Muscadet, a French white wine from the Loire Valley near Nantes, is produced more than any other Loire Valley wine and comes with an interesting history, as I learned from Georges Verdier of Chateau de Oiseliniere. I met with Georges Verdier at the Loire Valley Trade tasting where he was a sampling a few wines at the W Lakeshore Chicago Hotel.

One of his wines in particular that stood out was the delicious Château de L´Oiselinière, AOC Muscadet Sèvre-et-Maine sur lie. The fresh white fruit, peach, apple, pear and acacia notes would make this a perfect wine pairing for seafood such as oysters, crayfish salad, grilled fish and even goats cheese. The wine has a nice minerality and is wonderfully balanced.

In 2006 Georges Verdier and his family became the proprietors of the Chateau de Oiselinière. As stated on their website, vines have been grown for centuries–in fact leases written on parchment dated 1337, 1471,1505, 1546 have been preserved. On the parchment dated from 1635 in particular, there is the first mention of Muscadet. It is the first known lease today and is written as follows:
“Jean de Goulet de la Fosse de Nantes leases to several private individuals from the Parish of Gorges, a piece of land consisting of 78 plots, known as “Les Grands Gâts” dependent on the land of the Oiselinière in order to plant white Muscadet vines.”

Watch this video to learn about this wine and more !

Cheers,

JustJess

Looking for the perfect setting to have that glass of French wine in Chicago? The W LakeShore Chicago Hotel is the spot. The W hotel has one of the best views in the city in their 33rd floor Altitude Room where I visited recently for a Loire Valley trade wine event.

The Loire Valley is basically spread from the center of France to the Ocean, and where the “North meets the South” as pointed out on the trade event’s site. It contains 69 AOC’s ( the French certification granted to certain geographical areas), and is known for it’s Chenin blanc based wines such as Vouvray, as well as sparkling wines, Muscadet, Rose and more.

At the event I sampled many of those delicious wines & met with Rob Smith of W.J. Deutsch to taste a fantastic, refreshing Rose D’Anjou, Sauvion. The fresh strawberry, pear and cherry aromas followed by the crisp flavor with a hint of sweetness makes it a perfect pairing for exotic asian dishes…or just a hot day on the beach in Chicago or France!

Watch this video to learn more about this WOW Rose and why you should try it !

Cheers,

JustJess

Sonoma-Meritage Restaurant in downtown Sonoma was a restaurant that had been recommended to me for its great wine and local food by a few of my fellow sommelier friends that live in the area, so I had to stop by and give it a try when I was recently in California.

The restaurant is run by Chef Carlo Cavallo, who is a dual citizen of Italy and the U.S. Taking on an urge from a friend to become a chef, Cavallo got his start in Milan and then made his way to Los Angeles. In L.A., Cavallo worked with the Italian Restaurant group, which manages Giorgio Armani Restaurants such as the one in Beverly Hills, and would earn “Best New Chef of the Year” in 1994 by the Los Angeles Magazine.

Cavallo would earn many more accolades thru the years, and eventually opened Meritage in 99′, which has won the Best Seafood Restaurant award in Napa and Sonoma County for 8 consecutive years. He has served for everyone from the Prime Minister of Italy, to Luciano Pavarotti, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sylvester Stallone and many more.

Now you can see why I was eager to try out this A-List spot. The dover sole caught my eye first on the menu, so I went with a crisp glass of Sonoma’s 2009 Macleod Sauvignon Blanc . It’s grapefruit and citrus notes were a great pairing with my dover sole, as well as my appetizer of clams with a delicious white wine/garlic sauce-it was perfect for dunking my crunchy focaccia bread in at the table.

Watch WineChannelTV and this must visit Sonoma restaurant!

Cheers,

JustJess

BLT is not just the initials of your favorite diner sandwich. It’s also the initials for the Bistro ran by the 2007 Bon Appétit Restaurateur of the Year, Laurent Tourondel. This  “Modern American Steakhouse” is located throughout the country, in hot spots such as New York City and Scottsdale, Arizona.

During my Thanksgiving weekend in Scottsdale, I dined at the BLT located in the JW Marriott Camelback Inn Resort.

The BLT restaurant located here is the largest in Laurent Tourondel’s portfolio. I had such a good experience I dined there twice

The wine list and sommeliers were both superb and on hand for any questions about pairings. I went with a few appetizers that night, including the tuna tartare and chopped salad which was delicious and a perfect pairing with my bright, refreshing 2008 Napa Valley Flora Springs Chardonnay.

Let’s not forget about one last thing- The “PopOvers”- They go in the category of the best bread I’ve ever had…and I’m a Bread Afficionado ! They come out steaming hot and literally pop open when you slice your knife through. You even get the directions and ingredients on how to make your own at home, which will be on my Christamas menu for sure.

Watch WineChannelTV at BLT and make sure to check this place out!

