BottlesUp

07/02/2024

Wine this way. ➡️ And good drinks in general. ➡️ And fun. ➡️ And community. ➡️ And $1,600 (NOW $3,100!!)** to a female-entrepreneur-in-need.

You betcha - it’s time once again to start accepting applications for the 2024 BeyoU Fund, an annual grant we created as a way to support women in business! Why? Because quite simply: They’re important. 👊

Interested applicants should email [email protected] for the questionnaire and send it back by July 31. All submissions will then be reviewed by our “Boss Lady Business Panel” (Birch Road Club, Ama La Vida Coaching, Anderson Ganne Wines, United Women in Business Foundation 🫶) and the recipient will be announced at our BeyoU Summer Bash on August 15! If you think there won’t be Champagne, do you even know us at all? 🤸‍♀️🍾

For more details on all of the above, just visit www.bottlesupchicago.com/the-beyou-fund. And for more wine, good drinks in general, fun, and community, just follow the arrow.

➡️➡️➡️➡️➡️

*Big love to the mega-talented muralist/human, Lisa Wronski. Never thought we’d enjoy being next to a construction site. 🙌

**The Fund total has increased thanks to incredibly generous customer donations! 😭🥰

03/29/2024

FOURTH. ANNUAL. 🤸‍♀️

Top questions we get are:

Q: Why did y'all create this?
A: To raise money for the Alzheimer's Association. ♥️ And to party. On a Sunday morning. With rosé.

Q: Do I have to run?
A: Nope.

Q: Really?
A: Yep.

Q: What if I do run?
A: You get to the rosé faster.

To sign up and read about all the enjoyable/wearable/drinkable/useable goods included, hit that events tab in our profile. Then let's hit the pavement! 🏃🏃‍♀️🏃‍♂️

Or just the rosé.

*REGISTRATION ENDS APRIL 8*

01/16/2024

Think “Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants” except make it gender-inclusive, Chicago-centric, and a snowsuit.

12/24/2023

🎶 Last-minute shopping getting down to the wire.
Alcohol intake ebbs and flows (and flows and flows).
Yuletide cocktails being drunk by the fire.
Your umpteenth batch of cookies? We don’t oppose.

Everybody knows a bottle of some great Champagne
Pairs with everything in sight.
Folks saving “the good stuff” who’ve since abstained,
Will find it hard not to crack tonight. ( )

We know it’s the people in our day to day
Who deserve more praise and thanks than we can say.
And every real Chicagoan is gonna buy
Malort for the out-of-towners who think they’re so fly.

And so we’re offering this simple phrase
To friends and customers old and new.
Although it’s been said many times, many ways:
Happy All-idays to you.

❤️

09/13/2023

“Today’s shops don’t only sell wine. They’re expanding notions of where wine fits into our lives…crafting thriving communities, paving the way for a new kind of wine culture. The wine shops we selected serve their communities with visions toward the future and a wine culture that’s people-oriented, diverse and sustainable.”

It is impossible to articulate our shock and overwhelming gratitude when we saw our name on this list (link in bio). Crying in a parking lot is worth a thousand words, right?

ENDLESS thank yous to Wine Enthusiast for including us with this group of retailers from across the country (respect, comrades). 👊 Additional big/jumbo thanks to Jumbo Time Wines for the kind, genuine endorsement and to the BU team for being the gosh.dang.best. 🫶

And of course thank you ALL for allowing us to run this business in a way that is not about our bottom line but about bettering everyone's life. Recognitions like this only grow our desire to actively connect, create fun, and contribute to the community.

Aaaaaaand open Champagne.

Thank you. Times bazillion. ❤️

09/06/2023

✂️ Four years. 🤯

Join us for Champagne today…BECAUSE WE OWE YOU. ❤️🍾

(📹: 9/6/2019)

06/29/2023

Coming Up with the name "BottlesUp!" took a bit of time (and ). We kept circling back to it for a number of reasons, but the main one was its underlying message. In an email we sent to a friend in 2018, we wrote: "We keep gravitating toward "BottlesUp!" with the idea of playing on the B and the U. It's a subtle nod to "Be you" or "Be yourself" - a motto that's always guided us. Obvi keeping the exclamation point in there. Because it’s f'ing EXCITING!"

