Beer vs Wine!

Whole Foods Market South Loop, 1101 S. Canal St., presents a unique event pitting beer against wine, Monday August 16 at 6:30 p.m. The cost for this event is $15 per person.

Top of the Card
Sommelier Fernando Beteta and Cicerone Wes Phillips will be pairing beer and wine with local cheeses. This is the first event in a three-part series. Proceeds from this event will be donated to Greater Chicago Food Depository. You may register for this event at the Whole Foods customer service desk or online by clicking here.

It’s Rosé season!

by Amy Garman

Rosé misconceptions

Rosé wines are nothing if not misunderstood. There is a common misconception, thanks to white Zinfandel, that all pink wines are sweet – this couldn’t be farther from the truth! While you can certainly find some sweet Rosés, most are dry and delicious.

In the pink
How do they get the pink color? Most Rosés worth their salt are made from red wine grapes; the wine making process starts out exactly the same as it would if a red wine were being made, however instead of fermenting the grape juice with the skins for, let’s say 2 weeks, the winemakers only let Rosé juice ferment with the skins for maybe 24 hours. This way the juice has only a fraction of the time to soak up the pigment from the grape skins, turning it pink instead of the deep burgundy color of red wine.

Perfect middle ground

Other than the color, how are Rosé wines different than white or red wines? Well, the simplest answer is that a Rosé has features of both red and white wine: the crisp refreshing flavors of a white with the extra body and fruit flavors gained from the time spent in fermentation with the grape skins. The perfect middle ground.

Perfect pairings
What foods pair with Rosé wines? Rosé is extremely versatile when it comes to food pairing – especially in the warm summer months when meals often consist of lighter fare and are eaten outdoors. Rosé is a great match with salmon, salads, grilled seafood, or chicken dishes. Additionally, Rosé works well served as an aperitif with charcuterie or cheeses.

South Loop Wine Cellar is featuring 3 really great Rosés this spring: Elk Cove Rosé of Pinot Noir from Oregon: $17.99, Juno Rose of Pinotage & Shiraz from South Africa: $13.99, Capҫanes Mas Donis Rosat of Grenache & Syrah from Spain: $13.99

Amy Garman is the owner of the South Loop Wine Cellar at 1442 S. Michigan Ave.

Food Fight in the South Loop?

Who would have thought that after all these years of going without a convenience store south of Roosevelt Rd., we’d get three all at once.

Green Leaf Market was first

About two months ago Green Leaf Market, a convenience store selling food, sandwiches, milk, and assorted sundries opened at 1619 S. Michigan and we rejoiced. Yesterday, another convenience store opened at 1720 S. Michigan, almost directly across the street and we were amazed. And if two convenience stores south of Roosevelt wasn’t enough, a third is opening “soon” in the Sky-55 building.

Friendly merchants

We stopped in to speak with Shazia Khan, one of the managers of Green Leaf Market. Soon they will be offering deli sandwiches, hot dogs, and some Indian food dishes. They also plan to stock Indian spices and food items, which should help distinguish themselves in the neighborhood. For what it’s worth, the folks working at Green’s are some of the nicest merchants around. That always counts for something in our book.

Will they all make it?

One has to wonder if all these markets will be able to survive, serving the same customer base. It kind of reminds us when there were no wine shops in the South Loop and then, seemingly overnight, we had four.

Sam’s Wines and Spirits closed last Sunday. Let’s hope these three stores can survive and thrive in our neighborhood.