Want to be part of this community-centered cause?

On January 26th, Hinsdale Wine Shop will be participating in a Cash Mob from 4:00-7:00 PM! We will be offering 8 wines normally priced at $30-$40 for just $25! All wines part of this deal will be available for tasting throughout the event. Just bring $25 cash and take advantage of this incredible deal!

Hinsdale Wine Shop

12 E Hinsdale Avenue

Hinsdale, IL 60521

Basil: Or else?

Alexis Zorba: …he never dares cut the rope and be free.

Basil: …Teach me to dance….

– From Zorba the Greek

Breakfast offerings at the meat market.

Meandering around Athens...

One travels to Greece with a certain degree of expectation. Sparkling blue seas should catch the sun and blind you with Greece’s unstoppable beauty. The scents of garlicky, grilled souvlaki and the sounds of energetic lute music should follow you as you travel through quaint, narrow streets lined with quaint stucco buildings. And you should encounter mustached men gulping ouzo and freely dancing their own version of Zorba’s Sirtaki.

So, when my good, good friend and Cellar Door manager Alex Shamsuddin and I spent eight days in Athens and Mykonos, that was the movie playing in my head as we began our travels. While we failed to see Anthony Quinn or have anyone teach us the secret to life, we did hear firsthand experiences about Greece’s recent economic woes, discover Athens’ central market, and become mesmerized by Mykonos’ splendor.

A taste of reality

The first thing we experienced in Greece was a taste of economic despair—not ours, thankfully. Coming into Athens, our hotel was conveniently situated near Syntagma Square, just downwind from the Acropolis and central to everything, including a huge protest. Greece’s economic hardships were hard to avoid in conversations with the Greeks we met. I lost track of the number of people inquiring about jobs in the United States, asking how to emigrate and relaying their own personal financial woes. You would think in that case tourists would find bargains everywhere, but just the opposite was true. Starbucks would have looked like a bargain compared to our coffee, which was selling for 5 euros/cup (about $7). And if the “Best Bartender in Greece” was telling us the truth, he earned the equivalent of $35/day – that doesn’t buy too many cups of coffee!  So, with all this bad news and warnings of pickpockets everywhere, it was a little hard to get comfortable in Greece…at first. However, Greece is a bit of paradise. And if one believes Zorba the Greek, this is a resilient culture that will rise above. Despite its recent travails, Greece is undeniably full of history, culture, and color and still makes for a restful vacation.

Going to the meat market

Jet lag can drive a person crazy. Unable to sleep, Alex and I decided on our second day to explore Athens – cigars in hand – at its least crowded – 5 a.m. And at that time of day, The Agora or central market was where the action was. We found butchers grinding, carving and macerating every meat you could imagine. Fishmongers, too, were sorting and cleaning fish, and flower vendors and vegetable sellers also received their day’s delivery of fresh, colorful produce. The air there was thick and gamey but the sights spectacular. Peach-colored squash blossoms that are sometimes filled and sometimes just lightly batter-fried were nestled among a brilliant array of colors in the many vegetable and fruit kiosks. The next day and the day after we returned to gaze upon the trays of goat heads or cured pork legs hanging along walls – literally the place was a feast for the senses. We would munch on olives and cheeses as we simply enjoyed walking through the market, listening to the Greek banter. On our second trip there, we discovered the Agora had cafeteria-like restaurants where locals were consuming ouzo even in the morning. We joined in, selecting spiced meatballs that went perfectly with a big glass of Greek frosty beer.

Sure we made it to the historic and massive Acropolis that looms above Athens. And through all our exploring we happened upon the bartender who had been voted best in all of Greece and made the most alluring cocktails. But likely the most memorable part of Athens will be the time spent in the Agora.

