Cabernet Day is less than 24 hours away, do you know where you’ll be celebrating? If you’re in Chicago, Morton’s Steakhouse is the place to be!

Join WineChannelTV this Thursday, September 2nd for the first ever #Cabernet Day and our weekly #winechat at 8p CT on http://www.winechanneltv.tv/winechat or thru twitter at #winechat.

This week we will be broadcasting live from Morton’s Steakhouse on Wacker Place in Chicago. Sommelier Sara Fasolino and Morton’s Co-Owner Klaus Fristch will be stopping by for the #Cabernet Day fun !

Our featured guest and winemaker, Chris Phelps, from Swanson Vineyards in Napa Valley will be joining live from Napa Valley. Phelps is a world renowned winemaker who’s worked in some of the world’s best wine regions, including in St.Emilion and at Chateau Petrus. Phelps and Swanson Vineyards will be giving away a Magnum of their Cabernet Sauvignon at the end of the hour as well!

You won’t want to miss this interview!

Watch here as WineChannelTV gets ready for #Cabernet Day !

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

Rose wine, Bon Jovi and Summer go hand in hand.  Vinejoy provided an experience with all of the above, that had people dancing in their chairs by the end of the night and sipping great wine.

I met one of the founders of Vinejoy, Ian DeGraaf, at a tweetup earlier in the month at Bin36 and he informed me on how Vinejoy plans and hosts events throughout Chicago.

The Summer Rose Wine Dinner I attended was an intimate dinner with around 25 invited guests. The dinner featured five roses the Vinejoy team hand picked, paired with three courses of warm weather cuisine at Fontana Grill in Chicago.

We dined al fresco with a guitar player in the background, and each table had an 80’s rockband theme; my table was one of my favorites, Bon Jovi. The wines were poured in a brown bag one at a time, and we had to guess where the Rose was from and what varietal it was made from. The catch was, each table had to describe the wine they were sipping in a way that related to the band they were assigned to. My first thought was how in the world can we make a wine description correlate with the song “Living on a prayer”!?

Luckily, my table had an unbelievably witty writer, Chicago Cubs enthusiast/author Floyd Sullivan, so we had the best descriptions of the night, hands down

Watch WineChannelTV in action to see how Rose paired with Summer is always a great time !

Cheers,

JustJess

Table Fifty-Two in Chicago is located on a small side street off of Dearborn with no visible signage except for the number 52; yet, that hasn’t stopped people such as Oprah and the Obama’s from stopping here to enjoy a meal.

Chef Art Smith, Oprah’s former personal chef for over 10 years, co-owns Table Fifty-Two bringing a taste of his Southern roots to the Windy City of Chicago.

With the fresh biscuits to start and fried foods galore, I can see how the restaurant supposedly has a Southern hospitality theme. But, this is definitely more on the “gourmet” Southern food side. Isn’t the South known for their extremely large portions? You won’t find that here. Also, the fried foods, like their pickles, resembled carnival fare. I felt like the fried pickles should of been on a stick.

However, the ambiance and wine list was a winner. I sat right at the bar next to the huge hearth oven that according to their website has been there since the Great Fire in Chicago.

I needed something crisp and refreshing to cut through the fattiness of the fried dishes, and the 2008 Graziano Sauvignon Blanc from Mendocino County hit the spot. It’s nice grassy, guava, and lemon aromas finished with a juicy mineral, citrus flavor and bright acidity. It complemented my appetizer of fried green tomatoes with tomato Jam & frisee perfectly.

Watch WineChannelTV at Table Fifty-Two to see what this spot is all about and why you should visit for a glass of wine!

Cheers,

JustJess

Do you have a special bottle of wine that you’re waiting to pop open while at a fabulous restaurant?

Chicago is the place to do it, and you have to pick up Jean Iverson’s BYOB Chicago Guidebook.

In it’s third edition, Iverson has accumulated over 375 BYOB restaurants in both the suburbs and city of Chicago. As well there’s a list of around 100 fine wine and liquor stores to hit along the way, and priceless information on corkage fee’s so you’re prepared before you arrive.

BYOB restaurants were never something I really considered until I met Jean and discovered this book. Now, I see it as a great value and way to determine how much money I’d actually be saving! Iverson states on NewCityChicago how, “It’s like going to a house party, with the laidback atmosphere in many neighborhood joints, but without the cleanup.”

After attending two big BYOB’s recently in Chicago and seeing how much fun I had, the unbelievable wines I experienced from other people in our BYOB party and the money I saved, I see this as a big trend that’s going to catch on everywhere.

Watch WineChannelTV with Iverson talking about BYOB Chicago and what she has coming up next.

And until next time, Remember, wine is just a conversation waiting to happen!

Cheers,

Jessica Altieri

Tweeting about your favorite wines is always fun. But, tweeting while DRINKING your favorite wine is even better. You know this can only lead to some great conversations…

While at a BYOB event in Chicago and drinking some fantastic Sauternes I wanted to do a quick video to fill you in on the fun that WineChannelTV will be having every week on Twitter!

Starting tonight, join WineChannelTV at 8pm CST for the first ever WCTV Twitter event, #WineChat, with Sacre Bleu Wine (@SacreBleuWine) as the featured guest!

They are rocking some of the coolest and exciting wine promo’s out there, and are leading the way for social media and millenials.

Those participating in the conversation will also be eligible for a wine giveaway! Free wine in exchange for some #winechat while sitting on your couch?! I don’t think it gets better than that!

Be sure to follow the hashtag #WineChat this evening with WineChannelTV and tweet away to join the conversation!

Cheers!

