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Vin Chicago Newsletter
- November 2023 -
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The holiday season is here, and there is lots going on at Vin Chicago: We are excited this weekend to have our first "Uncorking for a Cause" fundraiser. Our Champagne tastings are just around the corner. Wine dinners at Sun Wah and D&J Bistro are coming up in just three days, and we working on a new natural wine program for our Elston store.
All this, plus we have loads of new wine for you! Yesterday alone we took delivery of over 1,000 cases from all over France, Italy, California and Washington State.
Scroll down for details on what wine fun we have planned for you, and - if you can - please purchase at least a few bottles to support your favorite of the 50 charities participating in this weekend's fundraising event!
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Shop at Vin Chicago TODAY to Support Your Choice of 50 Not-For-Profits! | |
Our "Uncorking for a Cause" fundraiser is underway, and you are invited to participate! | |
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- We'll also have bins at each store to collect winter coats and warm clothing for Catholic Charities to distribute to recently arrived asylum seekers.
- Adding to the fun is a special tasting this afternoon at each store, with a dozen wines open for you to sample, including Caymus Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon, the triple 97-Point Epoch Estate Red, the Domaine de la Petite Roche Brut NV and more!
This is a great opportunity to load up on wine for the holidays while supporting a great cause. We look forward to seeing you this afternoon with a cartful of wine and armfuls of coats, sweaters and hats!
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Check Out Vin Chicago's Newest Arrivals! | |
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In the past few weeks, we've been hitting the negotiating table hard, working some Vin Chicago magic to bring in a load of really cool wines!
Click on the links below to see what we've found, including a 96-Point Bordeaux from Branaire-Ducru, a fleshy new release of the Novellum Chardonnay and an opulent Italian red from no other than Mary J. Blige. All this, plus California gems from Bloodroot, Margerum and more. Click below to check them out!
Check out our Newest Arrivals:
Chicago • Highland Park • Barrington
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Our 2023 Champagne Tastings! | |
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Our annual evenings of grower Champagne are some of Vin Chicago's most popular events of the year. Along with our longtime favorite grower-producers, this year we are working with several small Champagne houses that are new to the Chicago market.
In total, we'll have nearly three dozen Champagnes and sparkling wines open for you to taste at each of these events. Space is limited. Click below to reserve your spot!
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Highland Park
When: Friday, November 17th - 7:00pm
Where: Vin Chicago, 1350 Old Skokie Road
Cost: $40 per person
Barrington
When: Saturday, November 18th - 6:00pm
Where: Vin Chicago, 311 E. Main Street
Cost: $40 per person
Chicago
When: Wednesday, November 29th - 7:00pm
Where: Vin Chicago, 1826 N. Elston Avenue
Cost: $50 per person
Click here to make reservations for any of these events!
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A Family-Grown Châteauneuf Gem! | |
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Domaine la Cabotte "Vieilles Vignes"
Chateauneuf-du-Pape Rouge 2020
This dense and powerful old-vine Rhône red comes from a tiny, completely immaculate artisan family estate. Deep in both color and flavor, the massive-yet-balanced 2020 Domaine la Cabotte Châteauneuf-du-Pape leads with dark floral and savory notes that quickly open to reveal concentrated flavors of black raspberry, black cherry, blueberry preserves, roasted herbs, white pepper and coffee bean. The family's 1.5 hectares in Châteauneuf-du-Pape are certified organic and farmed with biodynamic practices. Thanks to our direct relationship with proprietors Marie-Pierre and Eric Plumet, we are able to bring you their small production gem at sweet-spot price. Offering warmth, soft tannins and wonderfully balanced acidity, it is drinking great now with a good decanting and will continue to evolve and delight at least through the end of the decade.
38.99
View this wine on our website:
Chicago • Highland Park • Barrington
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Staff Pick from Nathan Wojcik!
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Nathan joined our team just over two years ago, after watching his whole life from the sidelines as his mother, aunt, uncle and grandfather ran Vin Chicago. We're happy to have him on the team now as our Marketing Manager, and general purpose jack of all trades. You've probably seen him bouncing around the stores, and today we feature his staff pick, a sparkling wine to match his bubbly personality!
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Domaine de la Petite Roche Saumur Brut NV
Holy cow, this wine rocks! Domaine de la Petite Roche is the one bubbly that I make certain to always keep in my wine fridge. With rocking lemon and green apple flavors balanced by a creamy mousse, it is delicious and soft enough to be fantastic on its own, and the versatility it has with food just blows my mind. A perfect pairing with soft cheeses, it's also delicious with pasta, chicken and just about anything else. My personal favorite is having a glass with a jumbo soft pretzel! At under $20 it's my favorite sparkler in the store, and I hope you pick some up to enjoy right now!
