Every year the rag tag group of homebrewing enthusiasts known as the Homebrewers Pride of the Southside (aka HOPs! gathers at a VFW hall in Bridgeport for their annual Oktoberfest celebration. The group ranges in experience from novice beer makers to notable brewmasters like Mat Van Wyk of Flossmoor Station and Wil Turner of Goose Island's Clybourn brewpub. This year HOPs! members created 56 different beers, sodas, wines and liqueurs for those attending to taste.......

The annual Windy City Wine Festival, presented by Binny's Beverage Depot, takes place tonight and tomorrow at Daley Bicentennial Plaza downtown. We've never been overly impressed by the festival, but taking a look at the cooking and wine exhibitions scheduled we might be swayed to drop by. The always entertaining Hearty Boys will be at the festival both days (tonight from 7:15-7:45 p.m. and 7:25-7:55 p.m. Saturday). Also on hand will be Steve Chiapetti of......

WineStyles Chicago (1433 W. Belmont) is hosting a tasting this evening from 6-8 p.m. to benefit the Alzheimer's Association. Cost is $25, $20 of which is tax deductible. There is limited availablility, call 847-933-2413 for more information. Lush Wine and Spirits University Village location (1257 S. Halsted) is opening their outdoor patio for customers and their dogs this evening from 6-9 p.m. Godmother of the Slow Food Movement Alice Waters will be at Green......

More Chicago Gourmet updates. Tickets went on sale yesterday for the Grand Cru Wine Tastings, September 27 and 28. Master sommeliers, including local talents Joseph Spellman, Alpana Singh and Serafin Alvarado, will select fifty of the best wines in the world for tasting. The ticket price, however, is steep: a nice, round price of $175 per person (that's on top of the $150 tag to enter Millennium Park for Chicago Gourmet). That's some serious......

The featured chef for tomorrow's cooking demonstration at Green City Market is Susan Goss of West Town Tavern. West Town Tavern is long a fave of the Chicagoist food and drink staff; Goss is one of the few to get us to eat fried chicken in the summer. The demonstration starts at 10:30 a.m. Hard to believe that when we mention pinot noir to casual wine drinkers, they still start quoting from "Sideways" three......

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 Whole Foods Lakeview (3300 N. Ashland), one of the WFs not shut down with a rodent infestation, is hosting a tasting of seleced wines from local distributor Cream Wine Company from 4-7 p.m. this afternoon. Both Lush Wine and Spirits locations (1257 S. Halsted and 2232 W. Roscoe) are hopping on Bastille......

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......

This is wheat ale weather, people. This evening from 6-9 p.m. at West Lakeview Liquors, Kalamazoo Brewing Company (popularly known as Bell's) will be tasting out the amber, wheat and hop solution brands. The Lincoln Park Young Professionals will do their best to tie status symbols together this evening with their summer wine festival at Howard Orloff Imports (1924 N. Paulina). Cost for the $35 per person event will grant you access to samples......

Tomorrow marks the start of the National Restaurant Association's annual trade show at McCormick Place. Happening simultaneously at the show is the inaugural International Wine Spirits and Beer Event. Senator John McCain is scheduled to address the show Monday. That should be an exciting speech . We'll be filing reports next week from the show, which runs through Tuesday. $75 must be the standard rate for culinary classes at the Alliance Francaise, because that's......

Those of you heading to Millennium Park this evening to see Don Giovanni might want to head to the Artisan Cellar at Merchandise Mart from 4-6 p.m. this afternoon for a free tasting of Andre Clouet Champagne, which the Artisan Cellar touts as their most popular sparkling selection in recent memory. a member of the Clouet family will be on hand to discuss the champagne. Saturday at Provenance Food and Wine's Logan Square location,......

The photography of international wine consultant Anna Pakula is currently on display at the Merchandise Mart as part of “The Artist Project.” Her work reflects the true essence of the art of winemaking and the finished wine by not only through capturing the faces, labor and passion of those who tend the vines, harvest the grapes and work the cellar, but also depicting the forces of nature at play in determining the direction of......