We've leaned hard into that message over the years, and if you've ever walked around the shop you might have noticed it in various places: Our private label, our hallway art, our restroom decor (inspiration strikes anywhere), and of course our annual Fund...which it's time to announce.

We're *beyond* stoked to yet again be offering this annual grant ($2,000 this year!!) to a female entrepreneur in need. Interested applicants simply need to email us their elevator pitch by August 1. We'll respond with a short questionnaire and review submissions with our Boss Lady Business Panel - Kim, co-founder of Birch Road Club, Stephanie, CEO of Swell Virtual Assistance, and Nicole, co-founder of Ama La Vida Coaching. The recipient will then be announced at our Summer Bash on August 10! *link in bio*

You can’t spell “business” without “u.” It’s supposed to be personal. And genuine. And unique. We wouldn’t be here without the people who believed in us and helped us believe in ourselves. It’s now our responsibility to pay that forward.

Additionally, if anyone wants to brainstorm company names we have a ton of the necessary alcohol.

04/06/2023

Unbelievable. We have zero words except thank you. Thank YOU. THANK YOU.

And holy sh*t.

03/28/2023

Year one ➡️ year two ➡️ year three.

Registration is a go for our Third Annual Run for Rosé 5K on May 7 in support of drinking pink and the Alzheimer's Association. 🫶

The goodie bag is strong this year and includes a custom t-shirt, commemorative wine glass, FIVE bottles of rosé, and of course massages, laughter, and merriment at the post-race party. 🤸‍♀️

We’d say you don’t wanna miss it, but y’all already know. Hit Up our Events page to register by April 20!!!

*Running not actually required. We’re not the 5K police.

01/19/2023

So our reaction went something like this:

"Holy *expletive.*" ➡️ Instantaneous sweating. ➡️ More expletives. ➡️ Spilled our coffee. ➡️ “Screw the coffee. CHAMPAGNE."

Completely blown away. Truly. And we feel it's already a win to be nominated alongside these incredible shops whom we GREATLY admire. 👊

Thank you to Chicago Reader, thank you to you sneaky (i.e. wonderful) people who nominated us, and thank you to everyone on this planet, because that's just the kind of mood this has put us in. 😭❤️

*Visit chicagoreader.com/best if you feel like casting a vote (though we kinda wish there was an "all of the above" option).

12/20/2022

Asked Page & Plate to come over and take photos of things we sell that people don’t know we sell.

If these pics don’t make you want to flex your green thumb 🪴 while figuring out how to eat a chocolate-covered wine bottle🍴after having tinned fish 🐟 on sourdough crackers 🍞 then lighting a candle 🕯️to put olive oil 🫒 in the pantry, hide chocolate bars 🍫 from your housemate(s), and grind beans ☕️ for your morning coffee, we don’t know what will.

Also obviously ya know we sell Champagne, but we recently did inventory and counted over 300 bottles in stock. Do we have a problem? No. We have a solution. 🫡

09/13/2022

Few spots left if you enjoy burgers and want to drink more/learn more about “natural” wine! 🤸‍♀️

Natties & Patties is a natural wine and smashed burger paired pop-up brought to you by Dan "The Wine Man" Perzan and Drew "The Food Dude" Pocius. Slinging out gussied-up smashed burgers and cook out classics while showcasing seriously stellar natural wines in user friendly, highly hangable digs (lik...

09/06/2022

Officially three.

How do you think we’ll be celebrating?

A) Whole milk.
B) Capri Suns.
C) Champagne.

Come find out.

07/11/2022

We only on our table when we’re really happy…like when last year’s Ladies’ Fund recipient (Laura Chavez of What Is Productions) tells us she wants to pay it forward and donate $500 extra to this year’s fund. 🤯😭🥰🥳

If you’re a female entrepreneur in need, email [email protected] and now $2,600 could BeyoUrs! 💃🕺

07/01/2022

You’ll often hear us call ourselves a “safe space” or “judgement-free zone.” This is normally referring to customers’ beverage knowledge, drinking preferences, or bottle budget, but in truth it goes far beyond that. We are a on a human and individual level: The same way we never judge if someone throws ice in their Pinot Noir or drinks every day is the same way we genuinely care about what people are going through in .

