D.O.C. Wine Bar Brings Sophisticated Wines

Lombard, IL. (November 2007) - A Chicago favorite, D.O.C. Wine Bar, will open its new Lombard location on November 16 at the beautiful new Yorktown Center Shops on Butterfield (326 Yorktown Center; 630-627-6666; www.docwinebarchicago.com). Joining the growing number of Chicago businesses calling Lombard home, D.O.C. Wine Bar features classic American fare and an extensive wine collection, allowing patrons to enjoy good food and wine in a relaxed and fun atmosphere. Derek Rettell, co-owner and managing partner, says, "We expect D.O.C. to be a dining designation and a hangout for locals as well as guests of neighboring hotels."

D.O.C. Wine Bar will mark the first of its kind in Chicago's western suburbs, providing patrons with a stylishly casual and intimate setting to try out different wines and learn new things about wine without being pretentious. Housing 310 bottles of wine from all of the major wine regions in the world, D.O.C. Wine Bar is prepared to introduce Lombard to a wide range of delicious and unique wines. Their wine selection also features 32 wines by the glass and four specially selected wine flights, which periodically rotate, allowing guests to continue trying new wines. They also have a retail license and will sell any of their wines to take home.

The phrase "D.O.C." comes from the Italian words Denominazione di origine controllata. D.O.C. is an official certification of quality for wines and other food products in Italy. Other countries such as Portugal and Spain-and now the European Union as a whole-have similar designations. Wine enthusiasts look upon a D.O.C. designation as a sign that a wine meets a high standard of purity and quality and reveals the most favored characteristics of wines produced in that particular region.

D.O.C. Wine Bar is the concept developed by the team of Derek Rettell, Doug Dunlay, Michael Dunlay and Josh Rutherford; restaurant veterans who combined, have more than 40 years of restaurant experience. Drawing on their previous experiences and accomplishments at venues such as Houston's Restaurant, Bandera Restaurant, ESPN Zone and Red Stone American Grill, the group has formulated a recipe for operating highly successful establishments in Chicago which include Dunlays on Clark, Dunlays on the Square, The Smoke Daddy, Frasca Pizzeria and Wine Bar, and D.O.C. Wine Bar.

In addition to the managing partners, the D.O.C. Wine Bar team includes manager Joshua Barber, who served as the manager at Birch River Grill, Applebee's and Fox and Hound Restaurant Group. He also served as the director of operations for Slanski Investment Group where he traveled worldwide managing their restaurants. He has taught other restaurant managers how create a successful establishment by building a strong, growing customer base and becoming key participants in their local communities.

The group's decision to open a second D.O.C. Wine Bar was an easy one after being approached in early 2007 by Lombard developer and winery owner Bob Long who, in the midst of building additional retail and restaurant space in Yorktown Center, realized that the town was missing a casual, fun place where people could experiment with top quality wines.

"We are honored to have been approached and to be included in the exciting development," remarked Rettell. "We aim to make wine education fun and interesting, and we are thrilled to bring our knowledge to the area." The town of Lombard is excited to have the presence of D.O.C. Wine Bar as well. Lombard's Village President William Mueller assisted in rewriting the city's zoning laws to give D.O.C. Wine Bar the ability to sell retail bottles of wines, making all 310 bottles on their list available to the public.

D.O.C. Wine Bar's Menu
Not only a wine bar, D.O.C. Wine Bar is a dining destination serving classic American fare from talented executive chef, Phillip Vitti, who hails from the nationally acclaimed four-star Chicago restaurant TRU. Menu items use fresh ingredients and complement any wine selection. Guests can begin the meal with an appetizer such as Italian Cheese Fondue with crusty bread, sopressata and green apples ($9); Oven Roasted Calamari with white beans, olives, and spicy tomato sauce ($9); Roasted Brie with shaved apples and arugula ($9); and Duck Confit Turnovers with merlot jam ($9).

Salad selections include the famous Wrightwood Salad with field greens, sliced chicken, tomatoes, craisens, avocado, corn, almonds topped with fresh goat cheese ($10); the Curly Spinach Salad with honey mustard dressing, pistachios and goat cheese ($6), and a Wild Arugula Salad with julienne apples, pancetta and blue cheese ($7).

D.O.C. Wine Bar offers a number of meat and fish entrées as well, including Cabernet Braised Short Rib served with mashed potatoes and horseradish gremolota ($14); pan seared French Chicken with mixed greens and spicy pecans ($15), and Bluegrass Pork Tenderloin with assorted beans and mustard sauce ($17).

Innovative sandwiches on the menu include a Roasted Chicken sandwich with pesto, oven dried tomatoes and homemade mozzarella ($9); sushi grade Ahi Tuna Sliders with wasabi, soy sauce and seaweed salad ($12), and a Smoked Turkey sandwich with fontina cheese, seasoned tomatoes and arugula ($9).

Pair a sweet dessert wine with any of the dessert selections such as a Smores Panini with chocolate, peanut butter and marshmallow fluff ($7) or mascarpone Cheesecake Fritters with a coconut and raspberry sauce ($6).

The warm and inviting atmosphere of this 100-seat restaurant allows patrons to take the time to taste the wines of the many wine producing regions in North America, Spain, Italy, Germany, Italy, Austria, South America, Australia and other places around the globe. "We wanted to create an environment where people could enjoy a good meal and taste different wines they might not be familiar with," stated Rettell. "Our goal is to take the mystery and pretentiousness out of learning about wine and just let people experiment with new tastes."

D.O.C. Wine Bar is located at 326 Yorktown Center in Lombard, IL. The restaurant is open for lunch 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Friday, and 12 p.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Dinner hours are 3 p.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Sunday. A late night menu is available from 10 p.m. to 1 a.m. Monday through Thursday evenings, 10 p.m. to 2 a.m. Friday and Saturday, and 10 p.m. to 1 a.m. Sunday. D.O.C. Wine Bar also offers its 310 wines for retail sales. It is a non-smoking facility throughout. Major cards accepted are American Express, Visa, MasterCard and Discover. For more information or to make reservations, please call D.O.C. Wine Bar at (630) 627-6666. Visit online at www.docwinebarchicago.com. Additional restaurants owned by D.O.C. Wine Bar include: Dunlays on Clark, Dunlays on the Square, The Smoke Daddy and Frasca Pizzeria and Wine Bar.
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