Thursday evenings have a standing appointment in Saint James this fall. Enology Wine Bar & Bistro, the wine bar and kitchen at 412 North Country Road, has posted its calendar through November, and it runs on two rhythms: live acoustic music on Thursday nights from 6 to 8 PM, and a Saturday afternoon wine class roughly once a month that treats a tasting like a short, very pleasant seminar. Between the two sits a one-night benefit dinner in September that turns the whole room toward a single menu.
Live music, Thursdays from 6 to 8
The music at Enology is built to sit beside the pour rather than over it: acoustic sets in the early evening, timed so a table booked for seven lands mid-set with a glass already in hand. Three names that recur on the Enology calendar carry the fall run:
- Austin Merullo, Thursday, September 3
- Nick Picarella, Thursday, September 10
- Austin Merullo, Thursday, September 17
- Mark Hubbard, Thursday, October 8
- Austin Merullo, Thursday, October 15
- Nick Picarella, Thursday, October 22
- Austin Merullo, Thursday, November 19
Every set runs 6 to 8 PM. There is no ticket; reserve a table if you want to eat through the music, because the room is small enough that a Thursday fills.
The Saturday wine classes
The wine classes are the part of the calendar worth planning around. The format is consistent: 1 to 2:30 PM on a Saturday, six wines poured with the reasons each one made the cut, $69 per guest or $89 with a cheese plate, and a seat count kept deliberately low. Three are on the fall schedule:
- A Saturday Afternoon with Pinot Noir, September 19: from Burgundy to the Willamette Valley, with some surprise regions along the way. Book seats on OpenTable.
- A Saturday Afternoon with Bordeaux, October 17: Left Bank, Right Bank, and the art of the blend. Book seats on OpenTable.
- A Saturday Afternoon with Germany and Austria, November 14: and not just Riesling, which is the whole point of the afternoon. Book seats on OpenTable.
A benefit dinner on September 20
On Sunday, September 20, the room takes one seating at 5 PM for a wine pairing fundraiser: a chef-inspired, multi-course menu with a curated wine poured alongside every course, guided by Dr. Jonke and Dr. Kilimitzoglou, in a benefit for the Suffolk County Dental Society. Seats are $155 per guest and space is limited; reservations are handled by the Dental Society directly at (631) 232-1400.
If you go
Enology Wine Bar & Bistro is at 412 North Country Road in Saint James. Every date above also lives on our Long Island events calendar. Lineups and class dates can shift, so confirm the details at enologywinebar.com/events or (631) 517-0277 before you build an evening around them.



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