My kind of wine town: BMW Championship, Olympia Fields, August 20-23, 2023
I lived in Chicago from 1983-1989. The wine scene there was already advanced, with great Italian wines at Convito Italiano and the chaotic basement at venerable Sam's retail store just to name two. I even came in second in a competitive blind tasting on the same day the '85 Bears cruised to a Super Bowl win (I tasted all 8 wines in a mad dash at halftime).
I'm out of touch now but I dove into my research here with great enthusiasm. The one thing I know is that I am only scratching the surface and look forward to updating this article with the many local neighborhood venues that help give Chicago its distinctive flavor. For example, in this iteration I had to lop off the entire North Shore given the BMW Championship is taking place at Olympia Fields, already an hour or so south of Alinea.
Speaking of Alinea, a reminder about No See Um's is in order since this most acclaimed restaurant does not post its list online. If we can't see it, we can't evaluate it, and therefore place it in a separate bucket below. Sight unseen, I'd take the over on it.
Restaurants
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At Maple and Ash the wine list has a life of its own. No, I mean it. It's the only list out of thousands I've scanned where the first two pages consist of personal essays by each member of the wine staff, expressing their devotion to the subject. Then another two pages of something called The Hot List, which is neither hot nor exciting in any way and features for example a '15 Drouhin village Gevrey for an appalling $325 and Kistler Les Noisitiers, a wine that is on so many lists it's like the Santa Margherita Pinot Grigio of overpriced California chardonnay. This section should just be deleted so we can get to the real list, which is stunningly good and perhaps the best in Chicago. Great wines from around the world abound, annotated with brief profiles of winemakers they admire. The list features multiple verticals, including perhaps 20 vintages of Corison cab. If I wanted to get nitpicky, the Piedmont section could be better as well as regional Italy, but overall it's a fabulous collection presented in an original and winning way.
I love, love, love the list at The Purple Pig, which does the best job in town of celebrating obscure regions and grape varieties. In so doing, it may shortchange your options in Burgundy, Bordeaux and Napa, but you won't regret taking the road less traveled for a minute. Prices are excellent, and if you have a sharp eye, you can spot some trophies for much less than current retail. But again, you'll find me sizing up one of nine assyrtikos or three timorassos. A few mistakes (Taurasi in Umbria?) disturbed my meditative state but I'm inclined to forgive based on the sheer exuberance of having so many fun options.
The mid-sized eclectic list at Sepia is organized by country and in ascending order of prices. Since it jumbles all the wines for a country in a single bucket (e.g., French white wine) it has the impact of obscuring any potential regional strengths, and generally leaves the impression there are none. Still, there are plenty of fun and funky choices and if you're on a budget, it's abundantly clear where to look.
Bazaar Meat by Jose Andres is a chain and therefore almost doesn't qualify, but we cut them slack based on the proprietor's good works around the world. It's a sensational, stacked list \, laden with excellent choices from premier winemakers. It's also very expensive, especially in Burgundy, where I found a Cote de Nuits Villages at $230, for example. If you could negotiate wine prices like you would in a real bazaar, it would make this the coolest list anywhere.
The Brass Tack has a very big, very good list organized by grape variety and enlivened by informative (and opinionated) essays on most noble grapes. It goes broad and deep for Champagne, chardonnay, pinot, and cabernet sauvignon. Burgundy, Bordeaux and California are outstanding, but you can find so much more if you're willing to wade through 80 odd pages, although truth be told, coverage outside the core is a little perfunctory.
Unsurprisingly, the list at Les Nomades tilts French. There are some big names in all key regions of The Hexagon, but Burgundy excels with top producers such as Lafon, DRC, and Coche well represented (with accompanying astronomical prices). Similar strengths carry over into Bordeaux, Italy and California. There are a few curious holes like no Loire cab franc and you kinda wish they'd shake it up a little bit. I guess what I'm saying is it's a stuffy, conservative list, more like the Old French than the New.
No See Ums
I've never eaten at Alinea, but given three Michelin stars, I'm guessing they have a decent list. Acanto gets high marks (Wine Spectator and others) but doesn't publish a list beyond by-the-glass. These are diverse, fun Italian grapes so we're inclined to believe the press. Swift & Sons steakhouse reportedly has 680 wines on the list but doesn't mention wine at all on their website. The three Italian Village restaurants are supported by an inventory of 1200 labels. There are some nice photos of wine on the website but that's as close as you'll get to knowing what's really going on.
Retail
Binny's, a fixture in Chicagoland since 1948, has multiple outlets and the inventories may differ by store. If looking for something specific, it might be best to call and ask them to locate it and then consolidate for you. Nevertheless, they have a ridiculously big, rich and exciting collection of high-end wines and options all the way down the quality ladder. A one-stop shop if there ever was one.
Flickinger Wines is properly understood to be an online store that either ships or allows local pickup in Chicago. They have an extensive, and we mean it, assortment of high-end wines that turns over quickly given the national reach of their website and aggressive email program. Back vintages of great wines often appear suddenly, sourced directly from domaines or private cellars. If you're looking to score something awesome during your golf-viewing time in Chicago, we'd suggest searching their no-frills site and ordering ahead of time.
Local chain Vin Chicago has a reasonably diverse selection and excellent prices. It's not a store for trophy hunters (there are only two wines in the store more than $300), but there are attractive, affordable choices in many categories.