Magical Mykonos

Mykonos is the kind of Greece that people dream of. It’s what we see in movies, and when one is there, it’s hard to believe that these narrow gray stone-paved walkways are what they refer to as streets. Whitewashed buildings contrast against the azure sky and matching azure-painted balcony rails, window shutters, and doors. At night, the streets fill up with those who have spent their days sunbathing. Unlike the majority of other men traveling in pairs in Mykonos, we were not wearing skin-tight white t-shirts, hanging inside or outside of the discotheques whose house music radiated down the street, drawing in male European tourists like a Pied Piper.

No, Alex and I instead reveled in the pastoral side of Mykonos. It was back to nature for us with the gorgeous blue water, the blinding white sand, and, oh, the nakedness. No, we weren’t naked, but many around us were—even those guys who would later be sweating on a dance floor rather than lingering in a nice restaurant like we would. Yes, food in Mykonos was lovely, and surprisingly not always seafood. At Namma Barbecue, we had an assortment of grilled meats that went perfectly with an ice-cold glass of crisp, slightly salty Muscadet. However, one of my best meals was at Mouragio where you ordered an appetizer and selected your specific fresh fish from a case that they grilled simply with salt, pepper and olive oil. It was flaky, light and so fresh—one of the best fish dinners I have ever had. I’ve tried to replicate the process at home, but honestly, maybe I need the Greek sun and sand to do so.

After five days in Mykonos, I felt sated, re-energized and ready to return to my own hot Hinsdale sun. It had been a relaxing week, but I couldn’t help thinking of Zorba’s words again: “No more fooling around, not in this place. We’ll pull our pants up and make a pile of money.”

– Sean Chaudhry

Since 1904, the Navy and Marine Corps Relief Society has been a pivotal organization to nearly 4 million Sailors, Marines and their families. When disaster strikes, this is the organization they know they can turn to. It has a history of helping out when times get tough and has become an extended family of sorts to those in the Navy and Marine Corps.

Navy and Marine Corps Relief Society

For more than a century, the Navy and Marine Corps Relief Society has provided financial, educational and other assistance to its constituents when they need it most. In partnership with the Navy and Marine Corps and with hundreds of volunteers, it has provided important educational scholarships, special health care programs and interest-free loans and other financial assistance, often in emergency situations.

During this past year of nationwide financial upheaval, it should come as no surprise that Sailors and Marines were not immune to the crisis. Last year, the organization provided $50 million in financial assistance. One in every five active duty Sailors and Marines turned to the Society for financial assistance, translating to nearly 100,000 financial cases. And another of the organization’s important resources, a visiting nurses program, continued to follow more than 1,000 wounded warriors, making more than 17,000 contacts in 2010.

After the earthquake in Japan, the Navy and Marine Corps Relief Society provided service members with financial assistance associated with required evacuations. This is the group that has provided support to Sailors and Marines in countless other disasters too, including the attack on the USS Cole, 9/11, and hurricanes, earthquakes, floods and fires literally around the world.

How you can help…

Hinsdale Wine Cellars has made it easy for you to help. For every bottle of wine you buy this week, we will donate $1 to the Navy and Marine Corps Relief Society. Of course, if you want to add to our collection and provide an additional contribution, that multiplies the impact we can all make together.

It’s easy for Memorial Day to be overshadowed by picnics, the opening of swimming pools and the Indy 500. However, Memorial Day is a day to remember our fallen heroes who have made the ultimate sacrifice for our country. It is also a time to look at how we can help those who are still with us who have chosen a career that too often puts their lives on the line. I hope you will join us at Hinsdale Cellars this week in supporting the Navy and Marine Corps Relief Society. To learn more, visit http://www.nmcrs.org.

– Sean Chaudhry

Ambassador to Italian wine and phenomenal Tuscan winemaker in his own right, Sanguineti was my trusty guide and fearless driver, proving YES, he can drive even faster (even when the Audi is a silver one!), as on the day we found ourselves heading 45 minutes closer to Switzerland rather than where we should have been going.

