Bridgeview Liquor

Explore wines you might have skipped because of the variety, and learn to never hate a grape with Laura Botten. Do you think Chardonnay is beloved by everyone's mother but no one else? Do you despise the sugary sweet simplicity of Riesling? Are you simply not drinking any *bleeping* Merlot? We all have wine prejudices. Too often, we take a couple prominent examples as representative of whole categories of wine, but most of the great wine grapes have tremendous range. […]

Taste whiskeys aged in fortified wine casks next to those same wines, including port, madeira, and marsala. As whiskeys aged in second-use casks become more popular and common, many whiskey drinkers may find themselves wondering how those casks really affect the final whiskey. What aromas and flavors should you expect each different cask to impart? To help explore these questions further, we plan to delve deep into the most common second-use casks, tasting both the original product and a whiskey […]

Certified Sommelier Justin Blanford will lead you through the blind tasting method to evaluate a range of different spirits. In this class we will challenge ourselves with another blind tasting exercise. We will focus on evaluating each spirits texture, alcohol content, possible base ingredient(s), distillation method, and any specific traits that can give us clues to solve the mystery. The goal here is to develop our palates and build the knowledge and vocabulary to express what our senses are trying […]

Taste wines grown in high elevation vineyards with Anita Bender. Terroir - this French word is for the idea that wine should express a sense of where it was grown. Perhaps the closest English translation is “placefulness.” It encompasses all the characteristics of vineyards - climate, soil, elevation, orientation - each of which can have a surprising impact on the final wine. In our Terroir Focus classes, we want to shine the spotlight on a specific aspect of terroir and […]