Chicago Gourmet

This past Saturday I had the opportunity to go to Chicago Gourmet in Millennium Park, hosted by Bon Appetit. Even though I was exhausted from the Dillon Francis concert the night before, I knew there was no way I was going to miss this event. We lucked out with the weather and it was absolutely gorgeous out – clear blue skies and the temperature was perfect. 

As soon as we walked through the main entrance we were handed a wine glass and a bag filled with free souvenirs & snacks. I was overwhelmed by how many tents there were and the number of different tastings going on, and was super excited to explore. 

We started off with some Cava (Spanish sparkling wine) and Mencia. Normally I prefer white wine to red wine (mostly because I don’t want to worry about my lips getting red) but that all changed after Saturday. I had some of the best red wine of my life!

Mencia is a grape that can only be found in the northwestern part of Spain known as the Bierzo region. Up until five years ago that area had little or no enological history. Mencia is up and coming in the wine world, and I can understand why. It was the only stand where we went back for seconds, and since then I’ve had trouble finding it in any stores in Chicago. Another of my favorites included Seven Sister’s Wine from South Africa. The Pinotage/Shiraz or “Dawn” was delicious and extremely smooth. 

My ONLY complaint about the whole event was that there was almost no vegetarian food! I was able to get some butternut squash soup from the Palmer House Hilton Hotel tent, which was delicious. I also managed to snag some Zapatista pasta from the Gluten-free tent. Needless to say I got pretty tipsy from all the wine tasting. Hopefully next year they’ll have more veg options!   

                              

 

 

I had to take a few pics when I was walking home :) I will be flying to New York next week for my best friend's family reunion in Brooklyn, more posts & pictures to come!!