Lots of festivals, tastings and food-related events this week, people. Tonight: If you want to learn about warm weather wines, the Chopping Block's Merchandise Mart location is hosting a Wine Goddess class on the subject this evening from 6-7:30 p.m. You'll also be able to sample some lighter reds, whites and blushes. Suite 107 in the Merchandise Mar, $60. Tonight-Sunday: Chuck's Southern Comfort Café in Burbank is throwing their annual Cajun Fest, sponsored by Abita......

We've got a Taste of Chicago preview for you later. In the meantime, here are some things around town to check out in the coming days. The Red Witch Pirate will set sail this evening for a 2-hour cruise and dinner with food catered by Bonsoiree. Cost is $45 and interested parties may RSVP here. The churrasco-meets-slow-food restaurant ZED451 (739 N. Clark St.), which has become one of the hottest destination restaurants in town largely......

There's a fantastic wine store in the West Loop called Just Grapes with employees who know so much about wine, you'll go as much for the education as you will for a great pour. The wines are arranged by their flavor profile and line the walls of this beautifully designed store. This excellent wine shop has a private room in which we attended their most recent food and wine pairing seminar last night and were......

The listed events were chosen by the editors of Chicagoist and brought to you by the 2009 Toyota Corolla. Music Tonight's Gutter twins show at Metro tonight is easily our most anticipated concert so far this year. The paring of Mark Lanegan and Greg Dulli was electrifying when they Lanegan toured with The Twilight Singers last year, but the time the two shared on-stage was far too brief. The group's long-awaited first disc, Saturnalia,......

Some events in the next seven days to consider saving your freshly shoveled parking space with a few chairs. The annual Grand Chefs Gala for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation kicks off this evening at the Fairmont Hotel. The black tie-preferred event runs from 6 p.m. - midnight and will feature a safari theme this year. Among the participating chefs will be sola's Carol Wollack, "Top Chef" alum Dale Levitski, Aigre Doux's Mohammad Islam, and Adam......

Every last Friday of the month, the bartenders and servers at Kuma's Corner donate their night's tips to a worthy cause. Tonight, it's all going to Windy City Roller Tahira "Tequila Mockingbird" Johnson, who's still recovering from her injury over the summer. If you find yourself gorging on the "Hatebeak" or "Goblin Cock" this evening, please tip better than you usually do. Just in time for Hanukkah, local food writer Leah Zeldes will give a......

Or, since this will be an Oktoberfest-intensive installment, "Das Freitagsbüfett." Most of these are around the general vicinity of Lincoln Park, Lake View, and Wrigleyville. Things kick off this evening with St. Alphonsus' Sixth Annual Oktoberfest Chicago. Admission is $5, or free if you RSVP at going.com/oktoberfestchicago. First St. Paul's Evangelical Lutheran Church hosts their Oktoberfest Saturday from 5-10 p.m. Cost is $20 ($15 for seniors, $10 for children under 12). St. Michael in Old......

The dog days of August are here. And we've got some ways to beat the humidity or, even better, give it a big ol' raspberry. We've also got some food news for you. Let's get started. - From Crain's, Jon Young and Helene Albert, the folks behind Kitsch'n and Volo have a new gastropub opening later this month. The two-story Paramount Room at 415 N. Milwaukee in River West will center on pairing upscale pub......

No repartee this week, all business. - We've received e-mails from concerned people and had to check it out for ourselves, and it looks as though Cereality at 110 South Wacker has closed down, only a couple years after Chicagoist (among other media) made a big fuss about its opening. There's even a "For Rent" sign in its front window. This kind of reaffirms our faith in the human race; if people won't pay $4.50......

Chicagoist has a love-hate relationship with wine. We love slurping the stuff – hey, we’ve even managed the swirl-and-sniff technique without spilling… well, most of the time anyways – but we hate that we feel so intimidated, overwhelmed and just plain stupid at wine shops (is it us or are wine clerks getting younger and younger?). Just Grapes understands our plight. According to Don Sritong, managing partner/director of wine education, the mission of this West......

Months back a frequent commenter to the site made the claim that “eighty percent of the wine drinkers in America would be fine with a good box wine” in response to an article about a recommended pinot gris. While that number may be dubious and ignoring the possible oxymoronic phrase “good box wine”, the reader sowed a seed that’s now being reaped as this article. We’ve all been somewhere like a party, gallery reception,......