Community support - it's a team effort

Lift your glass and give yourself a toast each time the Campanile Pinot Grigio joins the table.* For every bottle ordered, a $1 donation will be made to an urban garden organization that provides job training to the homeless and low-income individuals.

Growing Home offers services through a social enterprise business based on organic agriculture. The program provides experiential learning opportunities and employment in the horticulture field, such as organic farming, as well as a job readiness curriculum that reintroduces participants into the workforce.

"Through Treasury Wine Estates, which is spearheading this effort, we'll be able to donate up to $5,000 over the next six months to a great organization," says Big Bowl President Dan McGowan. Growing Home was honored with a Green Award from Chicago Magazine in 2009, the same prestigious recognition that McGowan received this year for Big Bowl's sustainability and environmentally conscious efforts.

McGowan's decision to support Growing Home comes on the heels of introducing Illinois wines to Big Bowl's list. Master Sommelier Alpana Singh found two quality dry wines - a Seyval Blanc and a Cabernet Franc - to adjunct the current selections, which include organic, sustainable and biodynamic wines. "Big Bowl has paved the way in its category to support sustainable and eco-friendly practices which makes it a great fit for these wines," Singh says. "Now the restaurant has the opportunity to be a leader in this category by supporting local agricultural and agritourism in the state."

According to Growing Home, 100 percent of the proceeds from its sales of organic produce go toward the training program and upkeep of its farm sites. Now that's something to toast about.

*Campanile Pinot Grigio is available only on the wine lists in Illinois.