Italian Artisanal Wine

Many friends have asked about my recent trip that showcased small, artisanal Italian winemakers. Though we have a tasting planned for this week, I thought I would blog about some of the highlights. La (Silver) Banana Rapida was indeed an unforgettable, nail-biting experience, but just as memorable was the range of wines we tasted in Slovenia and the northern Italian wine regions of Friuli, Trentino, Piemonte and Valle d’Aosta.  Ah yes, they spanned from great to damn-I-can’t-get-enough-of-this-phenomenal-stuff.  That’s the range I like the best when it comes to wine. So, fasten your seatbelts because here’s the Sanguineti-quick summary of a wonderful wine adventure that included my good friend and president of the Pure Wine Company, Troy Clements.

View from the Simčič winery in Slovenia -- as beautiful as the wine was delicious.

Slovenia

Despite this being an Italian adventure, we started our trip in Slovenia, which is considered to be an up-and-coming wine region. While many up-and-comers can provide hit-or-miss wine experiences, we were not disappointed. In fact, the word that comes to mind when I recall the white wines we enjoyed at Edi Simčič is: awesome. I’m serious about this. Considered by many to be the best winemaker in Slovenia, Edi and his son Aleks produce wine very close to the Friuli wine region in Italy, but most will agree it tastes more French than Italian, having fermented and aged in oak rather than stainless steel. A dinner in a nearby castle added to the elegance of incredible Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc and a white blend that literally kept me asking for and drinking more.

Friuli

Our first taste of Italian wines included the rare wines of Miani.  Literally, the whole state of Illinois only receives 9-12 bottles from this winery, so it was an unbelievable treat to meet the unassuming Enzo Pontoni and taste his notable Sauvignon Blanc and other fine wines. Pontoni’s good friend Paolo Meroi met us next at Trattoria al Parco for lunch, where Meroi sells approximately 80 percent of the wine he makes.  Interestingly, the restaurant recalled my trip to Argentina because a parilla-like, open-hearth grill was set up with beef, sausages and other smoky, sizzling meats.

Trentino Alto Adige

And how does one top a morning like that?  Why drinking the unpretentious Italian sparkling wine, Prosecco, of course. Trevisiol offered three types of Prosecco, in addition to a sparkling Moscato wine, that were delightfully quaffable. That evening, we left Trentino for Veneto and the Valpolicella hills.  Producing only 100-200 cases of wine each year, Giuseppe Lonardi is known as one of the best Amarone producers.  However, he is also right in the heart of Valpolicella, and his Valpolicella wines are extraordinary.  I think it might have been at our dinner here that my poor friend learned the Italian word that is so similar to his name: Troy vs. troya. It suddenly explained the strange looks he had gotten upon introducing himself to Italians.  Not many would like announcing that their name is “Bitch” Clements.

Piemonte

Here we got a good helping of robust red Barbaresco and Barbera wines. At Poderi Elia, Frederico Stella and his grandfather Felice made us feel like family as we sampled these incredible Italian reds and they showed us around. At Tre Donne, where a trio of sisters rules this winery, we had more of these luscious Barbaresco and Barbera wines along with notable Moscato.

Valle d’Aosta

Another region, and two small winemakers once again dazzled us with their creations, but this time with the majestic backdrop of the Italian Alps.  At Lo Triolet, we lingered over Pinot Grigio and Gamay. Just west of Turin, we visited Anselmet where we sampled Chardonnay, Müller-Thurgau and several reds, despite the winery’s alpine location. Once again, the northern Italian cuisine treated us to meat-laden meals, homemade gnocchi, polenta and braised radicchio.

It was impossible not to fall in love with the simplicity of the food and artisanal winemaking in these regions. But, alas, it was time to return home. After a slight Banana Rapida detour towards Switzerland and train trip back to Verona and then Venice, my good friend Troya and I were nestled in airplane seats, reliving the sensory celebrations we’d had for nearly a week in northern Italy.

If you want a taste of this experience first hand, join us at the Hinsdale Wine Shop on Thursday, March 10, 7-9 p.m. to taste some of the wines we brought back along with light hors d’oeuvres. An RSVP is required for this $25/person event. To RSVP, e-mail sean@hinsdalecellars.com or call (630) 654-9862.

