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Justin

Justin
Described by one friend as, “a champion of leisure,” there is nothing Justin loves more than eating, drinking, and spreading joy to all those he encounters. Most days you can find him on the retail floor of The Chopping Block, offering wine and platonic high fives to guests.

Recent Posts

Drinking Beer From the Oldest Brewery in the World (Maybe)

I've noticed several trends in how chefs pair wine for our classes, but the one that makes me laugh the most is when they choose beer. I find this funny because there's always a small amount of ...

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A Classic Rye Whiskey

Presidents' Day, the day set aside to celebrate our first president, George Washington, is just around the corner. What do I know about George Washington? Let's see what my poor brain can recall from ...

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Beyond Bordeaux: Saint-Émilion

A couple of years ago I wrote a general introduction to Bordeaux, it isn't the most interesting blog I've written for The Chopping Block, but it is one I remember the most. Bordeaux wines excite me. ...

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For Goodness Sake! A Very Basic Guide to Japanese Sake

What do I know about sake? We sell the stuff, and people seem to enjoy it, but for me it just tastes like an awkward college attempt at being cultured. I don't remember much about the first time I ...

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That Wine Simile That Everyone Uses

My whole life I've heard people make the statement that either they or their loved ones are like fine wine, because they're improving with age. Sometimes I agree with this observation, sometimes I ...

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Wine Ice Cream Floats

Last week our general manager, Kate, tagged me in a Facebook post, challenging me to write a blog about red wine ice cream floats. In general, I don't advocate adulterating wine; a lot of work went ...

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You Cannot Drink the Same Wine Twice

It seems to be in our nature to want things to be constant. If you buy a bottle of wine and enjoy it, you might want to experience that pleasure again, maybe even share it with friends, but you ...

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What's So Great About Cabernet Sauvignon?

I always planned to write a blog about Cabernet Sauvignon, because, in many ways, to understand Cab is to understand wine. Unfortunately, I wasn't really sold on the Cabernet we had on our wine list ...

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Understanding German Wine

I love German wines. It's bad, really bad. If this was high school I'd be scribbling, “Justin loves Riesling,” in the margins of all my notebooks and have a picture of the Mosel valley taped to the ...

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Everything You Need to Know about Alsace

It's been over a year since I've done one of these quick wine region guides, and I've been debating what area I wanted to tackle next. Alsace has long been one of my favorite wine producing regions, ...

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Most Recent Posts

Crawfish 101: How to Boil, Peel, and Enjoy This Southern Delicacy

  It's the season of the crawfish boil, where flavors are bold, hands get messy, and the...Read more

Spring Into these New Techniques

  Spring has finally sprung here in the Midwest, and I don’t know about you, but I’m ready to...Read more

Fluffy, Flavorful & Dairy-Free: Pancakes That Break the Rules

  There’s a long-standing myth in the brunch world that dairy-free pancakes are, well... sad....Read more

Bite Off More Than You Can Chew

  I want to share a project my wife and I worked on together a few years ago. I felt inspired...Read more

Tasting the Trend: Can Hearts of Palm Noodles Replace Pasta?

If you're anything like me, pasta has always been a go-to comfort food, it's easy, satisfying,...Read more

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