Cheers,
JustJess

Each month I attend a fantastic BYOB dinner with some of the top Chicago wine lovers around. We always visit some place a little bit out of the way,  not some where you’d normally visit. This month we visited Sun Wah BBQ which is know to have the best Chinese BBQ in the Windy City. I have to admit, when I first saw the dodgy sign outside I was a little skeptical.

But, once I saw the ducks hanging from the window I knew I was going to be in a for a memorable night at this hidden hot spot. It definitely reminded me of my days living in Nyc near Chinatown.

At Sun Wah we feasted on that hanging Duck, which was actually from Indiana, and amazing bottles of wine all night long.

I brought with a bottle of Belle Glos Pinot Noir from the Clark and Telephone Vineyard in Santa Maria Valley, California that I had received a few weeks earlier from Frank Gutierrez. Frank was a guest on my weekly #WineChat Show on Thursday evening’s, and he is the social media/film director for the Wagner Family which represents Belle Glos among many other fantastic  wines.

We had more dishes that I can remember but the Duck carved tableside was the stand out for sure, and it went perfectly with the brown spice and sweet oaky notes in the earthy Pinot I brought with.

Watch WineChannelTV eating duck, drinking wine and having a great time at this must visit Chinese spot!

Cheers,

JustJess

Frog Legs, Steak, Lobster , Mile-High Ice Cream Cake and great wine were a few of the highlights from a recent blind tasting I held in Chicago…that had people dancing in their chairs to Katy Perry by the end of the night . Here she is with her Koala Bear wine cooler :

I was asked by WineTwits Founder Steve Gilberg to lead the Yellow Tail Reserve Blind Wine Tasting in Chicago last Friday and invite some of the top wine and social media mavens around the Windy City for this virtual event which occurred simultaneously in 20 cities across the U.S.

We tuned in from Hugo’s Frog Bar on Rush Street to WineTwits.TV to see, as they stated, if “wine writers and bloggers could spot [yellow tail] Reserve in a blind tasting led by expert Doug Frost, MS, MW and John Casella, creator of [yellow tail] and [yellow tail] Reserve.”

As pointed out by WineTwits, John Casella has “created one of the most successful wine brands in modern history, and the rise of his brand, [yellow tail], helped to fuel Australia’s rise in the marketplace.”

We tasted blind 4 different highly rated, varying priced international wines to see if we could spot which one is [yellow tail] Reserve. You can follow the twitter feed and conversation from that evening by typing in #tasteYTR into the search box on twitter to see everyone’s interaction.

Overall, the night was a huge success! Thank-you again WineTwits and Co. ! It was quite a night out in Chicago, and I’m looking forward to the next event!

Watch WineChannelTV in action and see which wine won our accolades for the night!

Cheers,
JustJess

I attended a Fleming’s Steakhouse Media Wine Dinner with Kurman Communications recently, and had a feast of unbelievable food and wine pairings!

Cindy Kurman  and her husband Lee had met with me previously at the MidVentures Launch event I was filming at, and while there she told me about this dinner. Take a look at this menu and try not to get hungry, thank-you again Cindy and team

MENU:

Pre Dinner

STOLI BOMBSHELL COCKTAIL

Stoli Vanil vodka, fresh raspberries, raspberry preserves and freshly squeezed lime juice, served straight up in a martini glass.

First Course

LUMP CRAB LOUIS WRAPS

butter lettuce, avocado, bacon, egg, tomato, chives

Wine Pairing: Sanford Chardonnay, Santa Barbara County, 2007/2008

ROASTED MUSHROOM RAVIOLI

portobello and shiitake mushrooms, porcini butter sauce

Wine Pairing: Meyer Syrah, Syrah Mendocino County, 2005/Yorkville Highlands, 2006

Second Course

TILLAMOOK BAY PETRALE SOLE

crab beignets, lemon butter sauce

with roasted baby carrots, tossed with golden raisins and toasted California mission almonds

Wine Pairing: Veramonte Sauvignon Blanc, Casablanca Valley Chile, 2008

PEPPERCORN STEAK

prime New York strip, cracked black and white peppercorns, proprietary “F17” steak sauce on the side

with sautéed French green beans, shiitake mushrooms, porcini essence

Wine Pairing: Frog’s Leap Merlot, Rutherford, 2007

Third Course (Please note dessert items are not new menu items)

CHOCOLATE LAVA CAKE

rich chocolate cake with a molten chocolate center, served with vanilla ice cream and chopped pistachio

CRÈME BRÛLÉE

creamy Tahitian vanilla bean custard served with fresh seasonal berries

Prix Fixe Menu (This was shown before the third course)

Choice of Appetizer
OYSTERS ROCKEFELLER
three freshly shucked oysters baked with sambuca-laced creamed spinach, shaved parmesan cheese and crispy bacon bits

AUTUMN SALAD
crisp spinach and baby lettuce, toasted almonds and grape tomatoes, tossed
with red onion balsamic vinaigrette, served with a blue cheese and bacon crostini