For many a wine lover, a Kirin Ichiban or Sapporo beer is just not the same as a choku or masu of that wonderfully brewed, rice-based Japanese beverage known as sake.  Served either warm or chilled, this fermented clear beverage has become popular outside Japan as much as within it.

Interestingly, even though we often refer to sake as “rice wine,” it has far more similarities to the way beer is made (e.g., converting starch to sugar, which ultimately converts into alcohol).  The alcohol content, however, generally exceeds both beer and wine, with an average of 18-20 percent.

Premium Japanese sake pairs perfectly with a variety of different foods – not just sushi or Japanese noodles like udon or ramen. It’s great with raw seafood like oysters, but just about any fish or seafood preparation will match up perfectly with ginjo sake – crab cakes, seared ahi tuna, scallops, and poached or grilled salmon.  Pork, beef and chicken? Why not! The Japanese eat a lot of meat these days and they wash it down with fuller-bodied and fuller-flavored sake.

Five Facts about Sake

1) To serve hot or cold? Typically, hot sake is a winter drink served in small porcelain or ceramic cups called choku. High-grade sake is not drunk hot because the flavors and aromas will be lost. This masking of flavor is the reason that low-quality sake is generally served hot. The chilled or room-temperature sake is often served in small boxes known as masu.

2) The grade level is at the heart of sake quality. Grade levels are achieved by reaching minimum milling rates (amounts milled away). The more the rice is milled, the closer you get to having kernels with pure starch and the more likely you are to have more fragrant and complex sake. However, the more you mill, the less rice is left over to ferment and thus the higher priced the sake is.

3) After opening a bottle of sake, it is best consumed within two or three hours. It is possible to store in the refrigerator, but it is recommended to finish the sake within two days.

4) In its final bottled form, sake is about 80 percent water, so water composition and quality has a huge impact on the flavor and texture of sake. Traditional, small brewers are always located near a great water source such as deep wells and underground streams which are naturally purified by filtration through nearby mountains over hundreds of years.

5) Sake rice is different than the rice you eat. Premium sake varietals, like Yamada Nishiki, have higher concentrations of starch than other varieties. The starch is also concentrated in the center of the kernel. This rice is very expensive to grow, must be harvested by hand, and is prone to being knocked over and ruined by the annual typhoons.

And, lastly, how does one say “cheers” in Japanese?  Kampei.

Our Newest Employee -- Martin, resident of Hinsdale for 20 years

Five months ago we hired a recent college graduate and resident of Hinsdale for twenty years. Having just graduated from the University of Iowa, Martin spent the last year of his studies in France. It was while inFrance that he began to teach himself about wine and within several months Martin developed a knowledge of French wine. Returning home in August, Martin came into our store asking about the help-wanted sign in our window. Since he was interning during the week in the city, working weekends with us at the shop fit perfectly in everyone’s schedule.

As he is preparing for business school back in France, he has benefitted from learning many of fundamentals of running a small business. “Sean has taught me a lot about sales and marketing, two things which I had very little experience in before I began to work here. It has really been a beneficial experience,” Martin said.

As with a Hinsdale Wine Club membership, having Martin around the shop has been another way of making relationships with our customers more than just solely a business relationship. Martin told me, “I truly enjoy seeing my neighbors, friends, and their parents come into the shop. It is a nice way for me to catch up with people from Hinsdale since I left for college. I was searching for a part-time job in which I would not only know the owner personally but one where I would also know the customers. The Hinsdale Wine Shop fit the bill perfectly.”

I asked Martin to choose his three favorite wines from our shelves and share his thoughts about them:

1) 2007, Domaine des Escaravailles “La Ponce”, Red Blend, Cotes du Rhone Villages, Rasteau, France

“‘La Ponce’ is the kind of wine I cut my teeth on: red blends from the Rhone Valley in France. This wine exemplifies everything that I love about wines from this affordable French region. It is big and robust, with smoky, earthy and peppery tones, all standing atop of a deep black fruit base. This wine drinks like a $80 Chateau-neuf-du-Pape and given that it is priced at $29.99, this 2007 Cotes du Rhone tops my list not only for its character but also for its reasonable price.”

