Alsace to Rhône, Evanston Plays It French
Downtown Evanston · Evanston · Contemporary Bistro · Visit Website ↗
Updated July 2026
Reviewed by the RagingWine Tasting Desk · July 13, 2026
RagingWine reviewed Le Tour Evanston’s wine list and gave it The Wild Card — RagingWine’s Vibe-Check rating. How RagingWine reviews wine lists →
Wingman Metrics
You open this list expecting a safe suburban bistro wine card and instead find Francine Bachelier Chablis Premier Cru and Château La Nerthe Châteauneuf-du-Pape staring back at you. For Evanston, this is punching several weight classes above the norm. The French focus is deliberate and mostly well-executed — this list was clearly curated by someone who actually drinks wine.
Forty-six labels sounds modest, but the depth-per-bottle ratio here is genuinely impressive. France dominates — Loire shows up twice via Sancerre (both Patrick Noël and Moreux Les Bourrants), Burgundy gets proper representation with Jacques Girardin's Santenay Clos Rousseau Premier Cru, and the Rhône gets a quality double dip between Domaine de Beaurenard and Château La Nerthe. Alsace earns its own lane with Domaine Zind-Humbrecht Gewurztraminer and two Crémants, which we don't see often enough. The California section is thin — Quilt and Justin Isosceles are crowd-pleasers, not discoveries — and Port is oddly overrepresented with three separate labels, which feels like a personal obsession rather than a strategic program.
Fourteen pours by the glass is generous for a 46-bottle list, and the range is real — you can go Crémant, rosé, Côtes du Rhône, or Cava without feeling railroaded into boring choices. Glass prices run $12 to $21, which is fair at the low end and slightly aggressive at the top. We'd love to see the Zind-Humbrecht or the Chablis Premier Cru make it onto the glass list, but for now the Paul Jaboulet Parallèle 45 Côtes du Rhône at $48 a bottle is the best everyday anchor.
Paul Jaboulet Aîné Parallèle 45 Côtes du Rhône 2023 — $48/bottle
Jaboulet's Parallèle 45 consistently overdelivers for its price point — Grenache-driven, reliably food-friendly, and at $48 it's one of the only bottles on this list that doesn't make you do uncomfortable math. Order it confidently.
Francine Bachelier Fourchaume Chablis Premier Cru 2023
Fourchaume is one of Chablis' best Premier Cru sites and Bachelier is a name most tables won't recognize — which means it'll sit while the table next to you orders the Quilt Cab. Their loss. This is steely, precise Chablis that earns every euro of its price.
Quilt Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley 2022
Quilt is a well-marketed lifestyle brand that retails widely and marks up reliably. In a list this French-forward and thoughtful, it sticks out like a tourist. There's nothing wrong with it — it's just expensive for what it is, and you're better served going literally anywhere else on this list.
Domaine Zind-Humbrecht Gewurztraminer 2021 + Duck Confit
Zind-Humbrecht's Gewurz has the weight and aromatic intensity to stand up to rich duck fat, and its off-dry character cuts through without competing. It's one of Alsace's great producers and the match is a bistro classic for good reason.
The Bottom Line
Le Tour is quietly doing something better than most of its suburban peers — a focused, French-leaning list with genuine producers that rewards the curious diner. Markups keep it from a higher badge, but this is absolutely worth ordering wine at.
Evanston · Evanston · Wine Bar & New American
Lush is doing something genuinely unusual in the Chicago suburbs: stocking a 382-label list heavy on oxidative wines, meads, and fortified pours that you won't find at 95% of restaurants in any city. The pricing is honest and the by-the-glass program is serious. If your dinner companion is game to let you order something they've never heard of, this is exactly the right room for it.
Deep & Eclectic
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· Evanston · Contemporary American
Chef's Station earns its Reliable badge the honest way: a sommelier who cares, a list with actual regional perspective, and a room where drinking something good feels like the obvious move. It's not a destination wine list, but it's a trustworthy one.
Solid Range
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Knowledgeable & Friendly
Set & Forget
Proper
· Evanston · Vegetarian & Vegan
Blind Faith Cafe is the Wild Card pick precisely because nobody expects a thoughtful wine list here — and that's exactly what makes it worth a second look. It's not going to replace your neighborhood wine bar, but for a veggie dinner in Evanston, this list is doing more work than it gets credit for.
Small but Thoughtful
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· Evanston · Wine Bar & Cafe
Evanston Pour isn't trying to be a destination wine list — it's trying to be the reliable neighborhood spot that doesn't rip you off, and it succeeds at that. Fair prices, drinkable range, zero pretense.
Small but Thoughtful
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· Evanston · French-American Seafood
Oceanique is exactly the wine list you'd want for a white-tablecloth seafood dinner on the North Shore — Old World focused, sommelier-curated, and clearly cared for. Just brace for pricing that matches the ambition, and let the staff steer you right.
Old World Focus
Steep
Varietal Specific
Knowledgeable & Friendly
Set & Forget
Proper
Evanston · Evanston · New American
The Alcove is doing something quietly ambitious with its wine list in a market where most New American spots phone it in. If you're north of Chicago and craving a proper bottle of Burgundy or Rhône without driving downtown, this is your spot.
Surprising Depth
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
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