It’s taken some time, but Red & White Wine Bar is finally open.
Quietly opened to the public on Jan. 4, the spacious, European-style wine bar adjoins the 10-year-old retail space of the same name. Don’t expect to see the same bottles, though.
“Nathan has cellared and stocked cases of precious, allocated and interesting wines since opening in 2008,” says Cub Dimling, who co-owns the bar with Nathan Adams. “These are wines that you’ll only find if you sit at the bar to drink.”
Opening the bar was a natural evolution to the work being done in the retail space, Adams said. “I’ve always had it in my mind to open this space, to serve wines that we love, that I’ve been squirreling away.” Focused on natural, biodynamic and small-production wines — “real wines of nature,” said Dimling — Red & White differentiates itself from box stores with wines that tell stories. “Our motivation has always been to showcase producers, the families who grow the grapes and make the wines. They’re who we serve.”
Unlike more common wine labels found in big box stores, natural wines can be most closely compared to sour beers in flavor, though that’s a disservice to the complex range of styles in the category. Hallmarks of natural wine include fermentation from wild and ambient yeast, minimal intervention on the part of the winemakers and in many cases, estate-grown grapes. For the uninitiated, the wines are unique, with savory flavors, comparable to cider, unique textures and, most distinctly, wines that taste of a place, or terroir. The moniker, “natural,” can be contentious, but it refers to practitioners eschewing additives such as sulfur or fining and filtering agents, in favor of traditionally made wines that taste nothing like, say, Yellow Tail. These wines taste wild, and vibrantly so.
The bar’s menu reads like a who’s who of natural winemaking. Several vintages of Domaine La Louvetrie, made in France’s Loire Valley by famed vigneron Jo Landron, plus various vineyard selections from Sebastien Riffault and three vintage offerings from Lebanon’s most storied winery, Chateau Musar — there’s a lot to explore on the 200-bottle wine list, and it’ll only grow, Adams says.
“We’ve been here for a minute,” says Adams, “and I’m excited to pull things out that we’ve been sitting on.”
While the bottle selection is deep and varied, with particular focus on France’s Loire Valley, Beaujolais and Rhone regions, Germany, Italy and the U.S. get some play too. Wines by the glass are ever-changing, ranging from $10 to $15, like Jean-Marie Berrux’s Le Tetu Bourgogne Blanc, poured from a dramatic large-format magnum, on the pricier end of the scale.
Speaking to his wines’ quality, Adams said, “they’re drinking as racy today as they were when I first tasted them — super vibrant, and real crazy.” The current wine list features selections like Scholium Project’s 1MN, from philosophy professor-turned-winemaker Abe Schoener, Albahra from Spanish winemaking outfit Envinate and riesling from Brooks, in Oregon’s Willamette Valley.
“You can talk to someone at the retail level, and send them out with a bottle to have their own experience,” said Dimling, “but to be able to tell the story as you put the glass down in front of them, that’s the draw of the bar.”
The space, inspired by Parisian wine bars like Septime La Cave, long considered one of the world’s best destinations for natural wine, is airy and industrial, yet inviting. Large windows open the space to the street and the adjoining retail shop, with 34 seats for diners and imbibers plus spillover. In the summer, the team plans to open a patio, effectively doubling the seating capacity.
Red & White has also tapped chef Colin McCormick, most recently of Giant, to craft a small-food menu. Anchored by charcuterie ($20) and cheese ($22) boards, the list features wine-friendly bar bites and weekly specials driven by the chef. The current offerings include duck confit, Arctic char and anchovy toasts, ranging from $10 to $18. And while a small selection of beers and spirits are available (particularly Japanese whiskey), Adams wants to “de-emphasize cocktails.”
“We want to be a hospitable introduction to natural wines,” he said, but also offer “people familiar with the style a chance to really dive deep.”
For now, Red & White is open only on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays, from 4 p.m. to midnight. Hours will be adjusted soon, say Dimling and Adams.
1861 N. Milwaukee Ave., 773-486-4769, www.redandwhitewineschicago.com
jbhernandez@chicagotribune.com
Twitter @joeybear85