2) 2008, Chateau Tour de Mirambeau, White Blend, Entre deux Mers, Bordeaux, France

“When I first began working here, this bottle was the white wine offered in the monthly wine club selection. It is a dry, white Bordeaux blend which offers citrus and floral notes on the nose and a surprising weight on the palette. Nearly equal parts Sauvignon Blanc, Muscadelle, and Semillon, this Bordeaux is a steal at $14.99. It typifies the quality white wine you find at a small French café when you only have to spend 3 euros.”

3) 2008, Luca “Laborde Double Select”, Syrah, Uco Valley, Mendoza, Argentina

“Moving away from the French world of wines and into the new world, I have come to truly appreciate the Argentinean take on the Rhone varietal, Syrah. The 2008 Luca has the same grand structure as a Rhone and the same smoky, spicy character as well, but it offers much more in the way of fruit: blackberry then blueberry. It took me sometime to warm up to wine aged in oak barrels and this wine really gets it right. To the new world! ($27.99)”

Remarkably, to look at Chile’s economy, the country’s exports and people’s morale, the year would hardly seem dismal at all despite these significant catastrophes. After all, Chilean officials successfully rescued all 33 of those miners. The miners set a notable record for survivability. Its president is more popular than ever, and people seem, well, grateful. The lesson we invariably draw is, gosh darn it, Chile has true grit and resilience. Tough times don’t seem to get Chileans down; it just seems to make them stronger. That is why it seemed like a perfect time to contemplate how well Chile makes wine.

The 2010 earthquake killed more than 800 people and among the devastation was millions of dollars in damage to the 10th largest wine-producing country’s vintners due to cracked barrels and demolished storage tanks and warehouses. But like those emblematic miners, Chile’s wine industry will survive and thrive despite these hardships.

This month, your taste buds get the chance to travel to California with the most American of wines: Zinfandel. This Zin is done right and is true treat. In addition, you will take an Italian path less travelled with a lovely bottle of a 50/50 blend of refreshing Insolia and aromatic Viognier grapes. How are this month’s wines connected? They both promise satisfying oenophilic experiences that will either confirm what you think you like in wine or open your taste buds and other senses to a bigger (and quite wonderful) world of wines.

2007 Baglio di Pianetto Ficiligno, Sicily, Italy

Italian whites don’t get a lot of press, and when they do, one is more likely to hear about Frascati or Orvieto than Insolia or Viognier. However, here is a white wine that will likely change the way you think about Italian whites. Produced from vineyards at the Sicilian estate of Count Marzotto, the winemaker has captured the best assets of Insolia and Viognier grapes in this 50/50 blend noted for its excellent structure and fresh, crisp flavors. Look for floral notes and a citrusy or green apple sort of tartness. Its gorgeous nose is floral but also evoking sweet tropical fruit notes. This remarkably balanced wine pairs well with the delicate, sweet flavors of your favorite white fish but can also stand up to bolder seafood such as lobster or even wasabi-enhanced sushi.

2007 Victory Vineyards Zinfandel Parcel Thirty One

St. Helena, Napa Valley

If you are new to Zinfandel or one of its biggest fans, Parcel 31 from Victory Vineyards is considered the quintessential Zinfandel and is not to be missed. Victory Vineyards exploits old vines from three appellations to bring a gratifying complexity to this wine. With a bouquet of plum and cherry that are found in many good Zins, comes a spicier layer of white pepper and nuisances of charred oak. A 13-month aging in French oak barrels adds to this wine’s impressive body and intensity. This is a wonderful wine that can be enjoyed alone, with simple cheeses or paired with roast chicken, tapas sausages or even grilled meats.