Recommended Wine Clubs and Restaurants

Wine Clubs

I love vineyard based wine clubs!  Why?  A lot of the wine clubs that I join mix into the monthly or quarterly shipments "member only" wines that you can't get at your local wine shop.  This gives me a chance to try and buy additional bottles of wine that are not available to the public via retail stores.  Plus you usually get discounted pricing on their wines along with some excellent newsletters.  Some clubs, like Biale, even offer discounted or sometimes free shipping.  Gotta love that! 

Please feel free to e-mail me any questions, comments or info on wine clubs at scott@3wineguys.com

Cheers -Scott

Like always...we have no vested interest in any of these wine clubs.  We are not in this to sell anyone wine or make commissions off of their wine purchases. 

Simply put: We're just fans of good wine. 

(If you do join any of these clubs or visit any of these restaurants...let 'em know we sent you.)  

Robert Biale's Black Chicken Society

Chappellet Winery's Pritchard Hill Wine Club

Chateau Felice's "Club Felice"

  "Firebelle List" Wine Club

Herman Story Wines

Linne Calodo "Experience" Wine Club

Miller Wine Works Club

Terra Valentine's "Club Valentine"

Stolpman Wine Club

Scott's Recommended Mailing List Wines

Copain Wines

Melka Wines

Radio-Coteau Wine Cellars

The Restaurant List

The Good, The Bad and the Average

Moto - Totally cool food that mixes chemistry with fine dining. Great Wine list and lots of fun for adventurist foodies. Located in Chicago's Fulton Market District.

Nomi in Park Hyatt Chicago - Currently closed for remodeling...excited to see the changes. (the old Nomi had an amazing wine list the top notch food.)

Bin 36 - one of the best wine bars in Chicago.  The food is good but the Cheese Bar is the star.  In recent years, the wine list has become smaller but still well rounded. Located across from House of Blues and Marina Towers.

The Tasting Room - A cool place with average food and a great wine list that is always changing.  This is a great stop before any concerts or sporting events at the United Center.  Located on Randolph, about ten minutes from the United Center.

Tru - Super high-end dinning in Chicago.  A must try for any foodie.  Caviar staircase is crazy cool. The wine list is one of the best in the city. Located by Chicago's Magnificent Mile.

L2O - Taking seafood to top level of dinning. The executive chef recently quit...should be interesting to see how things will change.  Well rounded wine list.  Located in Chicago's Lincoln Park.

Ubuntu - Napa Valley, CA - Wow, this is still one of the best restaurants that I have ever dined at.  One the few vegetarian restaurants to win a James Beard Award, along with a Michelin Star.  The wine list has some great values on it too.

Charlie Trotter's - Once the king of Chicago's fine dinning.  My last few visits have been less than perfect.  The wine list is giant with tons of old vintages.  Prices are off the charts. Trotter's is located in Chicago's Lincoln Park.

Mon Ami Gabi - French style bistro located in Chicago, Chicago Suburbs and Las Vegas.  Speaking of the Oak Brook, IL location:  once delivered consistently good dinners...over all quality in recent years has gone down hill.  Some good deals on the wine list.

Scapa Italian Kitchen - A great neighborhood Italian restaurant.  The wine list is good for a Italian kitchen style food.  Located in Chicago's west suburbs.  

Sepia - Set in a former print shop, the food is amazingly good. Cool decor with a great wine list.  A great stop for the foodies.  Located on Jefferson in Chicago.

Maijean - A cool French Bistro, neighborhood restaurant.  Wine list is average but the food is really good.  Its worth a try is you are out in the west suburbs of Chicago.

Dolce Pizzeria and Wine Bar - One of my favorites for Naples style pizza.  The food is consistently good.  The wine list is small but priced very well.  Located in Westmont, IL.

Reel Club - One of the better Lettuce Entertain You restaurants.  Food is really good, service is average.  The wine list is just okay.  Located in Oak Brook, IL.

Shree Indian Restaurant - The oldest vegitarian restaurant in Du Page County.  The place is kind of a dump but the food is great!  Located in Westmont, IL.

Saffron (the old Indian Garden) - Another really good Indian restaurant located in Westmont, IL.  The food is great, service is great too.

French Laundry - Located in Yountville, CA. One of the best restaurants in the country.  My visit was far from it.  We were seated on the second floor on a day that the temps reached over 100 degrees in Napa.  It was unbearably HOT sitting at our table.  Nothing like sweating into your own food. It was great to hear about their high-end, very expensive water filtration system while thinking, "I wish they had spent the money on a better air conditioning system.

Antico Posto - Another Lettuce Entertain You restaurant located in Oak Brook, IL.  The food is consistently good, I only wish that the service was too.  The wine list has some really good options.

Custom House - A very contemporary restaurant serving up some delicious food.  A must stop for any foodie.  Located across from the Harold Washington Library in Chicago, IL.

Tall Grass - A really good restaurant the mixes contemporary cuisine with world influences.  Great wine list loaded with gems.  Located in Lemont, IL. 

Soul (Closed) - Bummer!  Chef Jerrod with the best!

North Pond - Set within the ground of Lincoln Park.  The food was good but not great.   Don't bother asking for substitutions.  Staff is loaded with attitude.