Wine Tasting at Cooper’s Hawk

I've been a longtime fan of Cooper's Hawk and was a member of the wine club for a long time. Last night I had the opportunity to attend a preview night at the new Schererville, Indiana location opening tomorrow and took time to do a wine tasting while we were there, which reminded me how much I like their wines, the experience and the retail space, in addition to the restaurant.

If you've never done a tasting, it's $12 and you get to sample eight different wines from either the wine, variety or lux tasting menus or you can customize it to include your own mix. The menus change each month, too, so there's always new options to try - including the wine club exclusive varieties. Enjoying one of their truffles along with your tasting is highly recommended.

A few of favorites that I recommend are:

- Winter White, a light and fruity wine that was delicious chilled, but that our server recommended trying served warm, as well.

- Cranberry, which is tart and fruity and perfect for the season.

- Blanc de Blanc, a traditional sparkling California wine.

- Cooper's Hawk Lux Cabernet Sauvignon, a lovely, bold red that would be a perfect accompaniment to a medium filet.

- Vin Chocolat Almond, a decadent red that pairs perfectly with chocolate.

- Prosecco, a classic bottle of bubbly.

- Anything in the Camille collection of wines, by Master Sommelier Emily Wines.

Each of those would be perfect for a hostess gift or holiday gift.

If you join the wine club, you get a monthly wine release, which you can customize if there's something else you prefer. It's $22.99 for the variety, red or white club. The sweet club is just $19.99. A 2-bottle membership is $38.99 for sweet, $44.99 for variety, red or white and $55.99 for the 3-bottle sweet membership and $64.99 for the variety, red or white.

With a 2 or 3 bottle membership, members enjoy monthly wine tastings for two, retail discounts, quarterly exclusive wine releases and access to club member events and wine trips. 

Also, if you haven't tried their other concept, Piccolo Buco in Oak Brook, it's definitely worth checking out for their amazing pizza.

For more on the wine club, restaurant and more, visit chwinery.com.