Wine Riot Storms Union Station on May 21; Features X-marx Pintxo Pop-Up

It may be the start of Craft Beer week, but that isn't stopping Second Glass from bringing their Wine Riot to Chicago on May 21. Second Glass is run by a small group of entrepreneurs out of Boston who felt that wine tastings were too stuffy so they created the Wine Riot to take the intimidation out of wine tasting and make wines from around the world accessible to everyone in a fun and educational way.

The event will feature over 250 different wines to be poured, 20-minute "crash course" wine seminars, a photo booth and a DJ spinning some tunes, because well, when people drink they just gotta dance. In addition, Second Glass has created a mobile app pre-loaded with all the wines available to help you remember what you are drinking and allow you to rate the wines on the spot. Tickets are still available for $50 "one price drinks all." You can choose between the afternoon event, 1-5 pm or evening, 7-11 pm.

After tasting that many wines, you are bound to need some food, and X-Marx has you covered. They will have a pop-up inside the event featuring pintxos, snacks typical in northern Spain. Most will resemble small, open-faced sandwiches that are easy to eat while drinking. Eight or nine varieties are available including, duck confit with roasted apples, smoked tofu and shiitake mushroom with pickled ramps and pork liver pate with Chinese mushrooms. The pintxos are small enough that you can eat two or three, so you'll have the opportunity to try a few out, and they'll run you $4 to $5 each.

If you can't get enough at the Wine Riot, X-Marx will host Txakoholika: a pop-up Pintxo and Wine Bar at Perman Wine Selections on May 26 with a few reservations still available.