into a storefront in one of the city’s most vibrant commercial and artistic areas.
Tip Top Wine Shop fits naturally into the cluster of independent businesses behind the mills on Pleasant Street, near local breweries like New City Brewery and Abandoned Building Brewery. The neighborhood has become a hub for artists, small businesses, and visitors exploring the rail trail, making it an ideal location for a shop centered on discovery and conversation.
Inside Tip Top, customers find a carefully curated selection of wines from around the world. Many of the bottles come from small producers who prioritize natural, organic, or sustainably farmed grapes. Clark says their selection process focuses on quality and uniqueness rather than big-name brands. “We work with sales reps who are in our wheelhouse,” she explains, “meaning they focus on small producers from around the world who don’t use additives and who tend to make better wine for your money than the major brands you see at big-box stores, packies and supermarkets.” One of the shop’s pleasures, she says, is introducing customers to unfamiliar grapes and regions. “We like turning people on to delicious wines made with grapes no one’s heard of.”
Although wine is the shop’s central focus, Brown and Clark envisioned Tip Top as more than just a wine store. The shop also carries craft beer, cider, and a selection of nonalcoholic drinks. Customers can also pick up small specialty foods such as cheese and charcuterie, making it easy to assemble a casual gathering or picnic. For Brown, this range of offerings reflects the shop’s neighborhood spirit. “We wanted our shop to be not just a wine store, but a real neighborhood spot where you could pop in for beer or snacks or a soda, too,” she says. Since opening, the owners have continued adjusting their inventory based on customer feedback to better serve local tastes.
Education and approachability are also central to Tip Top’s mission. Clark emphasizes that the shop welcomes both experienced wine enthusiasts and people who feel intimidated by wine culture. “We try to make enjoying wine as accessible and fun as possible,” she says. The staff focuses on describing wines in plain, everyday language rather than relying on technical jargon. Customers often apologize for “knowing nothing about wine,” Clark notes, but she reassures them that expertise isn’t necessary to enjoy it. “All they really need to know is whether a particular wine tastes good to them.”
One of the shop’s most popular features is its regular Friday tasting events. These free tastings, open to anyone over 21, allow visitors to sample several wines and discover new favorites without committing to a full bottle. Brown says the events have become an important part of building relationships with customers. “We’re delighted that our Friday tastings have developed a pretty solid following,” she says. The gatherings give customers a chance to explore unfamiliar varieties while also providing the owners with immediate feedback about what people enjoy.
Launching a new wine shop in today’s beverage market has not been without challenges. Clark points out that Tip Top opened during a period when alcohol consumption has been declining in the wake of the pandemic, while other products, from canned cocktails to cannabis, have increased competition. Economic uncertainty has also made small business ownership more complicated. Despite these challenges, Tip Top has steadily built a loyal clientele. Many customers, Clark says, are surprised by the concept of a curated wine shop after years of buying wine primarily from grocery stores or large package retailers. Once they experience the variety and personalized recommendations available at Tip Top, they often become regular visitors.
Looking ahead, Brown and Clark hope to deepen their role as a community gathering place. The shop has already hosted workshops ranging from floral arranging to bookbinding and collage art, and the owners are eager to collaborate with local artists and educators on future events. These creative activities reflect the same spirit of exploration that defines the shop’s wine selection.
For Brown and Clark, Tip Top Wine Shop is ultimately about connection—between customers, producers, and the local community. As Clark puts it simply: “Patronize your local wine shop. They do their best to send you home with a bottle of wine you’ll love.”
TIP TOP WINE SHOP IS OPEN DAILY, FROM 11 A.M. TO 7 P.M. MONDAY THROUGH THURSDAY, 11 A.M. TO 8 P.M. ON FRIDAY AND SATURDAY, AND NOON TO 6 P.M. ON SUNDAY. VISIT THEIR WEBSITE AT WWW.TIPTOPWINESHOP.COM OR CALL 413-203-1165 FOR MORE INFORMATION.