Before moving to the State of Denial years ago, Angus used to live close to Chicago, so we go back to visit as often as we can. Last fall we were looking for things to do and I found Winefest Chicago. I was not exactly sure what this would be like but it was awesome! When you travel north from downtown Chicago on the train “The L” as we call it (or the CTA as it is officially called), you go from neighborhood to neighborhood. We had a great walk from the Irving Park station on the Brown Line, as we found our way into the neighborhood of Northcenter where the festival was being held. You paid $25 for admission (or a starter kit as they called it) and received a lot of tickets for tastings, a wine glass and loads of music. They also had various speakers teaching about everything from different wine regions, to how to pair wine and food. We actually learned a few new things about Champagne and sparkling wines. Pretty cool! There were many distributors representing wines from all over the world, as well as many local artists selling their works, and local food vendors selling their specialties.
We did our fair share of tastings and found some great wines to buy. By the end of the evening, we had about 100 new best friends, you know that wine drinking crowd, friendliest bunch of people you could ever meet.
As we walked back towards the train with well used wine glasses in hand, we strolled by the many cafes and restaurants along N. Lincoln Avenue - most with outdoor seating. It was one of those perfect nights so we decided it was time to check one out. We chose Mrs. Murphy & Son’s Irish Bistro, who doesn’t love an Irish Bistro? I had the Roast Amish Chicken with Buttermilk Mashed Potatoes, and Angus had the Grilled Sea Scallops with Vegetables. It was all very good! As we sat outside with our new wine glasses parked on the table, we noticed a steady stream of people walking down the street with their wine glasses in hand. Based on the number of people, we apparently found the “must do” event of the weekend. Lots’ of happy people and lots of empty wine glasses!
We will be back this year once again for Winefest Chicago and maybe we will see you there too!
Cheers!
Trixie