Choice of Entrée
VEAL OSSO BUCCO
veal shank served on creamy risotto with roasted seasonal vegetables

CIOPPINO
sea bass, shrimp, clams and black mussels in a spicy tomato broth, served
with a toasted sourdough crouton

Dessert
DARK CHOCOLATE CHEESECAKE
served on crème anglaise with raspberry coulis

The roasted mushroom ravioli and Meyer Syrah was one of my favorites of the night and a perfect pairing! Fleming’s offers 100 wines by the glass and the bottle, and was promoting their new fall pre-fixe  menu:

As well, Fleming’s has a “5 For $6 ’Til 7” bar menu, featuring “5 tempting appetizers, 5 premium cocktails and 5 distinctive wines by the glass — each priced at $6 and served 7 nights a week.”

The “Women and Wine” dinner coming up will also be something to look out for, and you can find more information on their website.

It was unfortunately pretty dark at Flemings while I was filming, but you can still watch WineChannelTV in action  and learn more about this fantastic restaurant!

Cheers,

JustJess

Chef Charlie Palmer’s restaurant Aureole in NYC is the place to visit for a one of a kind wine experience. I visited Palmer’s Las Vegas location, and have been using that experience as my standard for measuring up to all other wine themed restaurants.

While visiting Nyc for a video shoot, I decided to host my 1st Live Video Twitter Webcast on my weekly Thursday evening #winechat and I knew Aureole had to be the place I hosted from.

The sommeliers at Aureole went above and beyond to make my night memorable; including unbelievable tastings the whole night, culminating with a 1986 Chateau Margaux which was heavenly! I learned later the Margaux was approximately $1200 at cost.

I have to give a special thanks to all of Aureole and one of the sommeliers, Chad, who took the time to speak with me in this very informational video and provide amazing tastings throughout the evening on rare wines, like the Margaux which he called the most “feminine” of the grand crus.

Watch WineChannelTV at this legendary wine location that you have to visit the next time you’re in NYC!

PS…Make sure to join my weekly #winechat every Thursday at 8P CT  on http://www.twitterface.com/winechat . This Thursday is #Cabernet Day and I will be like from Morton’s Steakhouse in Chicago on Wacker Place!

Cheers,

JustJess

If you’re looking to treat that special someone with gourmet Italian and fantastic wine, you’ll want to put Merlo on Maple on your list of places to visit.

This Gold Coast fine dining restaurant has been on my list of places to visit for a while just because of its catchy name. It sets the mood for a romantic evening as soon as you walk in the door and spot the candles on the tables.

For my main course, I had the Spaghetti all chitarra Mediterraneo which is their hand-made square spaghetti topped with fresh-catch scampi, shrimp, scallops, clams and mussels in a delicious red pepper flake, cherry tomatoe, white wine sauce.

It went perfectly with the 2008 Italian Valpolicella Classico Buglioni I had at $11 a glass. The wine’s nice acidity and red fruit notes balanced out the seafood and cherry tomato sauce wonderfully.

I would definitely recommend this restaurant as a great meeting location or anniversary spot.

Watch WineChannelTV at this Italian hot spot you will want to visit!

Cheers,

JustJess

Chicago Q,  a Southern style BBQ restaurant in the Gold Coast of Chicago, just opened and was giving away their menus to people walking by. After seeing the “competition style ribs” on their menu I knew I found a winner, but the next thing I wanted to know was how’s the wine list.

Since Q just opened, they’re currently a BYOB restaurant for a few weeks until they obtain their final license. I had a bottle of 2009 Sacre Bleu Cabernet Sauvignon at home, and saw this as the perfect opportunity to break out that bottle.

This bold Chilean Cabernet Sauvignon has a fantastic new world style and old world earthiness all in one; it turned out to be the perfect match with my hearty BBQ ribs… and their amazing, homemade bread and butter pickles to start!

I got a chance to share some wine with the Chef/Partner of Q, Lee Ann Whippen, who was making the rounds to each table to make sure everything was to her diners liking. When she stopped by my table, I had to grab her for a quick interview.

Q is Whippen’s 3rd restaurant, the other two are located in Virginia where she has earned the title of an award winning lady pitmaster. Whippen was excited to talk about the new TLC show she’s on, BBQ PitMasters, and how she recently took down the famous Food Network griller, Bobby Flay, in one of his Pulled Pork Throw Down episodes.

Besides the fantastic ribs, I had some of the most delicious hush puppies. They had the perfect crunchiness and their combination of cheddar, bacon and chives made it a party in my mouth; this picture doesn’t do them justice!

If you’re looking for down home southern BBQ style food, with a hip bar, and tv’s in the front of the house, this is the spot to visit.

Watch WineChannelTV with the Chef on the opening day of this must visit BBQ spot in Chicago!

Cheers,

JustJess

Chicago Q

1160 N. Dearborn

Chicago, IL 60610

bbq@chicagorestaurant.com