The Poison Cup Wine & Art Boutique

We recently bought all of the champagne and wine for our wedding rehearsal dinner, reception and brunch from the Poison Cup. Our selections were based on recommendations given to us by John, one of the owners, after he considered our menus, our family’s wine preferences (my future mother in law must have pinot grigio), and, of course, our budget. John selected several varieties for us to try and then our had our final selections ordered and in the store within days. I feel really confident going into my wedding that everyone is going to love the wine at all of our events. What more can you ask for?

I was in town for a bachelorette party and we scheduled a wine tasting here for 9 people.
Wine Tasting
They sat us at a table and the lady gave us our first glass of wine to try. She was very knowledgeable. Right after she gave us the sample, she just walked off to help another customer. After at least 10 minutes of us just sitting there, we decided we would just pour our own sample of the next wine. That, of course, got her attention. She didn’t even apologize for leaving. And, took the rest of the bottles off the table so it wouldn’t happen again. It was actually quite funny!
After that, it was just ok. It was a little weird — the lady conducting the wine tasting was very pregnant and definitely drank some wine. Then, eventually, she just left (never said anything) and some other guy starting helping us. After about 4 samples, I guess the wine tasting was over (which was fine). It was just odd that the guy never said anything and just wandered off — so we had to assume we were done.
All in all, wine tasting isn’t the best idea here.
Atmosphere
Super cute place. Small and not overwhelming. Seems like a perfect place to pick out a new bottle of wine.
Staff
Besides not doing well at an actual wine tasting — they are extremely knowledgeable and passionate about wine.

This place is solid in it’s selection and knowledge. I wish they had more of a variety of different price points but it is a Boutique wine shop.
More often than not they will have a wine tasting of new wines to come into the shop and they are always fun and enjoyable. With wine culture on the rise again and many people not understanding the knowledge or information like most, the shopkeepers keep up to date with the grapes harvest and information that coule affect the wine.
It is important to note that they also have art showings occasionally and will feature local artists. This wine shop is definitely a place to check out.

Stopped in there on a whim going to dinner and glad we did. The owner was extremely nice and knowledgable not to mention courteous. Ended up talking to him for a bit and walked out with a bottle and signed up for their newsletter. Definitely will have to go back

Simply wonderful!
I planned a mini party recently and I have to say that John and Erica couldn’t have been nicer or more accomodating! This was quite simply, the best party ever! John helped me pick out great selections for a tasting and Erica (and John) gave a wonderful wine class. I really enjoyed how the class was tailored to what I asked for as well as the questions we asked when we were there. They are really knowledgeable and helpful.
I truly enjoyed Erica’s enthusiasm for wine and wine making. It was really refreshing to meet two people who are so passionate about their jobs and seem to really want to share their knowledge with others.
This shop is also adorable! They have quite a few wines, from everywhere and I enjoyed hearing stories about many of the bottles which have clearly been chosen with not only the owner’s tastes in mind, but also their customer’s tastes.
Definitely a great spot and a perfect space for a party.
Thanks!!!

Must try if you live in LP. We live right down the street so this place caught my eye. They have $ 10 wine tastings (just had one Tuesday which we attended). Wines of Sonoma. It was really fun & for $ 10 how can you beat it? Even picked up a fabulous Cab.
We def will return for another wine tasting in the future. Their wines are nothing you find at Binny’s which is what I love. They are all unique and not overly expensive.
Also the staff is so friendly and warm. Very helpful in picking out wines if you don’t really know your stuff like myself.

I was very excited to go because of the great reviews posted here. My husband got us a tasting with paint class by local «artist» for $ 45/​each. Well, imagine our shock when the girl that worked there informed us that «because of their license…» they couldn’t do more than a tasting (a sip… one of each of the two wines… so let me get this straight, TWO sips of wine for $ 45?! We both looked at each other like, «What a rip off!».
Oh well, maybe the painting part will make up for it. Well our «local artist» while very nice and somewhat funny was just a few years out of high school and was just trying to get work, period. It seemed like she had put *some* thought into what she was going to teach that night but not enough to know exactly what she was doing. She hadn’t tried painting this particular piece before… Oh, BTW you’re just copying some famous painter’s painting… nothing original or even interesting. AND the paint is acrylic so don’t plan on hanging your masterpiece on your walls.
ALL that said, we still managed to have a good time (facilitated by the bottle of wine we bought for ourselves to enjoy our «tasting»).

