Earlier this year, we stopped at a winery in the Chicago suburbs on our way home from a camping trip.

It’s a winery we’ve wanted to stop at for years because the winery doesn’t just sell wine – it also has a restaurant. And now that it has expanded, there was a location right on our way home.

Cooper’s Hawk Winery is the kind of place where atmosphere really makes a difference. Atmosphere isn’t everything in a winery, but it does account for a lot. Cooper’s Hawk presents itself as a more sophisticated winery and has some wines that back up that assertion, such as some very expensive big dry reds.

We stopped at the location in Orland Park, but there are also restaurant-wineries in Burr Ridge, South Barrington and Wheeling. Basically, if you are traveling in or around Chicago, you’re going to be close to one of the locations (details at www.coopershawkwinery.com or 708-633-0200).

We visited the winery at lunchtime, and before we were seated in the restaurant, we decided to try a few wines. Every winery is different in how it offers tastings. At Cooper’s Hawk, tastings were $7 a person for eight wines, which is more than we’re used to paying, but they were pretty generous pours (also something that varies from winery to winery) so we decided to split a tasting.

The first wine we tried was the sparkling Blanc de Blanc. We were instantly impressed. The winery describes it as having “hints of green apple, pear and melon.” We certainly agreed and ended up taking a bottle home. The wine is dry enough to satisfy a serious wine-drinker’s palate, but flavorful enough that sweet wine drinkers will probably like it, too.

We also tried several others, and were impressed with most of them. With lunch, Krista ordered a glass of the Gewürztraminer. It was nice to be able to try another wine while eating lunch. We don’t often order wine with lunch, but at a place like this, we had to take advantage of the opportunity to try another new wine. Dan, who was driving – not to mention tired from a weekend of camping – had the coffee.

The restaurant had great ambience, and diners sit in a room surrounded by wine barrels. But here’s the best part: Even though we thought it would make a great place to have a nice, romantic dinner, it was kid-friendly. Maybe it was just because it was lunch and not dinner, but the staff seemed to bend over backward to make life easier for a couple with a 4-year-old and a 3-year-old who were both squirmy from being in a minivan too long. There was no children’s menu, but the waiter offered a simple pasta dish that could be split between the two of them and made sure they had crayons and paper.

We’re always happy when wineries make it easy for people with children to enjoy wine.

Believe us, we understand that the sophisticated, upscale environment a winery or restaurant might be trying to create is not always conducive to two children who have suddenly decided their favorite word is “booty-butt.”

But parents also don’t always have a choice about bringing their children along, and no one should have to become a shut-in just because they have children. So we’re especially happy when a staff is understanding and accommodating rather than annoyed. Cooper’s Hawk won five stars on this front. Trust us, we don’t like hearing “booty-butt” in your winery any more than you do.

As we left, we picked up a few bottles, including the Blanc de Blanc. One disappointment, however, was that we couldn’t buy the wine Dan liked the best because that was the new release of the month and available for sale only to their wine club members.

Having been members of a wine club previously, we appreciate the ability for members to be able to have first crack at a new wine.

But if that’s the case, why let the general public even try it?

Being from out of town, it only frustrated us that we couldn’t buy it. It certainly wasn’t going to make us join the wine club – which is free but requires you to buy a bottle a month. So we bought one less bottle of wine.

Still, our experience at Cooper’s Hawk was a good one, and we would certainly go back. If you’re traveling around Chicago looking for a place to eat or to try some yummy wines, stop in. We’re sure you’ll enjoy it.

Cheers!