We had a great second show on WCGO Radio! Chip, Tom, and Lainie were in the studio along with Liz Ahearn of Picnic Wine & Provisions (Rogers Park). You can get all the show’s details, along with links to businesses and events mentioned, here.
CHICAGO WINE NEWS
Augusta Food & Wine in Lincoln Square is now open on Mondays throughout the holiday season! Visit the shop from 11 am – 7 pm. (There is some speculation that these hours might continue even after the holidays.) Augusta’s Shad Martin was also a recent guest on WGN’s Daytime Chicago, talking about the Lincoln Square Ravenswood Fall Wine Stroll.
Chicago Winery is open for business. This is a real, working winery in Downtown Chicago that is also home to LIVA, a full-service restaurant.
Alpana Singh’s wine-driven restaurant, Alpana, was recently featured on CBS News Sunday Morning with Jane Pauley.
CHICAGO WINE EVENTS
A list of upcoming wine events in the Chicago area. A * in front of the date indicates that this is the first time the event has been listed in the newsletter.
November 9th: Joe’s Imports in Fulton Market is holding a special happy hour from 4 pm-6 pm to launch its Wine x Web3 NFT wine club. Attendees will have a chance to win a Bronze Level membership.
*November 10th: Easy Does It is hosting a Pizza Party & Wine Tasting between 6 pm - 9 pm: Professor Pizza pops up with NYC slices and Easy Does It will pour four wines for tasting. $15 per person, purchase tickets online (walk-ins are welcome).
*November 11th: Easy Does It is partnering with distributor Vom Boden to offer a “Hot Dog Happy Hour” from 6-9 pm. Tasty dogs, inspired wine pairings. . .sounds great to us! $15 and you can purchase tickets online (walk-ins are welcome).
November 12th: The Wine Goddess in Evanston is holding its Thanksgiving Mega-Tasting from 3:00 pm - 4:30 pm. Tickets are $30 each and can be purchased online.
November 16th: WineStyles in Norwood Park hosts a Back in the USA wine class from 6:30 to 8:00 pm. Tickets are $25 and can be purchased online.
November 16th: Le Midi in Wicker Park hosts Wines to Pair for Thanksgiving from 7:30 to 9:00 pm. RSVP and prepayment of $65 are required. Email seth@lemidiwine.com to reserve. Tickets are limited and there is a strict 48-hour cancellation policy.
November 19th: Beautiful Rind in Logan Square hosts a producer pairing tasting with Vom Boden. Cheese and wine pairings will be available for sampling from 3:00-5:00 pm. The tasting is free and does not require a reservation. You can, however, reserve a larger sampling of cheese and paired wine at additional cost via the Beautiful Rind’s website.
November 27th: All Together Now hosts The Great Wine Down with Alexander Great between 2 pm-5 pm. Alexander Great spins tunes while you get to enjoy their happy hour specials.
*December 1st: Door 24 offers a class on Washington State wines at 7 pm. The cost is $30 and requires an RSVP.
December 6th: Uvae Wine Bar & Kitchen is hosting a South African wine dinner, featuring Babylonstoren wines and its cellar master, Charl Coetzee. The six-course meal includes wine pairings and is $125. Tickets must be purchased in advance.
REGULAR WINE TASTINGS IN THE CHICAGO AREA
Below is a list of regularly scheduled tastings at Chicago area wine bars and shops. Many are free or low-cost, but it is always a good idea to contact the shop/wine bar ahead of time to be sure.
This list is hardly comprehensive, though I hope it will eventually become so. Please let us know if you’d like to recommend a spot or need to correct any information.
(A * in front of the date indicates that this is the first time the event has been listed in the newsletter.)
57th Street Wines holds tastings on Thursdays from 5-7 pm and Saturdays from 3-5 pm. Tastings are usually themed and occasionally the schedule switches up a bit, so be sure to check out their website and call ahead to avoid disappointment. (Hyde Park)
Augusta Food & Wine offers free tastings on Thursdays between 6-8 pm. No sign-up is required. (Lincoln Square)
BottlesUp! First Friday tastings take place the first Friday of every month and include free wine tastings plus new, in-store art. (Lakeview)
Door 24 holds regular tastings every Friday from 5:30 to 7:30 pm. These are free and no sign-up is required. Get on their social media pages for updates on their Friday night lineup! (Bucktown)
In Fine Spirits advertises regular free wine tastings Wednesdays from 5-7 pm and Saturdays from 3 to 6 pm with an occasional Thursday tasting (which will be announced on their social media and in their newsletter). (Andersonville)
Konbini & Kanpai holds regular wine tastings (often on Wednesdays and usually free), plus additional tastings of beer, sake, and spirits throughout the month. I strongly recommend checking out their online calendar and getting on their mailing list so that you can stay informed. (Lakeview)
Independent Spirits is holding wine tastings from 5-7 pm on Thursdays. Tastings are free and information about the tastings appears on social media. Tastings are free and there is no charge. (Edgewater)
Picnic Wine & Provisions holds wine tastings from 5-8 pm on Thursdays. $5, reservations are appreciated but not required. (Rogers Park)
Red & White Wines continues to offer tastings each Saturday from 2-5 pm. The cost is $10 and their wine club members get to participate at no added cost. The Red & White Wines newsletter usually releases information about the tastings the day before. I recommend getting on the mailing list so that you’ll know what to expect. (Bucktown)
Taste Food & Wine hosts $5 tastings on Tuesdays and Fridays from 5:30 to 7:30 pm. 10% off the featured tasting bottles if you take one home that evening. Snacks are available at an additional charge. (Rogers Park)
Table, Donkey and Stick holds its “Terrior Tuesdays” every, you guessed it, Tuesday, selling a wine or wines by a featured producer by the glass at wholesale cost. Events sometimes include wine producers as special guests. (Logan Square)
Uvae Fromagerie & Tasting Room offers free hosted tastings from 6-8 pm on Tuesdays. Cork Dork Thursdays and Somm Pick Saturdays offer more extensive wine knowledge. Sign up and pay for your tickets online.
Uvae Fromagerie also offers pre-set wine flights of four one-ounce pours for $10 whenever the tasting room is open. (Andersonville)
Vin Chicago: Tastings on Saturdays from 12-4 at all three stores (Chicago, Barrington, and Highland Park). Free. No RSVP is necessary. Check out Vin’s Instagram for more details.
The Wine Goddess: $5 tastings every Saturday from 3-5 pm. Tastings feature four different wines. (Evanston)
FINDING THE CHICAGO WINE REPORT
We are more than a newsletter, podcast, or radio show: We put out content that focuses on the Chicago wine scene (almost) daily!
First, check out our Instagram account. In addition to photos and videos documenting our wine adventures, our story feed includes posts from many Chicago wine venues that feature news of special events, happy hours, tastings, and deals. We don’t always have the ability to include all this information in a newsletter or show, but our IG feed is usually hopping with local news.
Prefer Facebook? We aren’t as active there, though a lot of our IG content is duplicated on our page. You can, however, watch an in-studio video stream of our Sunday radio show on our Facebook page and, of course, view it on demand.
Want to listen to our radio show live? We broadcast at 10:00 am Central time on WCGO1590 AM and 95.9 FM in the Chicago area. If you aren’t in the Chicago area, you can stream it from the WCGO website, Tune-In app, our Facebook page, or our YouTube channel. More details on all these options are available here.
Chicago Wine Report | November 9th, 2022