William Alexander

If you’re looking for a relaxing night to sit back and enjoy yourself with some friends or significant other, this is the place you need to go.
A truly charming place to enjoy a night out with usual live music and open mic nights I believe every Thursday. The environment is so welcoming and the crowd is a bit older but it was a truly enjoyable time. The food was a little bit of a miss as the first three things we tried to order they were out of or didn’t have in the kitchen, but in all honesty it was a wine bar so the food is only ever a bonus at places like that.
The wine was delicious and the woman serving us did an excellent job of pointing out favorites and palates each wine we were interested in would serve well with, given that we were also eating.
The best part about this place was easily the live entertainment though because it was just a fun time. Since its a small town wine bar we didn’t expect much but everyone there was there to just enjoy the music and relax. The environment was fresh and enjoyable with many friendly faces for us being new to the place.
Overall I was very pleased but having an up to date menu with the kitchen would be a bonus. We will be back soon!

The owner is extremely rude! He would rather hog up a table for himself rather than have cash paying customers have a table to sit at. I was never treated so poorly by an owner of an establishment. The owner has a big ego and yelled at my friend for moving his empty water glass so customers can sit down and he became enraged!

Crass rude owner/​manager who needs to learn some people skills. Small choices for beverages unless you drink wine. Not enough wait staff for the crowd.

A nice little intimate wine bar usually with live entertainment. Service is kind of hit or miss — you’re best to sit at the bar. But we’ve been twice now in the last month and had a nice time both times. Prices are just right.

This place gets 2 – 3 stars only because its very close to my house and it is cozy inside. The crowd is also a bit more mature. Not older but middle aged professionals and locals.
Having said that, the negatives are bad in three areas. Customer service, selection and no food at all.
First off service can be bad or boarder line rude from bartenders and or the owners. They don’t have a regular waitress so go to the bar to get served. At times if they are not crowded, and don’t have live music playing, and are not in a bad mood, they will wait on your table. In their defense there is a sign stating something to this effect on the bar. But if you just walk in and sit down at a table you will die of dehydration before a bartender tells you this.
Wine and beer selection is very limited especially by the glass. Low end wine selection with mid tier prices. $ 8-​$ 10 per glass. They do have several good craft beers for $ 5 but again a very small selection. Also the wine list has not changed since this place opened. Need some rotation.
So this isn’t a «go taste some wine and get educated on wines place» but rather «a corner cozy bar that just happens to sell wine place». The owner is a bit odd and several people say she has been downright rude to them. Seems more like her hobby than a business venture. I have come in and been totally ignored until they got around to tidying up before serving me. Hey you have to greet the guest with a smile and tell them you with be right with them.
Upsides are the wines they do have are good but admittedly, I’m a novice red wine guy. They have had some really good entertainment and some bad lounge singers. At times some or all of the band has not showed up and other times the place was rockin. It’s cozy and well decorated but small when they have a band.
I have been there many times and will go back but the staff really needs to be better trained at customer service. We took some friends recently who are big into wine and they said they wouldn’t ever go back. Poor selection and cold shoulder service led them to this decision.
Lastly is they don’t have any food but do recommended the local pizza place who will deliver to your table.
It’s worth stopping in but it’s hit or miss. If it’s lame head across the street to the local Tap House although they have their own issues.

Great place to enjoy wine. Scott and Sandy are great people and do an excellent job. Very Clean place, great service and excellent entertainment. My wife and I constantly send people to William Alexander’s. You won’t be disappointed.

This seems kind of a cool place from my short visit. We got a some good glasses of wine, and they a few beers available too. The atmosphere is homey and cool with some comfortable little nooks. The whole place doubles as an antique shop, so it kind of has that old vibe but in a good way. Only downside is they have live music a lot, and based again on my short visit it was just a suuuuper loud cover band cranking out 90s hits. Too loud to talk, and didn’t really fit the wine bar atmosphere to me.

Me and my wife absolutely love this place. Great place to stop, drink, and shop! Music is great as well! Very intimate setting.

This place is cute and the music really good. However, service (or lack thereof) is terrible. And, wine selection by the glass is awful. Only a house Chardonnay was available by the glass. I had two glasses and what a headache the next day. Prices for bottles were way overpriced.

What a great little place. A gem in a small downtown area. My wife and I found this place and got a glass of wine before our dinner reservations down the block and boy were we surprised. This is a quiet little place (they do have live music on certain nights) that has plenty of wine and the people are really knowledgeable about wine.
It is also a little shop that sells a little of everything, mostly in the antique space but if you are ever in the Lockport area you need to stop in and have a glass to truly appreciate this place.