It's a good day outside and with the combination of springing forward the clocks, the South Side Irish Parade Sunday, and warmer temps next week there are plenty of weeks to go out. Start the weekend off by leaving work early and heading to the Artisan Cellar at the Merchandise Mart, where they'll be having a tasting of the new-to-the area Graham Beck wines from South Africa. The free tasting runs from 3:30-6 p.m.,......

Taste Food and Wine is fast becoming one of our favorite specialty shops. A large reason for this is their tastings. This evening they'll be hosting a free wine tasting from 6-7:30 p.m. featuring Bordeaux selections from Château Lestrille. Louisa Chu of Movable Feast and Diary of a Foodie fame will be speaking at Kendall College tomorrow about what it's like behind the scenes of food television. Should be promising. Presented by the Chicago......

Let's start things off right this weekend with a grappa tasting this evening from 6-7:30 p.m. at Taste Food and Wine in Rogers Park, shall we? Yes, we shall. As we mentioned a few weeks ago, the Chicago Convention and Tourism Bureau's first restaurant week, Eat It Up, begins this evening. Through next Friday, participating restaurants three-course price fixe lunches for $21.95 and dinners for $31.95. Congratulations to Provenance Food and Wine, which celebrates......

Handlebar, everyone's favorite bicycle bar turns five tomorrow. The highlight, for us, is the serving of Bell's Kalamazoo porter. They're also offering free appetizers, half-off all drinks, and Mucca Pazza will do their best to blow out the windows. Festivities run from 10 p.m. - 3 a.m. For you guys who only bought your valentine doghouse roses, the James Hotel and Local wine Events Chicago have paired up to offer a $229, all inclusive......

We're going to be doing a special Valentine's Day version of the Buffet next week. Until then, here are some events to tie you over. Big City Swing is hosting a wine and chocolate tasting from 10:30 p.m. through 3 a.m. Cost is $15. The Alliance Francaise de Chicago is hosting a cooking class tomorrow open to kids between 7 to 10 year old accompanied by a family member. Expose your child to French culture......

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......

Someone apparently reads the site: former Chicagoist staffer Lisa Shames attended Sunday's beer and charcuterie seminar at Custom House and e-mailed us to say that there were at least four people in attendance beside her who found out about the seminar via Chicagoist. We ran into at least that many people last night who said the same. But this isn't about us. It's about the beer and the cured meats. And we can say with......

The Dill Pickle Co-Op's benefit concert goes down tomorrow night at the Av-Aerie, 2000 W. Fulton. Bands scheduled to perform include Reds and Blue, Pit er Pat, and Detholz. Things kick off at 8 p.m. and the cost is a suggested $15 donation. Professor Bruce Kraig of the Culinary Historians of Chicago will be at Kendall College Saturday morning hosting a seminar on "Changes in Food Consumption Patterns After the Civil War." The seminar......

Va Pensiero in Evanston officially celebrates the return of wine director Jason Prah (most recently of Eno) with a tasting of eight "wines to survive winter." Prah will be on hand to present the wines and appetizers will be served. Cost is $35 per person, and the event starts at 7 p.m. The Alliance Francaise de Chicago has been offering a fair amount of cooking classes lately. Their class on Saturday will focus on......

One of our favorite dinners last year was a fixed price dinner at Custom House featuring beer pairings from Unibroue. The dinner was so successful that they're teaming up again on January 20 for a beer and charcuterie seminar from 6-8 p.m. The six-course event will match select Unibroue brands with two different types of charcuterie selections each. The full menu can be read here. Now here's the kicker. The cost for this is $35,......

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......

This week's listings kick off this evening at Merchandise Mart with "Chill: an International Wine & Culinary Event" sponsored by Luxehome and Wine Spectator. Proceeds from the event benefit the Respiratory Health Association of Metropolitan Chicago. The event runs from 5 - 8 p.m. Chicago Professionals for Youth is committed to improving the lives of local underprivileged youth through literacy and mentoring programs, college preparation, job training and career skills assistance. Saturday they're hosting......