Our commitment to women’s rights has been especially reignited…nay, re-exploded…which is why we’re eager to announce year two of our BeyoU Ladies’ Fund. 🍾 This fund is an annual grant awarded to a female in need, but what started as $1,500 is now $2,100 thanks to customer contributions and an incredibly generous donation from Birch Road Club. We just typed and deleted a bunch of baloney to insufficiently express for this so will instead simply say that we have no words. 😭

Interested applicants should send their to [email protected] by August 1. We’ll respond with a short questionnaire and review entries with our “Boss Lady Business Panel” – Kim, co-founder of Birch Road Club, Nolita, president of Chicago Financial Women, and Nicole, co-founder of Ama La Vida Coaching. The selected recipient will then be announced at our BeyoU Ladies’ Night on Thursday, August 11 (yes there will be consolation prizes that rhyme with “whamplane”). ✅

Helplessness is BY FAR our least favorite feeling, but it can be combated by rallying to try and make a difference in a society that often holds people down. We’re here to lift others Up and will never stop standing by those who are underrepresented, overlooked, and in need of help.

Or alcohol, obviously.

06/01/2022

We got the keys to this space exactly three years ago (second picture: June 1, 2019). Feeling nostalgic and deeply grateful. Thank you for the encouragement, support, laughter, and you all show and share with us every day. You remind us that people exist and that there is hope if we all believe we can make a difference. Selling good bottles of alcohol is one thing - doing good for others is the only thing.

Also a very special thank you to longtime Club member and talented artist Barbara Kay Herring for giving us this portrait of the shop. We did not cry, and by that we mean we one hundred percent cried.

05/06/2022

Hi folks. Melissa here. 👋

For over a month, I’ve been trying to figure out how to recap my work trip to in March. It’d be easy to blame the language considering it took me the whole six days to learn how to say “thank you” and most varieties sound like a spell Harry Potter would cast.

But honestly it’s because there were SO many times I was either tasting something, listening to someone, or looking at something that I thought, “Wow…this is so.dang.good/remarkable/insert positive adjective here.” Of course it was a trip for the senses, but from day one it became an enlightening trip for the soul.

That was thanks to each of the very different, very passionate, very talented producers we spent time with: Playful, impressive Dimitri of Troupis Winery | Thoughtful, jolly Thomas of Domaine Glinavos (still upset I didn’t get a video of him laughing) | Visionary Dimitris of Magoutes Vineyard | Unabashed and experimental Periklis and Stergios (bros!) of Winery Tatsis | Intentional, kind, and generous Christos of Domaine Zafeirakis | Philosophical Nerantzi of Domaine Nerantzi.

There’s much more to say, but instead of reading on social media just come in for a bottle and an ol’ fashioned convo. Orrrrrrr if you’re free Monday night, come to at Avli River North (link in events tab)! Christos Zafeirakis will be in town (YAY!!), so we’re planning on welcoming him to Chicago the only way we know how: Great food, great people, and a shot of .

A forever amount of thank yous to Dns Wines and Domaine Zafeirakis for this indescribable opportunity to experience Greece. Also big “Yamas!” (“Cheers!” – that one I got down quick) to my travel companions - a fabulously dynamic group of industry comrades. Lastly, an “ALL HAIL!” to our insanely knowledgeable, genuine, and entertaining leader/tour guide/dance captain Dionysi a.k.a. Dioncyé.

Hope to see y’all Chicagoans Monday night (whether you speak Greek or not). We plan these events to learn and make fun memories, and thankfully laughter is the same in ALL languages. As well as “Malört.”

03/21/2022

You bet your glass we’re doing this again. 🏃‍♀️🤸‍♀️🏃‍♂️🤸‍♂️

Our 5K is an annual fun run/walk (+ after party!) we created as a way to raise money for the Alzheimer's Association and celebrate new vintage releases.

All participants receive:

👚”Run for Rosé” t-shirt

🍷Commemorative wine glass

🛍Goodie bag (including a full 750mL bottle and other samples!)

🎉Access to the post-race tasting with MaryTaylorWine and Triennes / The Sorting Table

👊A glass of frosé a.k.a. Pink Power Punch

💆‍♀️Massages from Advanced Spine & Sports Care

PLUS $5 from each ticket will be donated to the Alzheimer’s Association’s Illinois Chapter. ❤️

Register via our events tab and start training! Though whether “training” means or drinking a ton of rosé is up to you.