17.99
View Nathan's pick on our website:
Chicago • Highland Park • Barrington
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It seems impossible to believe, but Turkey Day is only three weeks away! In our stores, you'll find "Great with Turkey" signs marking wines particularly well suited to the varied courses of the typical Thanksgiving meal.
We've also put together an online list of some of our Thanksgiving favorites. If you see something you like, think about grabbing it today or tomorrow so that 10% of your purchase can be directed to charity!
Check out some of our Thanksgiving favorites:
Chicago • Highland Park • Barrington
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New Vintage of "Mate's Vineyard" Chard! | |
Did you know that Auckland is home to one of the most remarkable Chardonnay producers on the planet? We've just taken delivery of the latest vintage of Michael Brajkovich's legendary "Mate's Vineyard" bottling and his crisp, charismatic, bracing and hugely overdelivering "Village" bottling, which sells for under twenty bucks! Click below to ready about both of them. | |
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Kumeu River "Mate's Vineyard" Auckland Chardonnay 2022
96/100 - Wine Advocate (9/21/2023) "The nose on this 2022 Mate's Vineyard Chardonnay leads with candied bananas, pineapple husk, white peach and a hint of lychee, and the edges of the aromatics are feathered with preserved citrus, brine, curry leaf and apple skins. In the mouth, the wine is powered by supercharged fruit; it is crystalline in its way, an attribute that I have long-since associated with the Chardonnays from Kumeu River. The flavor is sapid and palate-staining, with just enough salt and savory spices in the fruit to make it super complex as well as powerful. It is precisely folded like origami, each crease in service of the overall shape. A wine that offers much and assumes nothing. 13% alcohol, sealed under screw cap. Drink Date: 2023 - 2037." (New Zealand)
67.99
Read about these new Kumeu River wines on our website:
Chicago • Highland Park • Barrington
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Today
Special In-Store Tastings from Noon until 4:00!
As part of our "Uncorking for a Cause" fundraising event, we will have not one, but two table of wine open for you to taste at each of our locations this afternoon. Ranging from Sancerre to sparkling wine to Caymus to the gorgeous Triple 97-Point Epoch Estate Red, we'll have some hot stuff for you to try.
And, making things more exciting, for everything you buy at the store today, 10% will go back to the registered charity of your choosing!
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Tuesday, November 7th
Greek Wine Dinner at D&J Bistro with Ted Diamantis!
This upcoming Tuesday, November 7th, we host dinner at D&J Bistro with Ted Diamantis, founder of Diamond Wine Importers.
A longtime friend of Vin Chicago, Ted is one of the world's top authorities on Greek wine. If you've not recently tasted the searingly mineral-driven whites and Piedmont-esque reds of modern day Greece, then prepare to be blown away.
Paired with incredible food from Chef Masato, this will be a very special night. Still a few tickets left, click here to reserve your spot!
When: Tuesday, November 7, 6:30pm
Where: D&J Bistro
Price: $120 per person
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Tuesday, November 7th
Duck Dinner at Sun Wah with
Doug Frost of Echolands!
Our last dinner at Sun Wah was so much fun that we have scheduled another! This time with Doug Frost, one of only four people on the planet to be both a Master of Wine and Master Sommelier.
Always fun, Doug is one of our favorite people in the wine world. In addition to being a writer, an educator, a consultant and wine buyer for United Airlines, he has just founded a small winery in Walla Walla.
On Tuesday, November 7th, Doug will be wearing his vigneron hat as he pairs his Echolands wines with duck dinner at the iconic Sun Wah BBQ in Uptown. Click here to reserve your spot!
When: Tuesday, November 7, 6pm
Where: Sun Wah Chinese BBQ
Price: $89
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Thursday, November 9th:
Natural Wine Party on Elston!
The team at our Elston Avenue store is revamping their approach to natural wine, and you are invited to the big kickoff tasting! Mark your calendars for Thursday, November 9th as we pop the corks on three dozen of our favorite natural wines and unveil the new Natural Wine room!
Click here for tickets!
When: Thursday, November 9th, 6:30-8:30
Where: Vin Chicago, 1826 N. Elston Avenue
Cost: $20 per person
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Every Saturday:
Taste Six of Our Newest Arrivals!
As we have done every Saturday at Vin Chicago for decades, we'll have a range of our newest arrivals open for you to taste every Saturday from noon until 4:00.
As always, there is no charge to participate. Just swing by one of our stores and grab a glass!
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Click Here to View our New Arrivals! | |
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If you've read this far and haven't yet clicked on anything, here is one more invitation to check out our new arrivals. Lots of fun stuff!
Check out our Newest Arrivals:
Chicago • Highland Park • Barrington
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