The Chopping Block Cooking & Wine Blog

Mary Ross

Mary Ross is an internationally-recognized wine and food professional, educator and journalist. Read more about Mary at http://www.thechoppingblock.com/meet-our-sommelier.

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 ...

Not Too Sweet, Not Too Dry Wines for Summer

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 sugar ...

Toast to Summer with our New Wines

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 ...

What Makes Italian Wine So Good?

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?

Wine Words

It’s not that easy to describe wine anymore. In the previous century, when I was a newbie sommelier, all you needed was one word: typique.

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.”

Sparkling Cocktails with a Shining History

Maybe you need a new way to enjoy all your bubbly leftover from the holidays. Maybe you have just one bottle to lubricate 10 guests. Or maybe your favorite sparkler has just a few ounces left in the ...

Your Top Sparkling Wine Questions Answered

Wine with bubbles, what’s not to love? It plays well with other beverages as the base for famous (and infamous cocktails), can turn any event (Tuesday laundry, for instance) into a special occasion ...

From Spain's Cellar to your Table

It takes patience, along with something else that’s in short supply these days, to ease a red wine into maturity and that’s adequate storage.

Learn Your Wine Likes at a Retail Wine Tasting

Are you a wine drinker who says, “I don’t know much about wine, but I know what I like.”? If so, you can increase your likes by attending retail wine tastings that bring wine power to the people.

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Food News	Local Spots
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Mary Ross

Recent Posts

Explore the World of Wine in our New Tasting Series

Not Too Sweet, Not Too Dry Wines for Summer

Toast to Summer with our New Wines

What Makes Italian Wine So Good?

Wine Words

Explore Your Primal Culinary Urge with Wine and Cheese

Sparkling Cocktails with a Shining History

Your Top Sparkling Wine Questions Answered

From Spain's Cellar to your Table

Learn Your Wine Likes at a Retail Wine Tasting

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