Calling all Chicago members, looking for a wine store with the best selection and price, AND a wine shop that has hidden gems/impossible to find wines.
Here’s why. When Illinois locked out retailers from other states, they cut us out of 12 regular customers, 2 of which did corporate wine gifts at Christmas. In the last week and a half we have received 9 phone calls from people in Chicago and the burbs and 7 internet orders we can’t fill. Fortunately, there are a few Ill customers who are snowbirds so we ship to their winter home.
Good customer service is our intent and if there is somebody we can refer our former and potential customers to who will be able and willing to work with them, we want to know who they are.
If any member here has a wine shop in or around Chicago, lets talk, we lost about 25K worth of business this year and it could have been in your pocket unless Ill taxes on hooch screw the pooch and that’s why they used to buy from us.
Randy I have always had great luck with Chicago Wine Company. I did a big corporate event years ago and sourced all the wines form them and zero issues with any of the wines and I previewed all 70 wines at that event. I just bought a bunch of Washington State wines along with some Syrah’s I just poured at an event and flawless.
Their website is clunky but their prices look reasonable. There are some gaps on the wines but they have a lot of older vintages of the wines they do have. They will be a good start. Thank you!
Flickinger and chevalier would be my top two. Both will give you great service and prices. Hdh retail pricing is very inconsistent, but they are very professional.
It is interesting how nyc’s list of great wine shops is so much longer than Chicago.
Vin certainly doesn’t have the size offering of a Binny’s, but every time I go there, I leave with something I can’t find anywhere else. Many times it’s wines people here are talking up.
Vin has a great selection but many Napa wines are older vintages, (at great prices), but no current vintage of some. I sorta makes sense that a fair amount of the wines we were shipping to IL aren’t available at Vin, Binny’s or Chicago Wine Company. We aren’t any cheaper on almost all of the wines we have in common from the West Coast, New Zealand and Australia. They are cheaper on most European wines so it’s obvious why they don’t by European wines from us. These IL wine stores now have a free part-time employee. I put links to each on my computer so I can help those people who call. Thanks everybody.
Knightsbridge is another store that hasn’t been mentioned that I’ve dealt with for close to a decade. A broad selection focusing more towards the high-end, but their personalization and customer service is superb. They certainly belong on the short list of top Chicago retailers.
well, NYC is one of the best wine markets in the world. Also, iirc in New York you can’t have a chain like Binnys that will dominate the market
Randy,
I’ll +1 what Phil said with Knightsbridge. I’ve been buying wine from them for over a decade and while I am not a balla, they always treat me great and are a top notch store
Just tagging this for my next visit, whenever that is, as there are a couple stores I didn’t know about.
I like Binny’s. I go in there. I see things at good prices. I walk out with wine. That’s my standard with Binny’s.
HDH has been good in the past, but I would go there more to pick up things I’ve bought via their online auction, and their new-ish location is quite out of the way.
I live in NY and have found Flickinger and Knightsbridge to both be very good. Good enough in both selection and service that I buy from them regularly in spite of many options in NYC. Prices are also better than NYC!
Agree with Phil Smith re Knightsbridge Wine Shoppe. Wide range of upscale wines, with a focus on Burgundy. Terrific customer service. Just ask for Matthew or Matt. They’ll take good care of you.
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