Our guest this week is sommelier Derrick C. Westbrook, a co-owner of Juice @ 1340 who has directed wine programs at NEXT and Elizabeth. He was recognized by Wine Enthusiast magazine as a 40 Under 40 Tastemaker and was the first African-American in the wine industry to grace the publication’s cover. We had a fabulous conversation about his journey to wine, his musical approach to wine and wine education, and how he introduces wines to his customers.

Each week we get together for a production meeting. This is also a great opportunity to try out some wines. This week we had two very different wines that came in at very different price points. Still, we enjoyed both immensely!

• The Curator 2021 (South African white blend by A.A. Badenhorst) $13 at Augusta Food & Wine

• Carl Ehrhard “Frau Ehrhard Naturlich” 2017 (low-intervention, slight skin-contact, German Riesling) from Independent Spirits. $30.

Lainie also reported on a tasting of ISH non-alcoholic wines and spirits offered at Birch Road in Roscoe Village.

ISH products are available locally at:

• Bendición Dry Bar
• Foxtrot

You can also get 10% off your first order at ISH’s US website with code MINDFUL10.

Our January 8th, 2023 podcast featured Tess Moon of That Board Cheese & Cracker, an excellent catering company specializing in charcuterie and party boards. We met Tess at Birch Road where she is a member and were so pleased to have her in the studio. We talked about how she came to start her business, ideas for catering and party planning, and, of course, wine!

Tom was good enough to prepare an excellent report on how de-alcoholized wine gets that way and led us on a tasting of an alcohol-removed wine.

I (Lainie) spent the week hunting for a good charcuterie wine. I found one at Augusta Food & Wine’s regular Thursday tasting: Cesari Jùsto 2019, a Merlot & Corvina blend. It turns out, however, that everyone else at the tasting decided that it was too delicious to resist, and Augusta’s stock was sold out in 24 hours. The shop’s staff came to the rescue, however, and recommended a little gem: Gaspard Pinot Noir by Jenny & François. A super-affordable and quite delicious Pinot Noir from the Loire Valley.

We also answered a question about a good cork for unfinished bottles of wine and, of course, streamed news of upcoming Chicago-area wine events.

Get full access to Chicago Wine Report at chicagowinereport.substack.com/subscribe

It was our New Year's Day special so just the three of us, Lainie Petersen, Tom Hall, and Chip Dudley, were in the studio. In honor of Dry January, we tasted some non-alcoholic wines and canned mixers/cocktails.

Tom also presented a review of Wine Simple by Aldo Sohm during this week’s show. The verdict? He strongly recommends giving this book a read!

MERRY CHRISTMAS! As luck would have it, Christmas and New Year’s Day both fall on Sundays this year, so the three of us (Tom, Lainie & Chip) pre-recorded both episodes so we could spend time with loved ones on the holidays. This episode featured reflections on 2022, some of our favorite wines, an essay on the wines of Loire Valley, and some wine education from Chip.

Get full access to Chicago Wine Report at chicagowinereport.substack.com/subscribe

Warner DeJulio of Vin 312 Winery was in the studio with us. We had a lively and informative discussion about winemaking, urban wineries, and wine itself! Be sure to follow Vin 312 on Instagram for some great content!

This week's guest was Kim Bosse, co-founder of Birch Road, a BYOB social club with clubhouses in Chicago (Roscoe Village and Lincoln Park), Seattle, and Denver. We talked about the origins of Birch Road, how this wine-focused club operates, and some of Kim’s current beverage passions, including amaro!

(Interested in joining Birch Road? Get in touch and tell them that you were referred by the Chicago Wine Report and they’ll waive your enrollment fee!)

A particularly fun part of our conversation was discussing the club’s annual Champagne tasting the night before. An amazing selection of Champagne, much of it grower Champagne, was on offer, along with a lot of laughter and good humor. Special shoutout to Melissa of BottlesUp! (taking orders and delivering bottles directly to club members’ lockers (another perk of membership) and That Board for the beautiful spread!

Our in-studio guest was Nisha Aher of Hart Davis Hart Wine Company. Nisha has so much wine knowledge and shared so much with our team and audience. We are grateful that she took the time to be on our show!

We also had a fantastic pre-recorded interview with Craig Garofalo and Michael Seward of Pops for Champagne. Pops for Champagne was (and is) a trailblazer in the Chicago wine scene and it was great to learn about its story and the culture that its team seeks to foster. If you like bubbly, you’ll want to give this interview a listen.

Our November 27th, 2022 show on WCGO Radio (1590 AM & 95.9 FM) featured Chris Bernal of Davanti Enoteca and Scott Harris Hospitality. We had a fantastic discussion about his path to wine and the joys, and challenges, of being a wine specialist at a popular restaurant! Chris really, really knows his wine, so it was wonderful to pick his brain for the kind of specialist knowledge that only an experienced industry professional can provide.

Tom and Lainie also shared stories of their recent visit to Vin 312 Winery in Ravenswood and Lainie's visit to Robert et Fils in North Center.

Our guest (November 20, 2022) was Nika Nemirovsky from Augusta Food & Wine in Lincoln Square, and we had a blast! We talked about her path to wine, and what it is like working in an independent wine and food shop. We also snarked on some silly wine gifts.

Kevin Kenny of Door 24 in Bucktown was our featured guest this week. We talked about Kevin’s path to wine, his decision to open a business, and, because ‘tis the season, holiday wines and good pairings with your favorite traditional foods.

We also welcomed special guest Jerry Vasilatos, an independent film director and producer who created Solstice, the very first Lifetime Channel Christmas special. Set in 90s Chicago, the film has proved a sentimental favorite that continues to attract attention decades later, spawning an award-winning documentary about its production and even garnering a recent mention in Film Threat.