Off Premise: Real Wine, Whisky & Craft Beer

06/21/2026

Still in need of a Father's Day gift?

A bottle of the good stuff never fails!

From Bourbon, Tequila, and Rum to Burgundy and Napa Cabernet, we have something your dad is sure to love. We also have Gift Cards (https://app.squareup.com/gift/XTVSMSMMAQY02/order) !

Scroll for a few great gift ideas or check out our Website (https://offpremisechicago.com/) for many more! (Or just come into the shop, and I'll show you the good stuff myself.)

Off Premise E-Giftcards available too

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06/15/2026

If you would like to join our Burgundy Club (https://offpremisechicago.com/clubs) , check it out HERE (https://offpremisechicago.com/clubs) on our website.

In the Shadow of Montrachet

The story of red Burgundy from the Côte de Beaune is one of history, controversy and quiet redemption. Chassagne-Montrachet today is known almost exclusively for its Chardonnay, but this was not always the case. Red wine was historically dominant here, and as recently as 1816 the reds of Chassagne were ranked alongside Clos de Tart and Musigny, two of Burgundy's most celebrated names. The shift toward white wine accelerated after phylloxera and has never fully stopped, leaving some critics to argue that Chardonnay has been planted in terroirs that were always better suited to Pinot Noir, particularly the lower slopes with their heavy clay and iron-rich terres rouges soils.

The Clos du Château de la Maltroye is one of Chassagne's most historically grounded sites, a monopole premier cru with roots going back to a fortified hilltop castle destroyed by King Louis XI in the late 15th century. This is Chassagne as a red wine village, which is exactly how it used to be known.

The Saint-Aubin Sur Gamay from Henri Prudhon sits on the opposite side of the argument. Tucked into a side valley behind the Montrachet hill above the hamlet of Gamay, this premier cru borders the backside of Puligny and Chassagne and shares their geological DNA. Saint-Aubin rarely gets the attention it deserves, consistently overlooked in favor of its more famous neighbors and almost always underpriced as a result.

Both of these wines reward the kind of drinker who is willing to look past the obvious. The red that a white wine village forgot it could make. The white that the market has not quite caught up to yet. That is exactly where the best value and the most interesting drinking in Burgundy tends to hide.

Off Premise E-Giftcards available too

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06/14/2026

It is time for June Club Pickup!

Interested in joining Off Premise Wine Club (https://offpremisechicago.com/clubs) ? Sign up HERE (https://offpremisechicago.com/clubs) on our website.

A Summer in Italy

There is a reason people dream about summers in Italy. The sunshine, the food, the pace of life, and of course the wine. This month we are taking you on a journey from north to south, starting in the rolling foothills of Piedmont, making our way down to the ancient coastline of Campania, and finishing on the slopes of an active volcano off the coast of Sicily.

We begin in Roero, a land of gentle hills and vine covered slopes just across the river from Barolo country, where life moves at exactly the right pace.
From there we head south to Campania, one of the oldest wine regions on earth, where ancient Greek temples stand in the shadow of vineyards just steps from the Tyrrhenian Sea.
We finish on Mount Etna, a place unlike anywhere else in Italy, where an active volcano rises dramatically from the Sicilian coastline and makes wines that could only come from here.

Off Premise E-Giftcards available too

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06/04/2026

Summer is here and we are getting this question every day: what's the best rum for a Daiquiri?

Our go-to answer: Probitas Rum (https://offpremisechicago.com/product/probitas-white-rum)

(scroll for our special Daiquiri recipe)

Probitas is a collaboration between two Caribbean legends, Foursquare Distillery in Barbados and Hampden Estate in Jamaica. Foursquare brings elegance and balance; Hampden brings that bright, funky, tropical character that makes a daiquiri sing.
Bottled at 47% ABV with no added sugar or artificial flavoring, it's the real deal and it's in stock right now.

Our Recipe
2oz Probitas Rum (https://offpremisechicago.com/product/probitas-white-rum)
1oz Fresh lime juice
1/2-3/4oz Respeto Artisanal Agave Syrup (https://offpremisechicago.com/product/respeto-artisanal-pure-agave-syrup-11-75oz)

Shake with ice and strain into a chilled glass.

*If you haven't tried the new Respeto Agave Syrup you are sincerely missing out!

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05/29/2026

Inexpensive Summer Wines & Asian Spirits

Join us tonight as Jackie pours hard-working, inexpensive wines built for summer partying — large-format, crisp, clean, BBQ-friendly bottles that won't break the budget. Alongside these incredible wines, we've also got Chiyo, our local Asian spirits specialist, broadening your palate with an exploration into Korea.

Hope to see you all tonight!

05/29/2026

See you all tonight!

05/21/2026

This month's Burgundy Club (https://offpremisechicago.com/product/off-premise-burgundy-club) has a savings of over $100. Only a few more available for the month.

Get yours HERE (https://offpremisechicago.com/product/off-premise-burgundy-club) .

