Forlorn Hope wines breaks out some rare wines at Lush Wine and Spirits West Town tonight for a free tasting. more ›

Don't call it a 9/11 novel. Whatever author Alex Shakar's ambitious, intricate and searching second novel Luminarium may be, it is much more than its backdrop of the fifth anniversary of that attack. The book follows Fred Brounian as he makes sense of himself and his world, where his software company is hijacked by the "Military-Entertainment Complex," the only positive vibes in his shambles of a personal life seem to be side effects of a neuroscientific research study, and texts and emails from his comatose twin brother start popping up. As a writer, Shakar is somehow a satirist of technology, an experimental scientist, a spiritual guide and a game designer rolled into one, but to make a setting such as 9/11 commemoration recede into a supporting role, he also moonlights as a magician. more ›

If today's Chicagoist Gift Guide just doesn't do it for you, or if you don't see something for the beer geek in your life, consider the beer riches just released moments ago by LUSH Wine & Spirits. For $155, they have raided their cellar and put together a Vertical Tasting collection of Bourbon County Stout from Goose Island, as well as some special bottles as well. more ›

Not to worry, there are plenty of excellent, locally-available alternatives. Of the 10 or so beers we sampled at Lush, we highly recommend Trappist Achel Bruin 8, Picobrowerij Alvinne Melchior and Goose Island Fleur. Because, as we also learned, great Belgian beers don’t always come from Belgium. more ›

The weather is starting to turn, which makes for a good reason to enjoy a cider. Coming from Spain's Basque region is this wonderfully dry, naturally fermented cider. The makers of Isastegi Sagardo Naturala recommend it be given a long pour, a sip at a time, to break up any residual carbonic gas. Those long pours make a world of difference, releasing a banquet of musty aromas on the nose to complement its dirty golden appearance. more ›

Who to know more ›

Our nose was assaulted by the scent of apples and spices from the moment we opened a bottle of Two Brothers Avalon. It was the olfactory equivalent to hearing Christmas carols in October, but much more pleasing. Avalon is another in Two Brothers' "Artisan Bottling" series — Bonfire Dunkle Weiss is part of that series. get past the nose of this beer and you'll immediately pick up a pretty serious hop flavor to Avalon. Most beers or ales brewed with apple cider or must err on the side of malt. Since there is a fair amount of spices in Avalon, the hops work to complement that aspect of the taste profile. more ›

Had to double-check the name of that wine to make sure there were some vowels. more ›

The adjective to describe Sunday was "epic." There was a lot of eating involved with going to Fiesta del Sol; there were two trips alone Sunday. In between was a visit to LUSH Wine & Spirits University Village location for their free Sunday wine tasting (2-5 p.m. every Sunday). After we ran through the wine selections, a palate cleanser was needed and another customer cleaned them out of Gumballhead. Scouring the cooler we came upon some organic beers. Our history with organic brews is not a good one, but we're anything if not an equal-opportunity drinker and one bad experience won't deter us. more ›

The term "gaucho" for some brings to mind naive, romanticized notions of South American cowboys. For us it means sinking our teeth into a tender, juicy steak, sipping on some malbec and popping on some Steely Dan. Lush Wine & Spirits University Village location (1257 S. Halsted, 312-738-1900) won't have the Dan tomorrow, but they will have everything else as part of a humpday "gaucho party" they're throwing in their fenced-in garden seating. The steaks are going to be wood-grilled, loads of malbec will be available and, if we know the Lushies, they'll also have some tunage ready to drown out the annoying Rat Pack staples their neighbors at Franconello's will undoubtedly be spinning. more ›

The soup outside is not exactly conducive to enjoying a hoppy India Pale Ale, but this is one you might want to search out. more ›

We here at Chicagoist are admirers of what Lisa Thompson is doing over at Blue Sky Inn and its Albany Park bakery and café. Blue Sky Inn and LUSH Wine & Spirits are teaming up to host a fundraising event this Saturday. "Picnics & Pies" will feature wine tastings; beer; a cakewalk; a bags tournament; the chance to buy picnic lunches from Charlie Trotter and Rick Bayless, among others; and a pie baking contest. The event runs from noon-5 p.m. at LUSH's University Village location (1257 S. Halsted) and costs $10 in advance, $12 at the door. To enter the pie baking contest, email here. more ›

With the good weather starting to come in, there's no shortage of events going on to entice you to leave the indentation you've worked into the couch and do something. Case in Point: For those of you who give the proverbial rat's ass about DarkLord Day, Slow Food Godmother Alice Waters will visit Green City Market next Saturday to promote her new book, Edible Schoolyard. The crowds Waters draws at her appearances are about as opposite from the spectrum as the Heavy Metal Parking Lot that will descend on Three Floyds that same day. Water will sign copies of the book from 10-11:30 a.m., which will be available for purchase at the Market. more ›

This snow sure looks pretty, but walking in it when can make you parched, especially when you have neighbors who don't shovel in front of their houses. 'Course, you can also use the weather as an excuse to stay in this evening. We don't mind; it just means that there'll be more beer for us this evening at LUSH Wine and Spirits University Village (1257 S. Halsted). They're hosting a vertical tasting of Schmaltz Brewing's He'Brew Jewbelation ale, including this year's "Jewbelation Twelve" release, made with a dozen malts and a dozen hops. This free tasting runs from 6-8 p.m. and seems like the perfect fire-stoker for this evening's glögg fest at Simon's. more ›

Beer, Beer, and MORE BEER. Speaking of, if anyone knows where in Chicago we can get a bottle of some Feldschlosschen Dunkle Perle (pictured), we'll will trim your toenails (okay, maybe not - but dinner's in it for you). Let's see what's in the hopper, foodies! more ›

This week, we hopefully compare tasting notes. Two weeks back we wrote about a sampling of Moloko, a milk stout brewed by Three Floyds, that was happening at Smallbar in Wicker Park. Milk stouts are typically made with lactose sugar; the resultant brew is sticky sweet. more ›

There are a slew of breweries we've never covered for "BotW." As we face the final four months of the year, we're going to remedy that. A Saturday afternoon running errands and checking out friends' bands at street fairs ended with us at our Zero Point for purchasing beer: Lush Wine and Spirits in University Village. We placed dibs on some Three Floyds Moloko when it arrives (hopefully in time for next week's installment) and headed for the beer cooler. For some reason, this has been a year of porters for your humble Chicagoisto. Naturally, we gravitated to a bottle of O'Fallon smoked porter. more ›

While a sizable portion of the greater Chicago area were making a beeline to the Feist/Juana Molina show at Ravinia Friday night, we were at a loft in Humboldt Park taking part in another one of Efrain Cuevas' Clandestino dinners. The five-course menu Cuevas had planned was teeming with a lot of bright flavors, spices and acidity, so we were looking for a wine that could pair well with all the courses. From our kitchen rack we decided upon a rosé we bought during a tasting at Pastoral's downtown location (53 E. Lake St.) last month for around $16. more ›

It's mid-July which means that many tastings and fixed price dinner events have a Bastille Day theme. Here are a few of note more ›

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