Half-Price Wine Nights At Taxim, Big Jones And Browntrout

Score incredible deals at these half-price wine nights

We've always preferred dining out on weekdays. And with the slew of new half-price wine nights popping up across town, we're officially casting our vote for Monday as the new prime dining night. Here's where to start the week with the best kind of sticker shock:

Taxim Each Monday, chef/wine director David Schneider knocks 50 percent off 12 wines on his all-Greek list. Snatch up the crisp, limited-production Gaia Wild Ferment Assyrtiko ($34)–made of grapes that grow wild on Santorini–or Vatistas's full-bodied, mineral Kidonitsa ($35), the only wine in the world made with the Kidonitsa grape. Whole-roasted Cretan sea bass pairs well with both. 1558 N. Milwaukee Ave.; 773-252-1558 or taximchicago.com

Browntrout The entire wine list at Sean Sanders's sustainably minded restaurant is half off on Monday nights. There's some local representation (Michigan's Circa Requisite Blaufränkisch for $22), but we recommend you try one of Sanders's all-time favorites, the Domaine du Vieux Telegraphe La Crau Chateauneuf-du-Pape–a steal at only $55 on Mondays–with the Slagel Farm hanger steak. 4111 N. Lincoln Ave.; 773-472-4111 or browntroutchicago.com

Big Jones Andersonville's Creole-slanted restaurant has an impressively global wine list–and it's all half-off on Mondays. Have the Paul Goerg Blanc de Blancs Brut Premier Cru Champagne ($39) with your fried green tomatoes, and chef Paul Fehribach's favorite Burgundy–the Domaine Robert Chevillon Nuits-Saint George ($54)–with your gumbo. 5347 N. Clark St.; 773-275-5725 or bigjoneschicago.com