03/13/2022

This is Jake. Jake loves rum. So much so that customers have started recognizing him as “the rum guy.” , er, 🤷‍♀️🤷‍♂️

So we’ve decided to implement . Every Sunday that he’s working, Jake will have a different rum open for you to try (because we now have a crapton) and a batched showing you how to use it. We’re talking things far more interesting than the rum and cokes you used to crush in college. Or was that just us?

Anyway, let’s make Jake happy and drink more .

03/11/2022

Hi folks. Melissa here. 👋 When my wonderful friend Rendi of Anderson Ganne Wines asked if I wanted to join her for (an wine fair) in , it took me an eighth of a second to say “*expletive* yes.” Once that was settled, we decided to also visit producers in and . Sharing some pics to publicly thank Rendi and the incredibly generous people she and I (and her now fiancé!) met along the way. Trips like these are a good reminder that wine is more than a drink: It’s a place, a person/family, a connection, a story, and a chance to make some damn good .

🍷Montpellier | Hoping to launch one or two producers we met here via the ! Also, Emmanuel, shop owner at L’Atelier des Vins, put on a five-hundred-star one-man-show. Go there and tell him we sent you.

🍷Alsace | Eguisheim = a fairy tale town. Christian Beyer (Domaine Emile Beyer) = the coolest. We strolled his vineyards, tasted in his family home, and talked about how more people need to drink Alsatian Pinot Noir. That was 100% a plug (available at a BU near you).

Squeezed in some while staying with Rendi’s parents (❤️) in Dambach. Had to cleanse the palate with local brews too. 🍺

Then looked to the future with Domaine Burckel-Jung, which always looked very bright under Danielle Burckel and Thierry Jung’s watch, but their son David is lighting ish up even more with awesome new biodynamic projects and shnazzy new labels. This entire family (Sarah too!) never stops smiling and neither do you when you’re with them.

🍾Champagne | An eight-hour blitz tour kicked off with Antoine Chiquet (Champagne Gaston Chiquet) who wasn’t supposed to be working that day but tasted with us anyway and somehow became our taxi driver to Epernay. 😂 Then the INSANELY hospitable Francois of Champagne H.Blin scooped us up and we zipped around the Marne Valley (Pinot Meunier land), with stops at Avenue de Champagne, Dom P’s place, and a lunch at Sylvain Suty Restaurant Dormans that was so good I have no words for it. Sorry, Francois – secret’s out.

In conclusion, thanks to CITY PRESS Juice & Bottle for the juice cleanse I did this week.

02/16/2022

We’ve talked about the for our part-timers. ❤️ You’ve certainly seen enough of Melissa. 🙄 So we thought it was time for a shout-out to Melissa’s , Danny. 🕺

He’s mainly a behind-the-scenes guy since his job as a civil engineer keeps him…well…behind the screens (i.e. three computer monitors 🤓). BUT as anyone knows, behind-the-scenes work always keeps in-front-of-scenes operations running smoothly/sanely.

If you’ve been the recipient of a delivery, it was likely Danny (and his pops). If you see that nothing is broken in the shop, it's because Danny fixed it. If you've met him actually working a shift, it’s because he volunteered after noticing Melissa about to lose her marbles. And if you've calculated a bottle or more missing from inventory, it was 100% no doubt most definitely Danny.

That last one was to our accountant.

In all seriousness, he was thrown into this life and has unfailingly taken EVERYTHING in and supportive stride. We are grateful every day.

Also, the next "Dumbing It Down with Danny" class is about to be announced (check stories), so good grief everyone can stop asking now.

01/18/2022

Hi folks. Melissa here. 👋

I remember having a meeting i.e. drinking with Slik Wines last year and them telling me that is actually pretty cool/easy to figure out.

Well - for starters, they are crushing the game, so follow them ➡️ .

Secondly, this is my first (and potentially last) TikTok. But I figured a is a good time to leap headfirst into unfamiliar territory and force yourself to learn something new…even if it takes 4+ after hours at the shop while drinking a bottle or maybe two by your lonesome.

