The Chopping Block Cooking & Wine Blog

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 ...

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.

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 ...

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 ...

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.

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 ...

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 ...

Have You Ever Dunked your Oreo in a Glass of Sherry?

Last week, I received my study material for Fine Vintage's WSET Level 3 certification course, which I'll be immersed in for six days. The textbook opens up with a foreward by Jancis Robinson, the ...

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Explore the World of Wine in our New Tasting Series

Toast to Summer with our New Wines

What Makes Italian Wine So Good?

Wine Words

Your Top Sparkling Wine Questions Answered

That Wine Simile That Everyone Uses

Learn Your Wine Likes at a Retail Wine Tasting

You Cannot Drink the Same Wine Twice

Understanding German Wine

Have You Ever Dunked your Oreo in a Glass of Sherry?

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