About

Wine loving graphic designer who can’t get enough! I first fell in love with wine just about three years ago while touring some wineries in Sonoma and Napa. My first wine was the 2005 Ancient Vine Mourvèdre  from Cline Cellars. That was the epiphany, when I understood what everyone else was talking about. This stuff was not just grape juice with some alcohol thrown in! It would be just about two years more when I moved to Oak Park Illinois with my girlfriend and we wanted a nice bottle of wine before my journey into the wide world of vino would begin in earnest. It was a chilly autumn night and there was a fire flickering in the fireplace. We had a movie and some finger foods. All we were missing was some vino. I remember saying, “I saw a place just up the street where they sell wine. Should I run down there and see what they have?” And so, that is how I happened upon Marion Street Cheese Market and my soon to be wine mentor! I walked out with a bottle of the 2006 Luzon Verde Monastrell from Jumilla for $10 and it was a hit! After that I’m sure the fine folks at Marion Street could set their clocks to my visits! I dove head first into the wines of Spain and their rich lush flavour profiles. However, as my passion grew the economy shrank and soon I found myself in need of extra income.

Much to my pleasure I landed in internship at Just Grapes, a small wine shop in the west loop of Chicago. Here I took my passion to the next level and polished it off with frequent visits to Marion Street. I completed two Wine Spectator courses: one on Understanding Wine and one on Cali Cabs! I worked every and all classes held at Just Grapes and talked the ears off all the visiting winemakers. And all of this led me here. To this humble little blog where I try to chronicle and share with anyone who’s interested all the wines that I have the pleasure of tasting. I try to keep my posts positive, understanding that not all palates are created equal and that just because a wine may not appeal to my palate, that it won’t be the perfect juice for someone else. I do stray from this ethic from time to time and I apologize for that.

So, that’s the story and I’m sticking to it. I hope that you find some of what I’ve written or will write in the future helpful! And, as always, keep tasting!

Cheers!