JustJess

Fresh baked bread out of the oven, olive tapenade,  bruschetta and bubbles before you even look at the menu is the ideal Italian restaurant experience. Pane Caldo in Chicago does just this, and more.

I stumbled upon this hidden Italian gem and was lucky enough to get right in with out reservations. Pane Caldo is definitely a great celebration or special occasion place to take someone.

Pane Caldo is located in the Gold Coast of Chicago, and has a Northern Italian cuisine that changes daily. For my main course, I went with the Capellini with Black Truffles, Caviar and Shitake Mushrooms with a nice, light, and crisp Caposaldo Italian Pinot Grigio which was a perfect match with it’s white fruit and acacia blossom aromas. This very affordable Pinot Grigio from Veneto is a great everyday wine.

However,  if you’re looking to splurge on a special bottle, they have quite the wine list! A few highlights that caught my eye were the 2004 Chateau Lafite Rothschild, Pauillac for $1850 and a 1999 Screaming Eagle for…$3850.

Check out WineChannelTV at this Hidden Italian gem you won’t want to miss!

Cheers,

Jessica Altieri

Do you stay in on unlucky days like Friday the 13th just counting down the hours until the day is over? Not me, especially since I found a place with “Luck” in it’s name!

Club Lucky in Chicago is a must visit traditional Italian spot, especially on unlucky days like Friday the 13th.

Club Lucky is your down home, next door Italian neighborhood restaurant. As described by Co-Owner Bobby Paladino “it’s a 1940’s supper club and supper lounge on the verge of the 1950’s. It’s conceived as the next generation of Chicago Icons like Club Lago and Gene & Georgetti’s.” Paladino knows good food, since those are two of my other top restaurant spots in Chicago!

Littlenck Clams with garlic to start and a Nice Grilled Mediterranean Tilapia with even more garlic for dinner meant I needed something crisp, ripe and refreshing to accompany my meal. The 2009 Allan Scott Sauvignon Blanc from Marlborough, NZ  was a winner. The fresh tropical aromas, with hints of passion fruit and zesty lemon/orange notes complimented the seafood wonderfully.

I would recommend this wine to anyone who’s a big fan of crisp New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc’s and is looking for something new and fun to try.

Club Lucky is open 7 days a week for dinner and has a bar that’s known not only for its wine, but has great music and is voted to have the best martini’s in Chicago.

Watch WineChannelTV at Club Lucky enjoying this Italian spot!

Cheers,

Jessica Altieri

I waited over an hour to see Bruce Willis at Binny’s in LakeView, Chicago. In the heat. All I wanted to get on camera was him saying “Yippee Kay Yay” and some classic Pulp Fiction Lines.

Instead, the audience of 400+ disorganized people got 30 seconds of Bruce up above the crowd saying hello and trying to pronounce “to your health” in Polish(Na zdrowie) since he is the new face of Sobieski Vodka, a premium Vodka from Poland. Well, I’m Polish, and sorry to say you butchered it Bruce!

In the time I did see him, Bruce looked like he hasn’t even aged since his Pulp Fiction days and is rocking and rolling not only in Hollywood, but in the beverage world.

Besides being a co-founder of Planet Hollywood with Stallone and Arnold, Bruce owns a portion of Sobieski & signed on to the team in 2009. He’s been taking an active part in promoting Sobieski online thru his “Ideas” videos like Vodka Thursday, and you can even “Ask Bruce” on the Sobieski Vodka site about anything…I want to know what’s your favorite WINE! Since Bruce was born in Germany, he’s got to have some favorites from there.

And did I mention that I saw more people, specifically women, drinking Champagne while waiting to see him than the actual vodka?

Watch WineChannelTV waiting to get a glimpse of Bruce, and let me know what you think!

Cheers,

Jessica Altieri

La Scarola is in the book of  legendary Italian Restaurant places to visit when you’re in Chicago. Period. You haven’t had Italian in Chicago unless you’ve eaten here. Don’t be fooled by the old, hanging sign out front. And yes, you will be asked to go and wait on Friday and Saturday nights at the bar next door, called Richards.  Its the designated waiting room for La Scarola. And with a 70’s jukebox in there, it’s the perfect spot to chill before dinner.

Jerry Springer, David Schwimmer, Billy Dec, Jim Belushi, Morgan Freeman are only a few of the celebs who mangia at La Scarola. Here’s Springer and Armando:

The first time I showed up, Nicolas Cage was sitting by the door in his wife-beater tank top eating his pasta. That’s the type of place this is, everyone and anyone can show up at anytime because they all know what they’re going to get here- amazing, authentic Italian food.

I’m a meatball fanatic, and the ricotta stuffed meatballs with heavenly marinara sauce is to die for. The chicken parm, grilled salmon over risotto, cold escarole with lemon and veal chop the size of your head are a few favorites of mine. And don’t forget about the freshest cannoli in town for dessert; they were voted the best cannoli in Chicago not too long ago.

I had a chance to sit with one of the owners, Armando, and every time I see him I know it’s going to be a good night…filled with lots of tequila shots, don’t ask me why !

Chicken Parm was calling my name this night, so I decided to try some affordable Cabernet Sauvignon from Santa Margherita.

I had only tasted the Santa Marg Pinot Grigio before which is a classic you can’t go wrong with, so I was excited to see how this stood up. At $30 a bottle, this bright, round full bodied Cabernet had ripe cherry and blackberry notes that went great with the marinara sauce. This Cabernet was nice for the price.

Watch WineChannelTV at La Scarola, you  won’t want to miss this episode!

Cheers,

Jessica Altieri