Like geese are drawn southwards for the winter, when the temperature plummets my instinct pulls me into the kitchen to roast a passel of vegetables. And since I’ve given up trying to enjoy any dish ...
Slipping into a silky robe on a hot summer day is a feeling we can all dream of during Chicago’s icy blast. Now we’re bundling up in wool scarves and coats. But how would we feel about a wool scarf ...
After college graduation, I moved to New York City, where a classmate offered a patch of her studio apartment to me until I found my own crib. At her door, she greeted me, “I have good news and bad ...
Wine is fun and easy for holiday gift-giving. There’s a price for every pocketbook, it’s appropriate for friends, family and business colleagues and – despite disruptions in many supply chains – ...
Sometimes in life, one moment changes everything. For me, it was the moment I "got" wine. It was 40 years ago, but I remember it like yesterday. I was lucky enough to be included in a wine tasting ...
Explore the World of Wine in our New Tasting Series
Back when I shifted my career from sommelier to educator and marketer, my first project was to create a database of every wine product sold in Chicagoland. When I reached 10,000 entries, the client ...
As a working sommelier, people say to me all the time “I like a sweet wine,” then add, “but not too sweet.” So, my first question is what’s too sweet? Your morning OJ? That’s about 75 grams of ...
Together with The Chopping Block's staff, I’ve recently sniffed, slurped and spit wares from Chicagoland’s finest wine purveyors to bring you our new wine list! As always, we focus on small ...
Italy is still our favorite wine import, outpacing second place France in both dollars and volume, according to Wine Business Monthly, April 2021. So, what makes Italian wine so good?
Explore Your Primal Culinary Urge with Wine and Cheese
In all the years I’ve taught wine and food seminars, a guest may have told me “I don’t like halibut,” or maybe “I’m not fond of Thai food.” But I’ve never heard anyone say “I don’t like cheese.”
