On a mobile device? Try our mobile site, optimized for faster browsing.
Category: Beer, Wine & Spirits [Edit]
Neighborhood: Near West SideClinton (Pink, Green)
Mon-Thu. 11:00 a.m. - 7:00 p.m.
Fri. 11:00 a.m. - 8:00 p.m.
Sat. 12:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m.
Loading...
We spent a fabulous 2 hours or more here on a Saturday afternoon - had a groupon and needed to see what this self-dispensing wine machine was all about.
The staff was friendly but left us alone to try all the red wine we wanted. Which was quite a bit, actually!
I love that you can "try out" a more expensive bottle of wine to see if it is something you would want to purchase.
I will be back!
I could spend HOURS in this store. Actually, my friends and I HAVE spent practically whole Saturdays at this wonderful wine shop/bar. Why would I consider it a bar? Because of the Enomatic - I'm pretty sure it's the only one in Chicago. With $20 on a Savvy sipper card you can get 6-8 tastings with each pour costing $2 - 5. On Tuesdays they have half off on all the tastes in the Enomatic and on Saturdays from 2-4 they have free wine tastings with about 4-6 featured wines from a certain winery or region. On the days of the tasting they also offer the featured bottles for 10 - 15% off.
I think the thing I like most about Just Grapes is how friendly and knowledgable the staff are. They're easy to approach and offer great advice when you tell them what kinds of food you're planning on having with the wine. Their bottles range from $8 - 400 with a good half bottles always marked down 15 - 30%. Get on their mailing list and become a Savvy Sipper and you'll get weekly mailings about buy 1 get one free deals off of their monthly tastings and special value wines. I always keep my eyes peeled for their bi-annual sales where they have to clear the racks for new bottles. Great deals and always a good time!
Best wine store in Chicago. I've been going since the first day it opened. Owner is a great guy and service is ALWAYS helpful. You can not go wrong going here!
Just Grapes has become my favorite wine store. Knowledgeable staff, great wine education and social events, and a nice selection of wines. Just Grapes has a well rounded selection of wines from around the world chosen by Don and his staff. I'd rather have a smaller selection like Just Grapes than the overwhelming selection of the warehouse stores. The staff is has also tried all the wines and can make recommendations. I also like the fact that many of the wines are available for sampling making selecting the perfect wine easier. Unlike many wine shops, I've often gotten recommendations of lower priced wines than I was initially looking at. I like the fact the staff cares more about finding the right wine than selling the most expensive.
Has a pretty California feel to it.
Great wine boutique venue for selection, but the staff is kind of finnicky. There are times the person working there really works with me and finds me exactly what I'm looking for, and other times I am lucky if I get a smile when checking out at the register. It's a very convenient place if you work in the area (their hours cater to that more so than people who come out of their way to visit) or if you go back and forth from the Union Station, but I was too half and half to make Just Grapes a regular stop in my wine shopping trek.
I absolutely love Just Grapes. I stop in there after work frequently to do wine tastings. They always have about 20 delicious red and white wines that customers can taste using a pre-loaded card. The tasting prices are very reasonable, and customers can taste almost any type of wine or grape (they change the tasting wines at least weekly). The staff are all very friendly and extremely enthusiastic and knowledgeable about every kind of wine and grape. I am almost certain every variety of wine is available for purchase, so even a savvy wine connoisseur can find what they are looking for at Just Grapes.
My new wine shop of choice....why they have every drop of booze my liver needs at this stage in my life...
When it comes to wine, I don't know SHIT!
When I stopped by Just Grapes, the helpful and friendly staff knew this as well. They are very cool, especially when it comes to the wine-testing stations. They pretty much "dummied" up the wine menu for me, and it worked.
"This tastes like grape soda."
"This tastes like beef jerky, mixed with cranberries and leather."
Now you are talking my terms, thank you!
The wine samples vary in cost, ranging from $1.00 to $3.00 in price. I tried a few that were around $2.00, then realized I was wasting my time. My taste buds enjoyed the expensive wine much more than I did, so I quickly changed over to the $1.00 wine. I spent about $22.00 and had a good time. I went with co-workers, and we more than enjoyed ourselves.
On my way out, I mentioned to my group and the Just Grapes staff that Robert Mondavi was appearing at an autograph session sometime in the near future. The whole room busted out laughing....apparently Mondavi passed away a few years back. I swear I saw an article in the Red Eye that said that!!
Looks like my wine knowledge lacks severely!!
***FYI I changed the info on this because the zip code is 60660 ***
Great wine shop with a great selection of wines. I am a big fan of Riesling's, some shops my have 3 or 4 Riesling's but Just Grapes has double that. Prices range from $9 to $200 for all. Great knowledgeable staff that are more then willing to help in anyway.
