You may think that Chicago isn’t much of a fermented grape city, with all of our breweries and Malört obsession, but there are plenty of wine options around town. There’s no reason why you shouldn’t be able to sip on pinot and chardonnay throughout the day. It’s actually a highly recommended practice.
With that in mind, here’s a suggested tour for sampling some of the best wine flights that the city has to offer in a single day. If you’re able to get through this gauntlet of a wine crawl, consider yourself a hero (or at least possibly an alcoholic).
Follow the map above for a suggested route in your wino-inspired endeavors.
1. Enolo Wine Cafe Head to River North to start your wine binge. Enolo has a nine different wine flights to satisfy even the most expert wine drinker.
2. Zed 451 Head a few blocks north on Clark Street and hit this great spot. With four wine flights (along with hefty options of wines by the glass or bottle, as well as beer and cocktails) plus the stunning city views, what more could you ask for?
3. D.O.C. Wine Bar At this point, you’re hopefully still sober enough to maintain composure on the CTA. Hop on the northbound 22 Clark bus after leaving Zed 451, exit at Wrightwood and grab a seat at D.O.C. You can enjoy one of the four wine flights in the neighborhood bistro with a cozy atmosphere.
4. The Twisted Vine Depending on your state of mind, you might want to consider hailing a cab in order to get to this Boystown spot. The location offers three distinct wine flights (Around the World - white; Worldly Big & Bold - red; A Taste of Europe - red) and a lounge-bar atmosphere.
5. 404 Wine Bar This spot is more than a mile away from Twisted Vine, which is a lightyear in drunk distance. Get there, somehow, and enjoy four different wine flights to choose from. There are glasses and bottles available too. And don’t forget about the skillet cookies. Trust me.
6. Volo Restaurant Wine Bar Order a cab to get to this Roscoe Village spot. There are four wine flights and a food menu featuring hors d’oeuvres, a seafood bar and charcuterie options, which you might need to remain coherent after six flights of wine.
7. Fork The Damen bus will bring you to the final destination on this tour, but you might as well Uber it. Fork has nine different wine flights to cap off the blitzkrieg of your liver. If you’ve made it this far, pat yourself on the back.