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A Few Things I Learned on my Trip to Catalonia

I’ve just returned from a trip to the Catalonia region in northeast Spain, as a guest of the EU’s “Taste the Difference: Quality Wines from the Heart of Europe” campaign.

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Holiday Wine Shopping

You may not know what you’ll be drinking this holiday season, but your wine merchant does.

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White Burgundy Added to Stellar Class and Wine List

You may hear it in the air: birds chirping, breeze in the trees, and wine pros everywhere slurping, spitting and scratching in their notebooks. Because if it’s Spring, it’s time for wine list ...

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I Never Knew I Liked…

I never knew I liked rice. Then I discovered authentic Indian cuisine with its basmati and jasmine rice, quite a contrast to the glop served up in 1950’s America when I was raised. Next, I discovered ...

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New Wines and Wine Classes are Here

We’re ready for Summer at The Chopping Block with new wines and new wine classes. Here are a few favorites coming right up!

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The Seasonal Switch of Wines

The birds are chirping, the masks are off and the wine sales reps are rolling their insulated bags loaded with samples across the U.S. In the wine biz, “back to normal” means Spring wine list revamp!

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The Good and Bad News about Wine

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 ...

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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 ...

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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 ...

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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 ...

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