Wine tasting room coming to downtown St. Charles

Corey Hebein has seen the scenario play out countless times: A customer walks into a winery, asks for a tasting and is met with complicated verbiage about everything from a wine's flavors and aromas to the types of food with which to pair it.

There's often a “snobby stigma” associated with the industry that gives off a sense of exclusiveness, Hebein said. When he and his wife, Laura, open a wine tasting room next year in downtown St. Charles, he hopes to exude a more relaxed vibe that makes trying new wines enjoyable whether it's a hobby, a social experience or for personal interest.

“If you want to know (facts about wine), we can tell you,” Hebein said. “But we want it to be a friendly, open atmosphere where you don't have to feel intimidated.”

100 Grapes is expected to begin operating by March at 106 E. Main St., a vacant storefront that formerly housed an antique shop. The Hebeins intend to rent and build out the first floor of the recently renovated building, which also contains an upper-level apartment.

The business is partnering with a Michigan-based winery to sell private-label wine of all kinds — reds, whites, rosés and blends, Hebein told St. Charles officials Monday. Customers will be able to purchase bottles to carry out of the store, or they can order a glass, flight or samples to drink in the tasting room.

Both the liquor control commission and government operations committee unanimously approved granting a liquor license to 100 Grapes. The city council is expected to ratify the vote next month.

St. Charles officials also supported adjusting the city's liquor code to accommodate the tasting room's business model. The change would allow businesses with a certain liquor license classification to offer glasses, flights, bottles or carafes, rather than only glasses, for on-site consumption.

“We want to make sure the practice matches the policy, and the policy matches the practice,” Police Chief James Keegan said.

Starting a small business is a new venture for the Hebeins, both of whom have degrees in teaching. The Carol Stream residents spent the last few years contemplating turning their interest in the wine industry into a career, Corey Hebein said. When their daughter was born earlier this year, they decided to go for it.

The couple came across 106 E. Main St. while searching for a quaint storefront in a thriving downtown. Between the foot traffic on Main Street, the store's size and its proximity to complementary businesses like the Arcada Theatre, he said, the property is a perfect fit.

“This is kind of destiny,” Hebein said.