Earth Hour at bin wine cafe

Down here at bin wine cafe, we have made a commitment to getting our protein and produce from local, sustainable farmers. Tomorrow night, we have a great opportunity to really let those farmers shine! Earth Hour is an international grassroots environmental movement. For one hour from 8:30 to 9:30 pm, people all over the globe will be turning out their lights. Many people go above and beyond for this and, down here at the cafe, we've decided to pull an all-nighter. We will be hosting a candlelight dinner all evening. Chef Rubino has also put together some great, all organic and sustainable specials for you. Not to mention, we are excited to highlight the wines we carry that follow sustainable, organic, and biodynamic growing practices. So help us celebrate Earth Hour and come down to the cafe!!

The Specials:

Fire Roasted P.E.I. Mussels
w/ fennel & saffron sugo, crostini topped w/ rouille

Gunthrop Farm Chicken Breast
w/ mascarpone & fingerling potato salad, salsa verde

Cranberry-Pecan Brioche Bread Pudding
w/ mascarpone chantilly & winter compote

big changes at bin wine cafe

Situated in trendy Wicker Park neighborhood, bin wine cafe has been serving up great food and fantastic wine for 6 years. This winter, we have been undergoing some big changes to bring you even more.

The first big change is our new menu. We are bringing you more small plates so as well as sharing a bottle of wine, you and your friends can share your food too. Now when I say small plates, I don't want you to think about two tiny pieces of meat sitting on a baby bed of lettuce. I am talking hearty veal meatballs. I am talking the already-favorite mascarpone & prosecco arancini with wild boar sugo and shaved dante cheese. And don't worry, our wood oven pizzas aren't going anywhere, in fact, we have a new "pepperoni" pizza with house made giardiniera, red sauce and mozzarella.



We have also changed our hours. We are opening at four o'clock now to sate your pre-dinner munchies and your I-can't-believe-my-boss-did-that post work cocktails. Speaking of cocktails, the bartenders have being mixing up their new favorite winter cocktails like the Snow Plow made with Hendrick's cucumber gin, St. Germaine, lime juice and champagne. If you are into bubbly and want to try something new, ask the bartenders to whip you up one of our 3 champagne cocktails!

So when you are out and about in the neighborhood, stop in and see us down at the cafe!

Wine Flights: Express Yourself & Pacific Rim

White wines for winter can be a challenge to find. Jan Henrichsen, Beverage Director, was searching for wines with a good body that can stand up to heavier winter cuisine. These next two flights are great examples of big white wines that are just begging you to drink them with food.

Express Yourself - This impressively versatile group of white wines are far from shy, and would never be accused of bashful restraint. Their inherent vibrancy could easily be mistaken for showmanship. Their message becomes crystal clear with food.

2009 Sauvignon Blanc, BIN 36, Mauritson Vineyards, Dry Creek Valley, California.
Our favorite new lip smacking sipper! Deliciously juicy and fresh with mouth-filling grapefruit, melon, and green apple.

2008 Spatburgunder (Pinot Noir), Gutzler Estate, Rheinhessen, Germany
"Reminiscent of Champagne without the bubbles" is how the winemaker describes this is tasty wine. We noticed its voluptuous mouthfeel and classic cherry & cranberry flavors.

2009 Pinot Gris, Willowcrest Winery, Yakima Valley, Washington
If this wine were a movie, it would be in technicolor! Vivid pear, bright green apples and a round, juicy presence that asserts itself with loads of charm.

2009 Pinot Grigio, Castello di Arcania, Fruili, Italy
Wanna fall in love with a Pinot Grigio? Here's your chance. Engagingly juicy with fresh cut and lip-smacking crisp texture.



Pacific Rim - Our friends Down Under are well known for their skill with red wines - shiraz and pinot noir. However, we've been blown away by the quality and variety of white wines produced in Australia and New Zealand. Delicious!

2009 Riesling, Sky Leaf, Warpararia Valley New Zealand
A racy, elegant and zesty dry reisling, chock full of lime peel and passion fruit.

2010 Sauvignon Blanc, Allan Scott, Malborough, New Zealand
Kiwi, hints of pineapple and fresh cut grass are knit together with seamless precision and a round, juicy finish to boot!

2009 Semillon, Torbreck "Woodcutter's White," Barossa Valley, Australia
Semillon is usually bottled with sauvignon blanc in the Bordeaux region of France. Down Under, in the magic hands of winemaker Dave Powell, it is surprisingly rich, silky and complex.

2008 Chardonnay, The Wishing Tree, "Unoaked," Western Australia
Ripe apples, pink grapefruit, and pineapple star in this full bodied, zippy, clean example of the most popular white wine grape in the world.

Wine Flights: "The O.G." Original Grapes

A few times a year, Jan Henrichsen, Beverage Director, sets out to explore new AVAs and varietals to bring to our guests at the restaurant. Jan tastes through dozens of wines from all over the world (she does use a spit bucket sometimes!). After she makes her choices, she and Brian Duncan, our Wine Maker/Educator/Extraordinaire, sit down to go through a grueling process of choosing which wines to offer by the glass. And because the two of them do not have the same pallet, we end up with a great variety of wines that will satisfy any wine drinker.

