Now, we know how I feel about neglecting sparkling wine during a meal (or any time for that matter): nonsense! But dessert wine? It’s the red-headed step child of the evening’s libations, rather than the climactic sipper for which it is intended. As children, we couldn’t wait for dessert; hiding vegetables in napkins, sneaking bites [...]

“It’s so good! Once it hits your lips, it’s so good!” .. until ten minutes later you get a massive headache and the parties over before it ever got the chance to get going. A question that always seems to arise during wine speak with customers is why they or a friend or relative of [...]

August: The blazin’ hot Chicago and set in so its time for some crisp refreshing whites and robust BBQ reds!

Alright, guys, I have a confession to make. Do you know what I love? Like, love-love,.. not just say I love and actually more so kind of like? I love me a bit of the Riesling. Bone dry to sweet, I’ll take it any way I can get it.

I like to think that while Riesling grapes develop, they not only mature in phenolic and physiological ripeness like other varietals, but they also start compounding this, I don’t know,.. ‘je ne sais qua’ that allows for them to become super-clusters. Have you ever seen an episode of Superman where they show him posted up on the tip of the Eiffel Tower over looking Paris, sipping on a celebratory dry Alsatian after saving the town from the wrath of an evil super genius? No, because he knew better. It would of destroyed him on the spot. I don’t know if you knew this but ‘kryptonite’ was originally spelled R-I-E-S-L-I-N-G. Actually, now that I think of it, I may just add another bottle to my selection. Maybe if I’m lucky it has some sort of weird, off- label use and if I dab a bit of it on my head before going to bed tonight it’ll re grow the hair I’ve lost since starting to work here. I can’t be the only one whose thought of this, can I? It seems almost too easy..

by Julianna Will The 2009 Vintage Tasting of Bordeaux Wines at the Palmer House in coming up on Tuesday. Many stand-out producers will be in attendance and, as always, it’s a rare and welcome opportunity in my world to get to taste a large number of wines – in a row – from the same [...]

By Adrienne Davis As a sommelier in training, my nose is constantly being put to use.  One in my position has to smell the fruit in the grocery store, spices from the spice rack, wood in trees and furniture (and maybe even sometimes the wooden floor), flowers, dirt, vegetables, and sometimes even moldy boxes.  That [...]

This week’s election races for Illinois governor and President Barack Obama’s vacated U.S. Senate seat were among the closest in recent memory—both were decided by just a few thousand votes. According to the Chicago Tribune, Democrat Pat Quinn won for governor with 46.6% of the vote, while Republican Mark Kirk won the Senate seat with [...]

One of the prime attractions of wine (other than the taste) is the endless sense of discovery that comes with it. In addition to learning about geography, history of a region, climate, grape type, and how each bottle pairs with food, is the less romantic, but practical component of price. Who doesn’t love an overperforming [...]

Many people will use the upcoming Labor Day weekend to reflect on their own employment—bosses, co-workers, long-hours, deadlines, salaries, stress, and more. Others will simply be thankful to have a job. Others will only remember that they have three days off, and shouldn’t wear white anymore. Whatever the situation, here at Just Grapes we’re working [...]

The Chicago Air & Water Show returns to Lake Michigan this weekend, with more than two-million people expected to pack the lakefront on Saturday and Sunday. Even though the City of Chicago prohibits alcohol at the event, that doesn’t mean you can’t find a rooftop downtown, or simply stay home and throw your own Air & [...]