Sam's Wines & Spirits, the country's largest independent wine retailer, this week co-sponsored a private concert by English singer/songwriter James Blunt for 50 people at Lumen, a new nightspot in the Fulton Market area in the West Loop. The invitation-only concert was arranged by WTMX (The Mix) and hosted by radio personalities Eric & Kathy.
Attendees were selected by lottery from fans who registered on the air and in Sam's stores for two weeks before the event. Blunt, the first British artist to top the American singles chart in nearly a decade when his song "You're Beautiful" reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 in 2006, played songs from his "Back to Bedlam" album as well as his new release, "All the Lost Souls."
The concert coincided with the launch of a Sam's Wine Club created exclusively for Mix listeners. Designed to introduce Chicagoans to undiscovered wines, the club will enable area wine lovers to receive monthly deliveries of expert-selected wines; listen to the Mix or visit www.wtmx.com to learn about the monthly selections as well as food pairing suggestions for those specific wines; and then share their thoughts with other club members online. This will create a community of wine enthusiasts who can share the discovery of new wines simultaneously.
Concert attendees received a sneak preview of the first month's wine selections, complete with tastings and in-person discussions with Sam's wine experts. Other Mix listeners can sign up for the wine club beginning September 1 at www.wtmx.com.
Founded in 1946, Sam's now has three stores in the Chicago area that stock more than 8,000 wines, 2,500 spirits and 1,200 beers as well as a popular online store at www.samswine.com. The company has been honored as Retailer of the Year by both Wine Enthusiast and Wine Spectator magazines, has earned several Best of the Web awards from Forbes, and was recently named the best wine store in Lincoln Park by Chicago magazine.