I recently moved very close to the Poison Cup Wine Boutique. I went in on a lovely summer day and had a long talk with the shy but very knowledgeable owner, John. It is a lovely store, with an entire wall of quality wine for under $ 13 (for these hard economic times!) Poison Cup not only offers «taught» wine tastings (called «Tours»: California Meritage Wines, Pinot Noir, etc.), they host informal wine tastings with their distributors, including H20, Eno Amano and Pure for free. For a wannabe wine professional like me, it’s absolutely great to be able to taste so much for so little. It is a priceless learning experience. They are a little gem. Come in, enjoy and have a great time with some great wine and fine people.
(They also offer fun-​looking paint classes, with wine and apps – sounds like a great time, but I haven’t had the $$ to try it yet. I plan too, though!) Remember, shop local. :)

This little boutique is filled with nice people! I attended an hour-​long Wine Tasting Class on Tuesday evening. The instructor was a buyer in wines and she was friendly, cordial and I could tell that she loves what she does. In fact, all the staff at the Poison Cup emanated a passion for wine.
Our class had around 8 people so it was a nice and intimate group. We were seated at a long table in the center of the store with plates of cheese, crackers, sausage and grapes. Our little group had such a good discussion that her class ran overtime. The staff were very helpful, chimed in the discussion near the end, and helped us pick out wines after the class.
We tasted 6 wines, 4 whites and 2 reds, and we even had a printed outline and a pencil to take notes with. Intensely organized in a comforting way because while the instructor talked, the staff would fill and the whole evening was smooth and enjoyable.
The instructor talked about the history of wines, grape-​growing, fermentation etc. and gave backgrounds of the families that owned the labels and how to «smell, sniff and taste.» For a wine newbie like me, some of the terms were way over my head but in all it was very informative, and she answered all of our questions. The class was $ 15/​person, a great deal for a fun outing. I did this with a friend but the classes would not be something I could do all the time, though they said they offer many wine tastings and some of them are free!
The walls, apart from endless racks of wine, had artwork for sale. It was very chic and this place seemed very involved in their community as well. Definitely a plus!

It’s been awhile since my last review and happy to report this wine boutique has only flourished!
They always have events going on — wine tastings, art openings, new selections and just generally always keeping it lively. Still love it and now officially a «member.» For only $ 45/​year, you can join their wine club which gets you into special events, free tastings, 20% off on the bottle of the month and 10% off all purchases. What a *super* way to reward their customers.

Put the word «Free» in front of an event, and I’m there. They have free tastings here on random Fridays, and I recently attended an event of Loire Valley wines. It was enjoyable, and I learned some stuff.
This is an nice shop with some really great art on the walls. I left rather abruptly after the tasting was over, but I’ll definitely come back here when I have some pennies to spare to purchase a few bottles from the knowledgeable, friendly staff.

The Poison Cup is a cozy little shop on Armitage that does everything right. This place is warm and inviting without displaying too much pretension. The staff members working are very knowledgeable and work to effectively answer any questions you have without making you feel like a wine dummy.
I tend to think of wine shops as more on the expensive side, but PC has extremely well-​priced selections, most of which look to be of better quality than what you are going to find elsewhere. A decent sized portion of the wall is even dedicated to $ 10 and under. While you’re here you can also pick-​up cheese and meats, and register for one of their informational and entertaining events. Long live this place!

This is a nice little spot. I attended a tasting on a Friday evening of wines from the Loire Valley. The wines here are a nice «condensed» collection of domestic and international wines, very well displayed and accessible, in a good price range, somewhere in the $ 20 average price range (that is a guess, my friends.) I saw bottles as low as $ 11 and as pricey as $ 45.00. But something for everyone, to be sure. Many labels I had never seen before.
And the art is very high quality. I don’t know what I had expected, but the paintings were real classic oils, mostly still lives. But very intriguing and a nice addition to the wine collection. The owner was present and available. Just a couple of blocks west of the Armitage Brown Line stop, and just a nice addition to the Boutique-​a-​palooza that is Armitage/​Halsted. Funny name, though. I meant to ask about that.

By no means am I a wine connoisseur. I am more of a wine enthusiast. Eventually, once I study up on all things wine, I know I will become one great wine expert. Until then, I’ll take baby steps.
I attended a Bottles and Brushes event with a friend here, and fell in love with the quaint and cozy Poison Cup. The walls are adorned with different paintings ranging from portraits to fruit bowls. There was even a portrait of a woman that looked eerily like Chelsea Clinton.
Anyway, let’s get down to the nitty gritty. We had a mini wine tasting at the Poison Cup, and I’m very grateful for that! Joe was the designated Poison Cup host that evening and he was funny! We tried a white wine from Argentina and a rich red wine that came from the family vineyard of the Cliff Bar inventors! Both selections were delicious. Although I am more of a white wine lover, I chose to get a bottle of the red wine from the Cliff Family winery. The bottle was a 2009 Climber Red Zinfandel blend. Honestly, I fell back in love with red wine all over again.
I browsed through their other wine selections and they have many options for you to chose from at very affordable prices. The Poison Cup even has a «Lucky 13» wall where you can find so many great bottles all for only $ 13. That’s a deal.
Thank you, Poison Cup, for exposing me to new scents, tastes, and types of wine. I’ll be back for some more wine! Oh yes, I will be back!