What's really nice is that you can sample 8 different white varietals and 16 different red varietals from around the world, rotated on a monthly basis. Prices range from .50cents to $5.00 per taste. And they usually have some great cheese out to have with your samples!! Plus a little seating for you to relax and enjoy.
They offer wine tasting events, classes, private parties, and membership benefits. I highly recommend checking out their website
http://wineshop.justgr...
I will say that you will never leave dissatisfied or without a bottle of something!!
As a wine store, Just Grapes has a large selection and a knowledgeable staff. If that's all it was though, I probably wouldn't have ended up there.
The coolest part is the samples. They have what I would desribe as "wine fountains" - like soda fountains except instead of pop, it's wine. You put some scrilla on a prepaid card at the register, pop it into the slot at the fountain, and sample wines that cost anywhere from about $12 to $150 a bottle. This allows you to quench your curiosity without splurging on a whole bottle (What does a $150 bottle of wine REALLY taste like; is it REALLY worth it? The answer is no, by the way.)
They have a room in back for private tastings and such, which would be a good place to take your pending in-laws if they're from old money. And on the other side of the spectrum, they have free tastings every Saturday afternoon, I think 2-4pm.
Just Grapes was an enjoyable experience. The staff is quite knowledgeable and helpful with any questions that I had. They have some good affordable wines. The tastings are fun although some you have to pay for, which I think is kind of lame. Once you get on their email list though, they never stop sending you incentives, which I guess could be good or bad. Also, it always seems like I'm the only one in there, I think it's due to the locale.
This place is too good to be true. It's a combination wine store and tasting room and lucky me, it's just around the corner from my place. By putting money on your "Savvy Sipper Card", you can sample reds, whites and everything in between for between $1.00-$5.00 per tasting. The owner Don and his employee Kim really know their wine and their customers taste as well. Their packaging is cool - with clever little shopping cartons in 2 packs and 4 packs. The Savvy Sipper card also tracks your purchases and allows Kim and Don to give suggestions based on what you like and dislike.
Just Grapes has monthly events, such as wine pairings, classes and holiday events. This isn't a place where you will find Kendall Jackson or Robert Mondavi. The wines are from smaller, more unique vineyards and vary in price. If you are a wino like me and tired of the grocery store brands, I strongly suggest stopping by to check it out. You can also purchase off their website, have it delivered or pick it up.
Try before your buy...
If you're looking for a laid back, yet sophisticado place where you can sip on about 24 different wines before you buy, then Just Grapes is the place for you.
The wine sampler (one of three in the U.S.) changes varietals every two to three weeks and offers everything from the $179 1999 Bricco Rocche, Nebbiolo, Barolo, Piedomont, Italy to the $8.99 2004 Twin Fin, Pinot Grigio, California, USA.
Tastes range between $.80 and $4.80ea. Just buy a refillable cash card ($10-$100) at the cashier, insert it into the wine sampler, select your wine and voila... a wine tasting party at your leisure.
My favorite was the $13.49 2005 Long Beak, Sauvignon Blanc, Marlborough, New Zealand. It was very fruity and fresh.
I used to live a block away from Just Grapes, and still found myself getting in to a car to go buy wine... The selection is decent. The pricing is decent. I was annoyed at the staff working there (and at the owner).
They tout their pay per sample automated bar, but I don't see what's so great about getting a "taste" of some random bottle of wine poured by a machine and paying several $ for it. I am all about tasting, and I don't mind paying. But a machine? And how long has the wine in it been opened? At least when you pay for a tasting anywhere else, the person pouring it can offer some insight into what you're drinking.
Upon purchasing, they attempted to persuade me to join some wine club as if I was buying lotion at the Body shop. I don't need to be persuaded to join a club, I wanted to buy a bottle of wine.
It seems like a lot of thought went in to making this some entrepreneurs dream store, but not much thought went in to making it a personal experience. And wine should be personal.
There are just too many other great wine shops in Chicago for me to like this one.
I really want to give them 5 stars. They're good, really good. They not only took me in when I hopped in 5 mins before closing, but they took good care of me, explaining reds I'm unfamiliar with very well. I ended up walking out with two bottles of reds. The store is very airy, very open... a little too open. I'm looking for slightly more variety in wines, and I didn't see a large selection of champaign and dessert wines, which would've been nice.
I wish I can drink more, though. Perhaps with more visits, they would be upgraded to five stars -- they're that close.
I'm located nowhere near this place, yet Just Grapes remains my go-to wine shop. Comfortable, friendly, not at all stuffy. I like that wines are arranged by varietal rather than country. And I love stopping by for a free Saturday tasting or to sample a few wines from the tasting bar - a really cool feature.
Believe it or not, I can walk to this place, and my husband and I went for the first time over the weekend.
