Wilmette Wine Cellar

Great place to grab a drink to have there or to take something home. The shop is wonderfully designed and has space available to host events. Tom and the staff are friendly and extremely knowledgeable. Don’t overlook the wide selection of craft beer.

Best wine store around! Great selection, service and ambience. We love to come for the tastings or just to come and drink a bottle of wine with friends. Owner and staff are knowledgeable and helpful.

Thoroughly enjoyed my time at Wilmette Wine Cellar tonight and so pleased to see such a unique and much needed wine shop in Wilmette/​north shore. The ambience of the location is fabulous — the shop provides an open-​room feel but still cozy, with wall banquets in the front of the store. The back part of the store opens to a beautiful long table for wine tastings, parties, bridal showers, etc.
Shelves of wines from around the world are on either side of the store, offering the customer a chance to view and easily peruse the various wines. A great place to stop in for wine, cheese and crackers before dinner or bring dinner in and enjoy a bottle (or many)! The owner, Tom, knows his wines and provides great guidance and perspective on pairings. There is a craft beer section which is great as well for those who may not want wine but like to enjoy the opportunity to have a drink.
Will definitely be back and recommend to others!

Inviting space with a cool vibe. A group of us rented out the group table in back. Owner Tom recommended outstanding wines. Hosting and wine fees were so underpriced. What a value. We will be back.

We hosted a bridal shower at this charming little hole in the wall that turns out to be not such hole. It is a spacious, airy venue with scores of wine to choose from. Every one of our guests, whose ages ranged from 20-​somethings to the ⁷⁰⁄₈₀ year old matriarchs of the bride’s family, commented on our find of a location for a shindig that has both ambiance and charm. What impressed me most is the professionalism and attitude of the young owner, Tom. It is apparent this entrepreneurial sommelier knows how to work with people. He is sharp, knows his craft, and is an absolute gem of a young man. He is willing to do whatever was necessary to make our little party a success, from choosing perfectly matched wines to carrying shower gifts out to my car post party. Do not visit Wilmette without stopping into this jewel of a place.

This place is a great addition to downtown Wilmette! I’m not a very experienced wine drinker, but Tom is really knowledgable and helpful with choosing something for everyone. I usually hate wine, but the one he chose for me was delicious! The décor is beautiful, and it’s great that it’s available for events. It’s much bigger inside than I expected, with lots of seating. I’ll definitely be coming here often!

Four-​stars because I didn’t purchase anything, but if I had, my experience would no doubt be rated as a five.
First things first. Don’t let the location fool you. The building outside might not be the most enticing retail store environment, but stop in and you’ll see what I’m talking about when I say the space is GORGEOUS! It’s a lot bigger than I anticipated by the photos. Tom, the owner, took great care to plan out ever inch of the space. From the bottle glass wallpaper to the custom tasting table made locally with lots of benches for seating, on a cold day like today it was warm and inviting and I could have stayed and chatted with the owner all afternoon.
If you’re looking for a unique venue for an event, like Heidi L’s client party she mentions in her review, there is plenty of room at the Cellar. Room to sit and taste and stand and mingle. They also have shelf food products like crackers and cheese that Tom will cut up for you to try.
I admit it. I’m not a super experienced wine drinker. But, wow did I learn a lot about wine culture and what it takes to open up a wine store in a small downtown. Absolutely fascinating. You probably know a lot of wine shops organize their wines by region. Not here. In fact, if you’re not a true connoisseur you might wonder where to look and how to shop. Oh, don’t worry, Tom will guide you. He’ll make you want to leave the store buying every beautiful bottle on the shelf. Here the wines are organized by weight. Perhaps you’d like a light white to go with some pasta, or a heavy red for meat. Yep, that’s how it’s done here. Very intriguing.
Now on to the owner Tom. He’s so unbelievably passionate and knowledgeable about his products. He cares about educating his customers and shakes things up a bit around there. If you see a wine you like, it might not be available the next time you come in, well at least not for awhile. Sometimes he gets certain seasonal wines in, and he’ll let you know when you make a purchase that it’s in a limited quantity, so stock up. And, the reason for the bottles being randomly organized by weight is so you can explore all types of wines within that category. Instead of walking in and going to the bottom shelf where you know that favorite Italian wine might be in another store, here it’s all about the exploration.
There is no shortage of wine here. The walls are lined with bottles like a library. I absolutely loved my stop in today, and I wish these guys the best of luck in their new home. I will be back.

What a welcome addition to Wilmette. A fun, charming space with a great variety of wines. Tom is knowledgeable about every item in his store. I’ve been in there several times both to shop and just to hang out and have a glass of wine with friends. I also held a real estate client party there a couple of weeks ago and it was terrific. The space is well suited for events with different seating areas and a nice flow. Tom made sure everything went smoothly and took effort to make sure we both looked good.

Wandered into this newly opened place by accident and what a pleasant surprise it was. We met the young Proprietor Tom, who despite having the appearance of a teenager is quite a knowledgeable sommelier. They specialize in smaller, less well known wineries from around the world. They have regular tasting events which are very convivial with attendees from the neighborhood. We will definitely follow up with more visits.