UPDATED: After walking for 3 hours to find this place it was SOOOO well worth the walk! John and Erica are so warm and lovely. They continue to turn me on to wines that I wouldn’t really try. Today it was a Reisling (I’ve always stayed away from them because they are usually so sweet; this one was perfect!). Went to the Butcher place one block away, ordered food, and had my wine (it’s BYOB if you eat inside). The difference with this shop as opposed to others is the fact that John and Erica greet you with warmth and caring. LOVE this place!
As my niece and I were walking along Armitage i said «we need to find a café and have a glass of wine.. » As this is our tradition after spending a day together. As though the wine spirits heard us voila! Poison Cup appeared 10 steps from where we had asked for this.
Cute, quaint, and warm don’t usually apply to wine shops, but this one has it all! Owned by a husband and wife team who seem to genuinely like each other, they were patient, fun, creative, and obviously living their passion/​dream. Two distributors were there pouring tastings but what I liked was how the woman owner explained each wine to me that I had questions about (trust me — the Chilean Sauvignon Blanc they have is EXCELLENT!!!). After purchasing 6 bottles (5% discount) we walked away to think about all of the great wines there are to drink and how Poison Cup is a true find.

Big thanks to my friend for scheduling a portion of her birthday shenanigans at Poison Cup during a fashion show and wine tasting they were hosting!
The name escapes me, but the boutique across the street supplied fun fall fashions while us girls milled around sipping wines and looking at the models posing in the corners.
Our favorite part was buying a few bottles of wine and popping them open while we were there to toast our friend’s birthday. The staff was really helpful in guiding us towards a few wines we would all enjoy, and the prices were comparable to Drinks Over Dearborn and Binny’s.

I came here for a Bottles and Brushes private event (where you can taste a bunch of wines and paint at the same time!) and this is such a gem on Armitage. While the boutiques down the street offer price points in the range of «Damn, that’s expensive,» the selection of wine at Poison Cup is predominantly under $ 20 and still a great bunch.
The only problem I had here was that I couldn’t quite figure out how everything was arranged – seriously, it went from cab to malbec back to cab… or maybe it just seemed that way after 4 glasses of wine. To be determined.

As I write this I sit in my cubicle wishing I were here instead. This Wine Boutique puts everyone who enters in good spirits. (Pun Intended). With exposed brick walls and a cute prime location, this place fits perfectly into the neighborhood, as if they were created with each other in mind.
The owners are very kind and knowledgeable about their wine selections. Very eager to help and down right, cool and nice people. I came here for an event and need to think of a reason to come back soon. If you love wine, love unique shops, and like trying something new; I promise you won’t go wrong with the Poison Cup!
Cheers!

I went here for a wine-​tasting class. The staff was very knowledgeable and very helpful. Bonus for the delicious selection of cheeses presented on the table during the class. I liked all but one wine, but the knowledge about different french wines (which can be very confusing) was wonderful.
A solid four stars. If the pours were a little more generous, it would have been a five. I just thought $ 25 was slightly steep compared to other wine-​tastings in the city, especially for only 6 wines and small portions.
I would definitely stop in this store again if I happened to be in the area.

I came here tonight to pick up a few bottles to cover all my bases for a dinner I’m cooking tomorrow night. I knew about this place for months but never was able to stop on by, but I am glad I made the effort to stop on by tonight.
It is small, but it is a really lovely and charming space. Very open, exposed brick and wines lining the walls. You will also find inside two very lovely, very friendly and very personable owners who might just turn you on to some new wines.
I was a wee bit bleary eyed and tired when I walked in, but their subtle energy and understated excitement for their place and wine certainly got me perked up a little. They were dishing out some fine Malbec, but I was on a mission. But hey, a fine Malbec whilst eying some various bottles to procure for my night certainly wouldn’t hurt. As I chatted with John about what I was looking for, what I was preparing and how I was looking to match my wine to the meal, I dished out some ideas, which he took and ran with. Showing me several bottles I decided on a Pinot Noir and two fine whites. I am really looking forward to the Argentinian white I got. Being a fan of Spanish whites like Verdejos, I am curious to try this one.
This isn’t a superstore of wine, you won’t find 5,000 bottles of wine here, however you will find some quality wines here. Prices vary, however if you are on a budget, you’ll probably find a variety of bottle that you will like here. Plus check their schedule, they have a bunch of wine tastings and some events here that may peak your interests.
There is no Boone’s, there are no boxed wine, but there is some lovely art, (and for sale too!), a good mix of affordable wine and some friendly owners who will not only be interested in the wine you drink but you yourself so they can help you find the right match.
Clinkies!