Local Juice: BIN 36 Releases New Vintages of its Own Wine

You've long known that BIN 36 is the place to go for a variety of wonderful wines, and now, the popular restaurant and wine bar is actually producing some of that great juice. BIN 36's distinguished wine director, Brian Duncan, has partnered with Hahn Estates in Monterey, California, to create wines based on Duncan's winning formula -- balanced, fun-to-drink options that stay true to their varietal's character.

The 2006 and 2007 vintages of BIN 36 Wines were recently released and can already be found in wine shops and top restaurants across the country, including Blackbird, Boka, C-House and Custom House in Chicago. The first bottlings of BIN 36 Wines, which were a 2005 vintage released in 2007, have gone on to win more than 50 medals in blind tastings held throughout the U.S.

Duncan, who sees himself as a "wine chef" working with flavor, texture and structure, approached Hahn Estates' winemaker Adam LaZarre, with whom he had partnered with on a previous project, to create the BIN 36 portfolio of wines. Together, they handcrafted five varietals (priced at $18 per bottle) and one proprietary blend ($22 per bottle), all of which are food-friendly or can be enjoyed on their own. The wines include chardonnay, cabernet sauvignon, merlot, pinot noir and syrah, as well as the D&S Proprietary Red Wine, which is a reserve blend of cabernet sauvignon, syrah, petite syrah, merlot, petite verdot and malbec.