... all I have in my wine fridge is great bottles.  If I just want a simple glass of wine I have to break out some rarified stuff.... Read more

My drink of choice when I'm out on the town and not having wine (bars, with some exceptions, don't usually have much to offer in the wine department), is Gin & Tonic.  After a couple G&T's though I was thinking, ok, let's step it up a notch with a martini.  But I have to be... Read more

Chicago has emerged from a long, cool spring and we are finally experiencing some heat.  July 4th is coming up next week and many of us will be hanging out outside.  What will be the beverage of choice for the holiday? I've kind of always assumed you have to temporarily put up the red... Read more

We're ordering in two new Israeli wines that shall remain unnamed, and the pricing is leaving me a little frustrated.  These wines will both retail at about $30/bottle. I'm frustrated because it seems like the baseline price for any new Israeli wine is moving higher.  Many of the established quality Israeli... Read more

 I just got back from another wine event at Shallots, this time featuring wines from Capcanes with winemaker Jurgen Wagner.  Capcanes only has two wines in their portfolio, which is not necessarily a bad thing: better to produce two good wines than a  range of crap wines.  But only two wines would make for a... Read more

Just in the last few days a number of Israeli wines with 15% alcohol levels have caught my attention.  Here's the list so far: Yarden Merlot 2004, 15% Yarden Katzrin Red 2004, 15% Galil Avivim 2005, 15% Galil Viognier 2006, 15%... Read more

Had a great evening of fine food and wine last week at the Binyamina Wine Dinner.  The food was the best I've ever had at Shallots (http://www.shallotsbistro.com/).  Binyamina CEO's Timna and Ilan were nice, and the wines were showing very well.  The final wine list was: Yogev Chardonnay/Sauvignon Blanc 2006, Choshen Onyx... Read more

 Last week I bought a bottle of Moncalvina Moscato d'Asti 2006 that was reg. $19.99 being closed out for $9.99.  The $19.99 price got my attention because it's one of the highest prices I've seen for a moscato.  As for the sale, maybe the store was trying to clear out... Read more

 CEO Ilan Hasson and Deputy CEO Timna Shetrit are hosting a wine dinner at Shallots Bistro, Skokie's kosher fine dining restaurant, on Feb. 4th. We're working on the wine list with the Royal Wine rep.  It should be a very cool evening.  We're looking at a couple of Yogev wines, a... Read more

We're now receiving recent vintages of Ella Valley Vineyards and it was refreshing to see that the new wines are coming in smaller and lighter bottles.  The first few vintages of Ella (2002-2003) came in the big, beefy, deep-punted, broad-shoulderd behemouths.  I'm sure the lighter bottles save a lot of energy tranporting.  Question: Which Israeli wine... Read more