This wine bar (not a winery, nor does it claim to be) is wonderful.
We stopped in while in Lockport for the Summer Art Series. I wasn’t sure what to expect because I’m pretty spoiled by my winery back home (winery, as in a place that manufacturers wine, so it’s quite nice), but first impressions were very good: Lovely décor, comfy seating, clean, antiques and interesting things everywhere you look (I especially love the marble water fountain filled with wine bottle corks).
We were a sizable group but got good, fast, personalized service. The bartender (owner, too, I think?) seemed to pick up very quickly on our individual likes and dislikes. Most of us did the tasting and followed up with individual glasses afterwards. He gave me several recommendations which were spot-​on, and he even offered free additional pours of similar wines so we could compare and contrast.
I’ve had many disappointing wine bar/​wine cellar/​winery experiences in more rural locations of Illinois, so I was pleasantly surprised at how good the wines were! Many in our group (who gravitate towards more sweet/​white wine) proclaimed the moscato was the best they’d ever had. While none of the wines I had there were my personal favorite (that award goes to a ’94 Cab Sav at my usual haunt back home), at least one was definitely in my top five, though, and I happily came back for more. There really wasn’t a «miss» in the lot.
One other thing to note: Instead of bread, we were given fresh-​popped popcorn to snack on, which I quite enjoyed.
Now, the antiques. There’s a fairly large selection of antiques and vintage items. I ended up going home with a lovely pair of shoes and a serving platter for well under $ 20, so the prices are not bad at all. It was also nice to be able to shop while sipping wine.
We enjoyed ourselves so much there that I almost wish we’d stuck around for the live music in the evening instead of our actual plans, but unfortunately we had an event to get to.

I am glad to see that I am not the only one who had an awful customer service experience here. I visited a few times and the service was «m’eh,» but my last visit was downright contemptuous. It’s a shame because it is an otherwise really cool place. Probably the nicest place in town, but the rude service is deal-​breaker. I’d rather make the trek to Plainfield to get my wine on.

Wish we could award ZERO stars to William Alexander. Now compelled to share our comments and honest review in order to save others from this DIVE pretending to be a winery (!?) which it’s most definitely NOT. We were all fooled by the previous glowing remarks, most of which are dated, but all completely inaccurate as of now. Frankly, our experience was utterly awful, from start to finish, in every way imaginable. We all felt like we’d just been slapped in the face when our check arrived. The prices are ridiculously expensive and not worth it, given the limited selections, dim décor and offensive service. We’d NEVER recommend this place to anyone. The «ambiance» is dark, very dark — not in a romantic kind of way. More like dimly lit to hide all the dust, dirt, cobwebs and bugs. The wait staff and bartender were sneering and short with us for no apparent reason. Definitely NO warm fuzzies here… The «décor» is literally junk which litters the entire place. The «live music» was actually annoying and plain bad. The «food» was microwaved fast food. Our mixed drinks were obviously watered down. The «fresh cheese & fruit plate» we got looked like it had already been picked over — as in someone else’s leftovers — seriously! What one previous reviewer called ‘chatchkis” is actually nothing but JUNK… junk, junk, and more junk. They’re touting «antiques» which are nothing more than musty smelling Junk, and it’s everywhere… cobwebs galore. We can’t imagine what their dark backroom kitchen must look like. Servers appear with food from a dark hallway which appears to lead to the dark back alley. Another reviewer cited this joint as some «hidden gem» — well, perhaps if you’re blind, or dead, or have lost your sense of smell and taste, or just don’t get out much. Life is short and money is precious these days. We look for and appreciate «quality» everywhere we go — it’s a habit worth practicing and receiving and which we take pleasure in paying for. If you’re seeking a fun, quality restaurant/​bar experience, you’d be wise to take your business elsewhere. There is nothing here worth experiencing or paying for. Plenty of far better places just up the street in Lockport. You’ve been warned: Go Elsewhere!

Amazing atmosphere, great wine, good food. This place is my new favorite spot, it’s a hidden little gem. Lots of local artists just coming out to play, great service. I can’t say enough about this place!!! Come, come and try it!

I really liked this place in terms of ambiance. Music, wine, etc. but I couldn’t get past the bad service. I felt like I was bothering the bartender. My date felt the same way. We won’t be back.

Apparently Lockport, IL is the customer service capital of the state. Ordering two bottles of wine here when we first walked in bred contempt from the barkeeps. The ambiance is very nice. Customer service was beyond rude.

If you need a place to relax after a long day or week this is the place to go. Great live music, excellent food, amazing wine/​martinis, and some really nice people. My wife and I try to make it up there at least once a week. We love the chill atmosphere, different than the typical bar scene. I recommend you check it out — grab a drink, listen to some music, and just relax.

What a blast! Came here for a birthday party on a Saturday night. Their wine pours are very generous. I am thinking I had 4 glasses that equaled a bottle. The prices are dirt cheap. We had the room on the corner with the mannequin head in it. Made for a fun evening. They had someone jammin on the guitar all night long. Don’t ask me who it was as I forget my own name! Wonderful atmosphere made better by the fact you can buy most of the antique decorations. Great for groups. The service was outstanding!

Lockport is a great town to visit, shop, eat and drink wine! I brought my knitting group out and as we were about to turn the corner, one knitter said, STOP HERE!
So we did and it was a fun place. We perused the antiques and the other knitters had the wine flights. This designated driver had a coke but truth be told, my vice is sugar so I was happy to make the sacrifice. They were very friendly and welcoming.
This really opens up future trips to Lockport — knitting, quilting and wine!

I finally got to check out the wine bar in here last night with a friend and found it to be the perfect place to talk comfortably while sharing a bottle of a Shiraz/​Cabernet (which came very highly recommended by the owner). It was so *#@%! good that it’s now set firmly on my top 3 list. There’s a surprisingly good selection here. The room wasn’t too crowded so the conversation wasn’t impeded, but it was a bit louder at the bar (FYI). As the night progressed, a couple from the table nearby joined us who had just finished dining at «Tallgrass» down the street. They were hilarious (and a bit drunk… but then again, maybe we were, too) so sufficed to say, laughter ensued!
Turns out this is a terrific place to cap off a really great evening. But why am I telling you this? I should be keeping this place for myself!