Storefront City Chicago

Townhouse Restaurant + Wine Bar

WHAT: Townhouse Restaurant + Wine Bar
WHERE: 111 S. Wacker Dr.

OUR RATING: Do It! (The Wine Flight)

Need to relax and enjoy yourself on a Tuesday night without going too crazy or emptying your wallet? Located in the Loop, the elegantly casual Townhouse Restaurant + Wine Bar lets you do just that. Pair half-off select appetizers from 3-6pm (actually, they have this every week day), with $8 wine flights for Townhouse’s Tasting Tuesdays.

(townhousewinebar.com)

Townhouse offers three different wine flights, each with three glasses complete with 3oz of vino. So sit back and relax with not one, not two, but THREE glasses of wine with Townhouse’s warm wood-paneled walls, wine wall and floor-to ceiling windows (which look out onto the river and neighboring skyscrapers).

Adam: Townhouse offers a variety of wine flights, including red, white and carbonated varieties. I was in a red mood, so I decided to sample those sorts and was not disappointed.

The flight of three red wines included varieties from Italy, Spain and Argentina, although this sometimes changes depending on what season it is. My first wine was the Italian Dogajolo Toscano, which tasted like a relatively young wine with fruity bouquet. While quite strong and full-bodied, it certainly had an Italian character, and one could clearly detect the Etruscan Sangiovese grapes which make this wine so distinctive.

(townhousewinebar.com)

My second wine, the Spanish Beronia Crianza, Rioja, made for a refreshing and affable taste, certainly smoothing the palate with blossomy hints. Originally a Phoenician wine variety of Tempranillo grapes, an earthy sense accompanies each sip, suggesting the Spanish lands from where it comes.

Finally, I settled into a nice glass of Doña Paula Malbec Estate, Mendoza, from Argentina, which had predominantly earth-like flavor, with hints of peppery spices. Definitely my favourite wine of the evening, it can be enjoyed with most dishes, as well as in more informal situations.

Alicia: Since I don’t imbibe carbonated wine very often, I went with Townhouse’s “All Things Sparkling” flight. I started off the night with a Mionetto Prosecco from Italy, which was admittingly very intense for me. It offered a very strong apple bouquet and was very dry. I was unable to take more than a few sips of this one, so moved on quite quickly.

My next tasting was of an Avivyo Cava from Spain. After sampling more than my fair share of Cava in Barcelona a few months ago, I was a little disappointed with this one. But I think my bar was a bit too high, and overall I did find this dry cava quite tasty with notes of grapefruit, bread dough and other citrus with vigorous bubbles.

(townhousewinebar.com)

My favorite of the night was the Louis Bouillot Rose from France (Burgundy to be exact). With a nose of blackcurrant and strawberry and with a beautifully subtle salmon pink color, this wine had fruity notes mixed with a well-balanced acidity. Needless to say, I let myself enjoy every last drop of this one.

Final Thoughts: We can’t speak to the food menu at Townhouse (as our bellies were too full of fermented grapes), but we’re sure to come back for their happy hour specials if we’re ever hungry enough. The wine flights, however, are well worth the $8 they cost, with each glass generously filled and quite nice too.