The Hill of Corton

The two wines in this month's selection come from the same hillside in the Côte de Beaune, separated by a few hundred meters of elevation and a shift in soil. That hillside is the Hill of Corton, and it is one of the most singular and storied pieces of ground in all of Burgundy.
The hill rises to 388 meters, among the highest elevations in the Côte d'Or, and its vineyards wrap nearly 270 degrees around its flanks, covering exposures from east through west across three communes: Ladoix-Serrigny, Aloxe-Corton, and Pernand-Vergelesses. It is the only appellation in the Côte de Beaune to produce Grand Cru red and Grand Cru white wine, and it contains three grands crus within a single topographical unit. Viticulture here dates to at least the 8th century, and the hill's name is thought to derive from Curtis d'Orthon, a Roman estate that once occupied the area.

The most enduring story the hill has to tell involves Charlemagne, the Holy Roman Emperor, who owned land on the slope and planted vines there in the 8th century. He loved the red wines of Corton so deeply that they stained his gray beard, and his wife Luitgarde, objecting to the unsightly tinge, persuaded him to plant white vines instead. Whether the legend is true or not, Corton-Charlemagne has carried his name ever since.

What makes the Hill of Corton so compelling, and what explains why two such different wines can emerge from the same hillside, is the way its soils shift with elevation and aspect. The upper slopes, particularly on the cooler west and southwest-facing side toward Pernand-Vergelesses, are based on hard Oxfordian limestone with a marl-rich surface. These are Chardonnay's soils, sites that produce wines of austerity and exceptional aging potential. Lower on the hill, toward Aloxe-Corton, the slope warms, the soils turn redder, clay content drops, and ferruginous oolite appears in the earth. This is Pinot Noir's territory, and it shows in the wines: richer in color, warmer in fruit, built on a framework of fine tannin rather than the stony tension of the upper slope.

This month's Corton Grand Cru Blanc from Domaine Jean-Marc Pavelot (https://offpremisechicago.com/product/2019-domaine-jean-marc-pavelot-corton-grand-cru-blanc) comes from those upper reaches, drawn from a steep southwest-facing parcel where the shallow marl soils and cooler aspect push Chardonnay toward the austerity and mineral tension the hill is capable of at its best. The Aloxe-Corton Les Vercots Premier Cru from Domaine Follin-Arbelet (https://offpremisechicago.com/product/2023-domaine-follin-arbelet-aloxe-corton-les-vercots-1er-cru) sits lower on the southeastern face, where the soil has shifted and Pinot Noir takes over. Tasted side by side, they tell the story of the hill better than any description could. Drink now or hold.

Off Premise E-Giftcards available too

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05/15/2026

Wine Club is ready for pickup, and we got it in a little early for anyone looking to grab it before the festival this weekend.


Burgundy Club will be a separate email this month, as we were unable to get it in before the 15th (Keep a lookout, though, it's a BIG VALUE month! $100+ savings for some incredible bottles!).

Wine Club

Off Premise E-Giftcards available too

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05/13/2026

It's That Time Of The Year Again

Hello all,

For those who have been following us for the last 5 years, you know that this is my least favorite weekend of the year. This is the weekend where Special Events Management tries their hardest to make it impossible for my customers to shop here, collect their Wine Club, or fulfill online orders.

Last year they called the police on us for operating in our legal capacity. After a short discussion with the law, Special Events Management was informed that despite their repeated attempts to bar me from doing business on Armitage, we are in fact legally compliant and can continue to operate normally due to our Off Premises/Packaged Goods license.

As of today, we haven't been provided a layout of this year's event, but I can assure you they will be doing everything in their power to prevent you from supporting this establishment. Take this as a warning to those looking to fulfill online orders or Wine Club pickups: you WILL be EXTORTED at the Racine and Sheffield entrances for cash. Please keep in mind that they have no right to bar you from entering a public space. Most importantly, last year there were multiple reports of their security physically accosting individuals who refused to pay, and we encourage anyone who experiences this to notify the police immediately. We will have a CPD officer on standby as well for those needing to file a report at the store.

For this reason, our Free Friday Tasting is canceled. If you do choose to venture our way, keep in mind that parking will be extremely difficult on the permit-enforced side streets. We, of course, will continue to operate in a reduced capacity. We will continue to sell $5 beers, seltzers, and THC cans. For those looking for larger purchases, please inform the front desk and we will let you enter the entirety of the property for your wine and spirits needs.

Thank you all for your patience this weekend. We will return to normal business Monday and resume Free Friday Tastings next Friday.

Off Premise E-Giftcards available too

05/08/2026

🍷 FREE Friday Tasting — tonight, 5–8pm
This week we’re pouring Vin de France — the most rebellious category in French wine. No appellation rules, no regional restrictions, just producers making whatever they want, however they want.
Translation: serious value and a lot of fun in the glass.
Jackie has hand-picked the lineup so you’ll get the quality without the funk. Come thirsty.
📍 1128 W Armitage Ave, Lincoln Park 🕔 5–8pm tonight
FreeTasting FrenchWine