What a fun place. We're huge fans of Healdsburg, Sonoma Valley, what have you and for a moment I was able to imagine myself back in one of my favorite places. Oh, except, they can't be bothered to pour the wine for you to try in Just Grapes...you have to buy a card and get cozy with the wine machines. Which, at first, I was a bit put off by, but then, I realized how frickin' cool it was. We got to try what we wanted and were able to discover that we could do without $200.00 bottles of wine, that our 'buds prefer the likes of a good $30.00 bottle, what have you.
We also happened to stumble in while they had a free tasting station set up, which was nice, and we tasted a great red, but unfortunately that was the last of the bottle and there was none to be sold, which was a bit irritating. We went there right after a stop at the Wine Discount joint on Elston and noticed that we purchased a bottle of some Ridge Vineyards...the exact bottle escapes me... for $8.00 less...
But you know, we had a blast hanging out there for an hour on a Saturday and would absolutely go back. The staff was very helpful, a bit too helpful really, because we waited forEVER to check out while the girl over helped the customers in front of us...
Great wine shop with a decent selection. They have tastings the first Wednesday of the month and have gone to a few. Tastings are great for trying new wines and people watching. Great way to try a few new things and pick up a few bottles at a discount. They also have an automated tasting bar so you can always try things before you buy. Their selections are usually wines that I haven't been able to find other places - (don't know if that would be a plus or a minus). Staff is really knowledgeable and friendly - believe it or not, but they sometimes even remember what I bought last time I was in (almost scary). There are many bottles under $10 and some over $100, so you'll find something great no matter what price range you're looking for. They also have a frequent shopping club that gives you discounts on tastings and earn points to get vouchers towards your next purchase.
Just Grapes, a unique winery, definitely saved me the other day when I was desperate to find a last minute gift (hard to find in the middle of the West Loop). The staff was extremely attentive and knowledgeable about the various types of wine (I felt like I was right in the middle of the movie Sideways) and I would definitely be interested in polishing my skills by attending one of their classes (I need to stray away from my usual Trader Joes)! I was equally impressed with the clean layout and organization of the store. They have weekly wine tasting events and rent out their cellar for private parties. I'm definitely suggesting this tasting bar for my next work happy hour.
Hands down, my favorite wine store. They have a huge variety here with prices ranging from the $9-10 range to very expensive. And I love the try before you buy concept. They always have a handful of wines available for free samples, but then they also have the samples you can purchase which is really cool, because although I may never actually BUY a $200 bottle of wine, at least I can pay a few bucks to find out what it tastes like! This is also a very fun place to check out with a group... they have a seating area to relax in while you taste.
I went here for a wine tasting on a Saturday and it was absolutely fabulous. The owner is a very interesting guy to listen to and he talks about wines in a way that at any level you can really understand. He also has self serve tasting so that you can go in at any time and taste wines. He explained they are changed every three weeks. If your looking for a nice wine shop in town I would highly recommend it.
This is my new favorite place to buy wine. I found the prices to be competitive and the wine selection outstanding. You won't find wine in a box here-go to Dominicks for that. I love samping the selected wines and have found some new favorites.
I just wish they had in store wine classes instead of having to take them online.
The staff is great, prices reasonable, and the selection superior. If you're looking to expand your wine horizon and diversify beyond your every day grocery store selection, this is a great place to start. True, buying new wines can be a bit overwhelming for some. Fortunately, the staff is super friendly and spends all of their free time with their wines (!), I'd def recommend chatting with some of them to get their insights. Highly recommended
contrary to the other reviews, i did not enjoy this place AT ALL! the staff was snobby and seemed to enjoy showing off their wine knowledge (which was not that extensive!). this place is also extremely overpriced. go somewhere else!
This is a really nice wine store. Great atmosphere, great selection of wines around $10, and very knowledgeable staff. Parking is a bit tough, but it's really easily accessible if you live or work in the area. I wasn't able to give it 4 or 5 stars, however. I've been there maybe 6 times in the last year, and it seems that something is always not working - either the savvy sipper cards, the white wine sampling center, or the red wine sampling center. They have always been very polite and tried to accommodate, but it would be much less frustrating if their equipment was better. On a related note, none of that equipment would be necessary if they were to simply give free tasting like similar stores do. Granted, Just Grapes offers larger samples, but you'll pay for them. I go back for the great selection and very helpful staff, but not as often as I'd go if their tastings were either less expensive or free.
Neighborhood: Lincoln Square
Category: Beer, Wine & Spirits
Neighborhood: University Village
Category: Beer, Wine & Spirits
Neighborhood: Near North Side
Category: Beer, Wine & Spirits
Neighborhood: DePaul
Category: Beer, Wine & Spirits
Neighborhood: Near Southside
Category: Beer, Wine & Spirits
These joints are so close to home, I would feel…
