Wine Enthusiast "Toast of the Town" Hits Chicago

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Wine Enthusiast's Toast of the Town is on a five city tour across the country and will be stopping in Chicago on Friday, June 17th at the Field Museum!  Join with the rest of the city to enjoy 500 world class wines and gourmet dishes from Chicago's top restaurants.  Some of the wineries represented include Castello Banfi, Feudi di San Gregorio, Le Domaine de la Vougeraie, Hall Wines, Stag's Leap Winery, Schramsberg, Yalumba, Penfolds, Cloudy Bay and Casa Lapostolle, while the restaurants involved include Aria, The Purple Pig, Bistronomic, Chizakaya, The Florentine, Coco Pazzo, Sixteen and Rhapsody. 

Wine Enthusiast has been providing readers with valuable wine information and reviews for 23 years and Toast of the Town is on it's 11th tour.  Come out to one of Chicago's greatest venues to enjoy the food, drink and fun!  Click here to purchase your tickets today.

Barclay's Wine on Groupon

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I woke up this morning to find a great wine deal on Groupon: spend $25 and receive $75 credit to use on Barclay's Wine Shop Online. You can buy at most three (2 as gifts), must be 21 or over and a first time Barclay's Groupon user, and you can apply it toward wine packages or membership. Unfortunately, shipping is not included, but it's still a good deal.

Now I was trying to figure out the best way to use my Groupon. Here's what I came up with:

1. Purchase 1 expensive bottle. I like this option for collectors, but only recommend the '06 Yalumba Vinnovations Shiraz ($75 + $11.95 shipping). It's the only wine that isn't overpriced- most of the wines can be had for almost 50% less. For example, their '03 Bugay Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon ($62.50) can be found on Gary Vaynerchuk's Wine Library for $33.33!
2. Purchase multiple bottles. In their $15-30 range, alot of the wines can be had for $5-10 less with some online shopping, but good buys for the Groupon are Bagrationi Brut (from Georgia?!), Vinum Cabernet Sauvignon & Gagliosso Barbera d'Alba. In the $15 or less, Corbieres Cuvee Vignerons and the Washington Hills wines look to be good deals.
3. Packages. All packages are priced at $129.95 (add $16 for shipping) and are a mixed bag of the good, bad & ugly of wines, but with the Groupon, not a bad deal for a case.

I recommend the deal any way you choose to go, but do your research and take my advice, and you should end up with a great wine deal!