Thirdly, the main point of this post is to tell you all that we are doing some THANGS over here: BottlesUpper Club, BottlesUp at , Take Home Tastes, , field trips, BeyoU Ladies' Nights, the Run for Rosé 5K, and more. Watch our stories for announcements. Then and .

Lastly, for anyone who doesn’t understand any of this, just call me on the landline. Because that will always be cool/easy to figure out. ☎️

01/13/2022

Things are looking Up over here. 😁

*click to read about all the fun to come...

"Most Affordable" according to Chicago Magazine! Two bottles of wine per month. Faster rewards. Fun. Friendships. $30/mo, $60/mo, or $90/mo. $15/mo for the Beer Chasers.

12/29/2021

First in Chicago. Made a “Champ-angel."

Bring it, .

*No bottles were harmed in the making of this video.
**One was “killed” afterward though.

12/20/2021

"Surprise Gifts/Deliveries at an All-Time High Proving People Care.”

“Families and Friends Continue to Come Together in Safe, Fun Ways.”

“Consumers Simply Grateful to be Alive and Able to Buy Alcohol."

“Genuinely Kind People Do Exist.”

“Wow! Babies Are Still Being Made!"

“‘You Only Once' Says Woman Opening Second Bottle of Champagne While Taking Shot of .”

“Small Business Owner Laughs Hysterically When Customer Asks If They're Taking Lots of Time Off for the ."

These are just some "headlines" we've come up with that happen to be based on real life. It's easy to fall into a pit of despair reading the news we're all reading, but we continue to find , , and in our simple day-to-day lives thanks to you all. Turns out when you , life actually looks pretty good.

Go ahead and try it. Bonus points if yours involve and time off. 🍾👏

11/01/2021

The love we have for our is indescribable. We’ve been fortunate to work with many incredible the past two years, and while we've hugged and waved to some as they’ve moved (literally and figuratively) on, we can’t help but feel like anyone who works here is a part of BU forever. Partly because any team behind a involves a special trust, , and understanding. And partly because we sometimes really do make people who’ve “left” keep their keys.

On-call wine retail. It’s a thing.

In all seriousness, thank you one million times over to Allison, Blake, Rob, Carol, Ella, Adam, Amy, Mick, Rendi, Morgan, Lindsey, Katie, Rebecca, Kyla, Sam, Jake, and Chelsea. Also thank you to our reps/friends who’ve graciously offered to work shifts - some admitting they will “likely just sell all the Malbec.” And thank you to our patient customers who understand that it is wildly unhealthy for anyone to work 24/7.

Hence. The. . (And .) ❤️🙏



Note: Mental health is paramount. We do not actually believe breaking down boxes is a viable alternative to therapy.

Consider it more like a supplement. 📦

10/25/2021

Alconcierge | (noun) • someone who assists others in navigating and enjoying the world of alcohol via fun events, honest advice, good conversation, and situational sarcastic commentary.

We just made this term up...but this term is us. Bottom line: WE GOT YOU, PEOPLE.

🍷🍾🍻🥂🍶🥃🍸🍹❤️

👋

10/11/2021

We love over here.

We start with a good cup of (using grounds from The Coffee & Tea Exchange). Then we pop on the Spotify playlist and listen to new jams while evaluating "weekend damage" to the shelves. After that we decide what new to bring in while filling special orders/requests and prepping for upcoming . And to top it all off, we get a lot of ( ) people taking advantage of our "Case for the Mondays" deal: 15% off 12+ bottles.

See? Mondays can be great! You just need to make it so. And if all else fails, fill your mug with .

09/07/2021

One last b-day thang (tradition) since we (still) can’t throw the raging party we want to.

30 minutes. One bottle of Champagne. Ask us anything.

See y’all tonight on the ‘gram!

()

09/02/2021

Hi folks. Melissa here. 👋 Thought I’d share a lil' story ahead of our two year. It is best read while listening to that hit song by The Proclaimers. You know which one. 🎶🚶‍♀️

Also, keep an eye out for celebration deets! 🎉🎂 Hint: It involves way less driving and way more Champagne. 🍾🍾🍾🍾🍾🍾🍾🍾🍾🍾🍾🍾

Also also, THANK YOU. 😭❤️