Jamie's Wine Studio Of Galena

I was in Jamie?s Wine Bar last weekend and had an o.k. time. The staff was friendly but had very loose lips. I overheard them talking about how they hate when people come in and have no clue about the bottles of wine they are about to buy. Jamie chimed in laughing and said she just charges those people more money. She was probably just kidding around but then I thought to myself that she could easily do that because there are no price tags on any of her bottles. Nonetheless Jamie?s has a large wine selection if you?re in Galena and are in desperate need of a ?good? bottle of wine. more

On my last trip to Galena, IL I stopped into Jamie's Wine Studio. I read great reviews about the studio and it seemed to be the right type of setting for our tastes. Upon entering Jamies, it seemed as if there was an employee party going on near the back bar area, so my husband and I thought to ourselves ""maybe they forgot to lock the doors?"" After a minute or two of confusion, an older woman began walking toward us in what appeared to be a drunken stupor. The woman (Jamie, come to find out) greeted us with an awkward conversation, followed by several overly opinionated remarks about the bottles of wine we had glanced over. She seemed really snobbish and knew everything about any type of wine we had mentioned. Finally, after listening to Jamies drunken ramble while waiting for her to finish shots of wine with a group of young men (who didn?t seem much older than high school age), we became annoyed and decided to take our bottle of Cabernet back to our B&B. The bottle cost around $50 and tasted like cheap table wine. About a week later I found the same exact bottle of wine at Jewel for $6.99. Needless to say, I was outraged by this discovery, and I can tell you that I will never be back to Jamie's Drunken Wine Studio again! BUYER BEWARE! more

My sister and I wanted to have one drink before we left on Sunday and happened into Jamie's. Three hours later we were sad to say goodbye. Jamie even called our hotel to get us a late checkout. She was so friendly and her bloody mary's are fabulous. The drinks are great and her view is beautiful. This should be a must stop on your trip. Pros: Wonderful customer service and drinks more

Two of my friends and I headed to Galena for lunch and shopping on a Sat afternoon. we planned to have a drink there and move on....three hours later, we had two Bloody Mary's (the best ever!) and a glass (or two - lost count!) of the best Moscato I've had too. Jamie and her friend were awesome and we will definitely go back very soon! Thanks for the memories! I love Galena and this just made it all the better! more

On a beautiful sunny day in March, my wife, mother and I wandered in to Jaimes quite by accident. We found her (and her friend Elle) to be quite friendly and helpful. The other patrons at the bar made room for us. We started with a round of ""to die for"" martinis and the ""ome drink stop"" turned into us closing the bar down. Not only did we enjoy ourselves, we met some of the most wonderful people. We felt welcome and at home, and hope to make many, many visits in the future. My mother was most impressed of all, and has yet to stop talking about the night in Galena! Pros: Wonderful ambiance, friendly people, GREAT spirits! Cons: Time passed to quickly more

We've been to Jamie's Wine Studio 3 times now and every time has been such a great experience. Go for the Saturday wine tasting. You won't be sorry. Jamie is as wonderful as the (good) reviews say she is. You may walk in a stranger, but you will walk out feeling like you just made a new best friend. Or, in our case, a whole bunch of new friends. It never felt cliquey to us either as some reviews said. Ask about her Sunday Bloody Mary's. Pros: Intimacy more

It has been a long time since we've found an environment as warm as we discovered at Jamie's Wine Studio in Galena. You feel like family almost as soon as you sit down and order a glass of wine......Jamie wants to know everything about you and makes you feel like an old friend..... (I keep expecting to see Sam, Cliff, Norm & Diane!)........We always meet the most fun and interesting people here, and the best best selection of wines available by the glass or the case. You can skip all the other options in Galena and settle in with Jamie and her posse...they will make your trip to this little gem more than worth your while. more

A moment of my time seemed to pause as my sister introduced me to Jamie. Pros: A magic touch more

My boyfriend and I went to Galena for the first time, a few weeks ago. A friend of mine recommended that we stop at Jamie's Wine Studio. What a great place! The wine selection was excellent and we lots of fun at the Saturday afternoon wine tasting. Everyone was so nice! And Jamie gave us several excellent restaurant suggestions. We are looking forward to a return trip to Galena and Jamie's Wine Studio sometime soon! more

Just wanted to write a quick review.. My fiance and I enjoyed our weekend getaway to Galena Il and especially enjoyed Jamie's Wine Studio. Jamie, the owner, is an ""expert"" in wines... With her past experience in the field and her present endeavor with the store, we not only tasted some of the most beautiful wines, but learned.. My fiance and I travel all over, however we have our favorites, and Jamie's Wine Studio is now one of them... The quaint and relaxing wine bar in the back half of the wine studio was filled with people enjoying themselves in conversation and vino... The chocolate martini's are a must after dinner!! We will be referring Jamie's to our friends and famly as a ""place not to miss""!!! Thank you Jamie for making our weeked memorable- we look forward to seeing you in the nesr future. Pros: Great selection of wine, great conversation! Fun place! more

