By Austyn Mayfield

Anyone who’s ever spent any time in Allston is more likely to associate the neighborhood with frat boys and keggers than with sommeliers and Bordeaux. But hip city residents know that nestled halfway between Boston University and Boston College, in the heart of student central, stands Brookline Liquor Mart, one of the area’s most iconic wine shops.

The store is almost camouflaged from the street, with its recessed entrance and store-front-meets-loading-dock exterior. The flickering vaudeville-style “liquors” marquis is the only real clue a store is even there. But for almost 70 years, the shop has offered an extensive selection of wines from around the globe while sticking to the motto: “Expertise without the attitude.”

“This many wine choices can be intimidating, so we get a lot of questions,” admits store manager Nina McGrane as she walks through the aisles, stacked chest-high with bottles. “We’re not snobby about it, though. We love the wines, and just try to help our customers feel comfortable.”

They do a good job of it. From the $7.00 Yellowtail Shiraz to the $1,799.00 bottles of Château Lafite Rothschild, the staff is full of knowledge, insightful tips, and suggestions that make the selection process enjoyable without making you feel silly. And for the budding connoisseur, the store offers weekly on-site wine tastings.

They tell great stories, too.

“This is an old favorite of mine,” McGrane says, handing me a bottle of Marqués de Caceres Rioja Crianza (2004). “I used to sip this with a dear friend whenever we were in London. We’d sit on a balcony and just watch the people and the river for hours. This wine always has such good memories.”

There’s an easy energy inside the shop. It somehow transcends the linoleum floor and the rumbling of the green line train just outside. It’s almost as if, in a way, Allston has its own little wine country.