Wine tastings back to return to Geneva store

At next year's Festival of the Vine, revelers should be able to again sample wines served from a tent on the lawn of The Little Traveler store.

The Geneva City Council this week agreed to create another W-1 wine bar liquor license, which permits wine and beer stores to serve glasses of wine and beer, and to sell warm bottles of them.

The Little Traveler already has licenses to serve alcohol with meals in its cafe, and to sell wine in its food store.

During Festival of the Vine in September, Geneva police shut down the outside sampling at The Little Traveler, after somebody called police questioning whether the store had the proper licensing. The Little Traveler was known for handing out samples of Schlink Haus wines from Germany, and this year promoted the fact that the owner of Schlink Haus would be celebrating his 80th birthday at the Geneva event.

It turns out, however, that Illinois does not allow retail licensees to serve outside on streets, sidewalks or grounds unless they have an additional permit from the state for sampling. The Little Traveler did not have such a registration.

Mayor Kevin Burns, the city's liquor commissioner, said Geneva police “are not out there combing the streets” for liquor license violations, and characterized Monday's vote as a “housekeeping” matter.

The store has served samples of wine inside for years, throughout the year.

Geneva has 12 categories of liquor licenses, with some categories having subcategories. A W-1 license costs $2,200 the first year and $1,650 a year thereafter.

The owner of The Little Traveler could not be reached for comment.