I live in Galena and am quite a fan of Jamie's Wine Studio. Jamie herself makes the place buzz. I have never gone into her establishment without having a great time...seeing some old friends, meeting lots of new people who weekend in Galena, or are from Chicago, or from around the world. As a local, its nice to go in to talk with Jamie about a dinner party I'm having, and what wines would be appropriate with the food I'm am serving. Most of the time she lets me taste it before I buy it so you know exactly what I am getting, unless, of course, its a $30 plus bottle then I take her word for it. But she has never led me astray. This is not a tourist trap like you find in so many other resort areas. Jamie knows her wine and is always willing to share her knowledge with you. The studio is really split into two parts. The front two-thirds of the store is a wine shop with a wide variety of wines that you don't ordinarily find in your larger liquor stores. You can also find great quality wines for under $15. Not easy these days. The back is a cozy copper bar,with a limestone wall backdrop, that seats maybe 20 people,and that's what makes it so special. You can always find a great conversation and drink some very intriging wines. Although not a full service bar, she does make the best cosmo in town. Jamie's is a special place for a more sophisticated clientele. If you're looking for loud, bawdy and gaudy places, there are many of those in Galena, but Jamie's is not one of them. Jamie's Wine Studio is a class act all the way! Pros: Knowledgable Owner and GREAT atmosphere Cons: Non more

Let me start off saying that if you are looking for a ""wine bar"" then go back to your strip mall wine store in the Chicago burbs! Jamie's Wine ""Studio"" has never claimed to be a ""bar"" but a ""studio"" which is a collection of works that stimulate your senses. I walked into Jamie's years ago looking for a nice glass of wine while my now ex was shopping. The moment I sat down and introduced myself to Jamie herself, I felt as though we had been friends for years. Ever since I have stopped in to visit Jamie at least six times and consider myself a ""regular"" because of Jamie's personality. I know enough that Jamie doesn't know Oprah but her personal chef Art Smith but will not boast in any way. And as far as Jamie's friends stopping by, well let me tell you that they are some of the most interesting people I have ever met and would hope that they would be drawn into my conversation. And let's review that you drove to Galena to taste the ""local"" wine. Dude put the pipe down and stop smoking the drapes! If you are looking for a nice local (Galena) fruity blackberry wine instead of a bottle from California, France, Italy, Chile or New Zealand then your pallet must crave Welchel's grape juice! The reason why you can't purchase Galena wine back home is BECAUSE NO ONE LIKES IT UNLESS YOU ARE SITTING IN A ""WINE BAR"" IN GALENA! And if the clients are so ""stodgy"" (learn how to spell!) then why do you call them ""hillbilly's""? And the fact that you actually refer to ""box wine"" shows that you may be a ""hillbilly"" in hiding! Pros: please lock me in cause Jamie is an absolute darling and pours a beyond full glass. Cons: can't keep guys like ""imsotired"" out! Pros: Jamie becomes your best friend as soon as you walk in! more

My wife and I paid this winebar a visit a few weeks ago. This is not really a winebar- its more like a wine store with a small bar at the rear, which provided very tight seating for maybe 6. The overall atmosphere was very stuffy- the owner apparently is quite pleased with the fact that she knows Oprah. She told us several times. Lucky devil! One of the owner's pals happened to be a the bar that night. What a treat! We had our conversation eavesdropped constantly, and she would interject often with little nuggets of wine kowledge, such as ""ohh, gosh, that's a local wine. Sigh. But I guess it's a start...."". Hmmm. I drove to Galena to drink wine from....Galena...that I cannot purchase back home. I guess this is lost on the stodgey clientele at this fine establishment. I mean seriously, if I lived in Napa Valley, would the ""it's local so it's bad"" argument still apply? But I digress. In summary, this ""wine bar"" is very overpriced, stuffy, and is apparently frequented by hillbillys that aspire to be wine snobs. I have no time for hillbillys, and I have no patience for wine snobs. The whole purpose of a winebar is to spend time with friends while enjoying whatever wine I choose, be it from Spain or from a (gasp) box. We ran out of there after one drink, but if you really enjoy paying way too much for a glass of wine, and relish having overbearing hillbilly's bogart their way into your private conversation, then this is the place for you! Cheers!! Pros: They cannot lock you in Cons: They cannot lock you out more

First off, ""Jamie"" overcharged me for a bottle of McManis Pinot Noir - a fact I realized only after having returned to the Chicago burbs. She charged me $15.99 for a bottle everyone else charges $9.99 for, and ironically, she was charging $10 a glass for this wine at her 6-stool wine bar in back. Second, a loud-mouthed ""friend"" of Jamie's was at the bar, making it an unwelcome place. It seemed like this place only caters to a small cliquish group of people. After being ushered to the bar as we were trying to leave (once seeing the small, unremarkable ""wine bar""), Jamie's ""friend"" was as obnoxious as anyone could be. The cliquish group of people would have definitely chased away those not looking for a social challenge, but myself, my wife, and our two friends were up for it. We endured a glass of wine each before leaving. My resultant advice is that people not looking for an overpriced cliquish environment (that only seats about 6 people in the back of what would otherwise be called your everyday wine shop) should continue down the street to the (much better) Grape Escape. It's more of an actual wine bar with beer on the menu for those who don't like the wine. At the Grape Escape, you won't feel like you're an outsider if you aren't alleged chums with the owner, and you can have a nice conversation among your friends without people trying to overhear your conversation and then judge you, which is probably what you went to the wine bar seeking in the first place. Pros: Can't say the clientele aren't interesting Cons: Overpriced, cliquish, obnoxious more