As always at BIN 36, we look at the wine flights as much as learning tools as they are a great way to warm up from the cold weather. Tasting wines side by side allows us to more clearly see, smell, and taste the the unique nature of every wine. This season we have some spectacular wine flights to help any beginning wine drinker learn or refresh the pallet of an old pro.



Our first new wine flight for the winter season is "The O.G." Original Grapes. This is where is all started. If you've ever raised a glass of California Chardonnay to your lips or sipped a little New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc, it's genesis was in France. Elegant, racy, and original, these whites are classics.

2009 Sauvignon Blanc, Domaine des Fontanelles, Vin de Pays d’Oc, France
Crisp and fresh with grapefruit, lime zest and a clean dose of minerals for balance.

2009 Chardonnay, Domaine Jean Touzot, Macon-Village, France
Ripe apricots and peaches, along with a chalky mineral center make this old-world Chardonnay the center of attention.

2009 Domaine Specht, Pinot Blanc, Alsace, France
Lively white peaches, hints of apricot jam and wet chalk complement a rich, mouth-filling
texture.

2009 Sauvigon Blanc/Semillon/Muscadelle, Château Perenchere, Bordeaux, France
Pleasantly plump! Citrus fruits, white flowers and fresh, mouth-watering acidity just make this more enticing.

More wine flights to come!!

Highlight Cheese: Abbaye De Belloc

Abbaye de Belloc is a traditional cheese made by the benedictine monks of Notre Dame de Belloc. It is made from the raw sheep's milk of the local red-nosed manech ewes. Because of the climactically frequent rains in this part of France, the ewes have exemplary pasturing. Although they have a healthy diet, the milking season for manech ewes is relatively short. Thus, the cheese making season in the Pyrenees is only from December to July.

image from Yvan Lemeur's photostream

The milk of the red-nosed manech ewe is gathered from local farms. Because Abbaye de Belloc is an AOC cheese (Appellation d'Origine Controlee), the pasturing and breed are tightly controlled by the government. It is then made in the same way it has been made by the benedictine monks since the 1960s. The recipe was originally developed off of the regional recipe for Ossau-Iraty cheese. It is made into about 10 pound rounds and aged 4-10 months.

The cheese has a dense paste surrounded by a firm, red, yellow, and brown rind that has been marked by cheese cloth. The paste has a firm texture but is mild and smooth. It has a nutty, caramel flavor that pairs beautifully with zinfandel or a good Bordeaux.

image from artisanalcheese.com

Valentine's Day Movie in the Loft

Everyone down here at BIN 36 is excited to bring back movies in the loft. It has always been one of our favorites events and though we have taken a little hiatus, Valentine's Day seemed like the perfect time to start them back up again!

This year we are creating a great setting to celebrate Valentine's Day with your sweetheart. We will be playing Moonstruck with Nicolas Cage and Cher. Both funny and endearing, this love story set in Brooklyn tells the story of the widow Loretta Castorini. Deciding she is ready to get married again, she chooses a safe and reliable man only to fall in love with his wild and passionate brother.



This great story has also inspired our chefs. Being Italian-American himself, Executive Chef John Caputo is planning a fabulous 3 course, Italian menu. While he hasn't given us a peek at the menu yet, we are sure it will help create the perfect setting for you and your sweetheart. In addition, our beverage director, Jan Henrichsen, will be pairing some fantastic wines with all three courses (as well picking the wines for the pre-movie wine reception!).

We can't wait to help you celebrate your Valentine's Day here at BIN 36!!

Bin School Winter Semester

Many years ago, as a novice wine lover, I remember the uncertainty and apprehension that I felt towards wine. I also remember being subjected to a lot of lectures about how an untrained palate like mine couldn't possible recognize a quality wine. I also remember paying way too much for wine because I felt pressured into it. I wanted to drink "good" wine. Because of this, wine education is really important to me. I consider it the main part of my job at BIN 36. The difference between the education of our staff and our guests is a blurry line because I truly believe that knowledge is power.

That said, I am super excited about our BIN School winter line up and am looking forward to the first "real" semester of wine school I have planned since returning to BIN 36. We have two formats for wine classes; mini bin and full length classes.



Mini bin schools are planned to be about 20 minutes long and we will taste two or three wines with a brief ten or fifteen minute question and answer period. Mini bin school is a little like speed dating. Our goal is to introduce you to the basic concepts, let you taste a couple wines in a more formal tasting environment, and then send you out into the world.

Our more traditional classes are an opportunity to really dig into a subject. We pour six to eight wines and spend about an hour and a half on the subject at hand. This semester we will dig into some of my favorite regions and take a long, hard look at pairing wine and cheese.

I can't wait to see you there!!

(Jan Henrichsen is the Beverage Director for BIN 36 and bin wine cafe and our BIN School professor)