Galena River Wine & Cheese — Restaurant in Galena

Perfect for foodies! This place in Galena is one of my all-time favorites. You’ve got to check it out! It's tucked away at the end of the street, so don’t miss it. They have an awesome selection of wine, beer, and spirits, plus some really cool and hard-to-find items. I love browsing their shelves! They even do tastings of featured items and have specialty oils and vinegars you can sample. But the real gem here is the cheese! Their selection of specialty cheeses and charcuterie is amazing. And the best part? They turn any of their cheeses into the most perfect grilled cheese sandwiches! Seriously, the cheese pull on their caraway cheddar is to die for! Plus, the staff here is super friendly and helpful. Definitely...

It's kind of torturous for a person who can't drink wine or eat cheese to venture in such a store! But I did so for my husband, and quickly found solace in the spectacular blueberry balsamic vinegar! OMG - this was like pure ambrosia - an exquisite explosion of divine on my tongue. Without a doubt the BEST balsamic vinegar we have ever tasted! My husband bought a few small chunks of artisanal cheese on the lower end at $9.99 a pound. They looked fantastic and he said they were quite good. The only problem with this shop is that both times we stopped in, only one one person was working and she likes to chat with customers - yes, she is friendly - but this means waiting...

Do you like olive oil? Do you like balsamic vinegar? If so, you HAVE to go here. There are two tasting stations where you can try twenty different olive oils and balsamics (10 of each) with different flavors. For example, you can try lemon, herbs de provence, sundried tomato, and even basil olive oil. The cherry balsamic vinegar was my favorite. There is also a wide selection of wine, cheeses, and meats for purchase, but my attention was completely grabbed by the oils and balsamics. The staff is friendly. I plan to go back, you can make multiple trips to this store and notice something...