Entries associated with the tag "Tru":

Chicago wine auction house Hart Davis Hart is touting its record-breaking sale last weekend at Tru of one of the largest single-owner wine collections ever to go on the block, heavy on first-growth vintage Bordeaux such as Haut-Brion, Margaux, and Latour. According to the company, the auction brought in $11,160,583, the fourth largest take for a wine auction in history.

The first lot up for bid, 12 bottles of 1982 Château Lafite-Rothschild broke a world record for the wine, selling to a Chinese bidder for $54,970. The number one bid? $179,250 for one case of 1990 Romanée-Conti Domaine de la Romanée-Conti. 

I ran this by wine economist Tyler Colman, aka Dr. Vino who was impressed, noting that half the Lafite-Rothschild lots sold to an unidentified Asian buyer who was bidding remotely.

"Maybe some creative financial type will set up derivatives to be able to short Lafite," he wrote.

Thursday from 6-10 PM, Hart Davis Hart Wine Company and Dom Perignon host Hope Dream Live 2008, a charity wine dinner and auction at Tru to benefit YMCA Camp Independence. A five-course dinner with wine pairings (including a 1990 Chateau Latour and 1986 Chateau d’Yquem) will be followed by an auction of ten lots of rare wines. $1,500.

If you wanted to go to WhiskyFest Chicago you needed to buy a ticket weeks ago, but Thursday of Whisky Week sees lots of free prefest tastings with whiskey makers in town for the event. A few highlights: Julian Van Winkle of Old Rip Van Winkle bourbons will speak and sign bottles at a tasting at Lush Wine and Spirits in Roscoe Village (5:30-8 PM). From 4 to 5 PM Tom Bulleit of Bulleit bourbon and Gregor Cattanach of Johnnie Walker will be at an event at Warehouse Liquors (4-7 PM); they’ll then move on to a tasting at the South Loop Sam’s Wines & Spirits (5-8 PM), where they’ll appear from 6:30 to 7:30 PM. And the West Town location of Twisted Spoke hosts its annual “barrel extravaganza,” a whiskey festival featuring the distillers for Death’s Door Spirits (offering tastes from its first barrel of aged whiskey), Old Rip Van Winkle, Heaven Hill, and Kentucky Bourbon, plus Greg Hall of Goose Island, who’ll have a barrel of Bourbon County Stout on hand (8 PM-2 AM). 

Saturday from 10 AM to 4 PM at Kendall College (900 N. Branch), the Greater Midwest Foodways Alliance presents The Midwest: How Sweet It Is!, a program on regional dessert traditions. Among the topics: the role of the railroad and immigrants in introducing new recipes to the area and the local origins of candy and candy bars like Butterfinger, Baby Ruth, and the Heath Bar. Refreshments and lunch are included. $60 ($50 in advance).

Cooking Jewish With Judy, a Culinary Historians of Chicago lecture by author Judy Bart Kancigor, takes place at the Chicago History Museum on Saturday from 10 AM to noon. It's based on her recently published book, Cooking Jewish: 532 Great Recipes From the Rabinowitz Family, and includes samples; $5. And at 6 PM, ChicaGourmets (PDF) hosts a book signing and wine dinner with Kancigor at Ina's; $69.

"Rock star of the craft beer world" (and Dogfish Head Beer founder) Sam Calagione and master sommelier Marnie Old discuss their book, He Said Beer, She Said Wine, Tuesday at 7 PM at the Book Stall at Chestnut Court.

The Junior League of Chicago launches its new cookbook, Peeling the Wild Onion, Thursday from 5:30-8:30 PM at the Crate and Barrel at North and Clybourne. The admission fee of $45 ($50 at the door) includes a copy of the book, a $10 Crate and Barrel gift card, drinks, and hors d'oeuvres. Ten percent of Crate and Barrel's sales for the evening go to the Junior League.

A Chicago skyline in chocolate chip cookies is the centerpiece of the AIDS Foundation’s annual World of Chocolate fund-raiser this Thursday from 5:30-9 PM at the Hilton Chicago. Chocolate also shows up here in cheesecake, martinis, and even seafood dishes: China Grill is offering a chocolate Thai shrimp cake with cactus-mango salsa, and the Sheraton will be serving chocolate-crusted tuna with a white chocolate reduction. Attendees can watch chocolate-making demos by a chef and students from the French Pastry School and browse a holiday bazaar; there’s also an open bar and buffet. $75 in advance, $100 at the door. 

Treasure Island hosts a tasting of the Great Beers of Europe Thursday from 7-9 PM. Anthony Norkus of Louis Glunz Beer will lead the sampling of beers from England, Scotland, Ireland, Germany, Austria, and Italy. $20.

Tre Kronor’s julbord, a traditional Swedish Christmastime smorgasbord, returns this year with a lineup that includes nine kinds of herring, whole smoked salmon, shrimp salad, reindeer meat, cheeses, and a dessert table. Lutefisk (the gelatinous whitefish everyone loves to hate) also makes an appearance, as do Swedish meatballs and julskinka, or Christmas ham. It’s BYO; vodka or aquavit is suggested for the herring course. Friday and Saturday and 12/6-12/22, seatings at 5 or 5:30 and 8 PM. $46.95 (without tax and tip).

Hart Davis Hart Wine Co. hosts a $450 wine dinner at Tru on Friday featuring wines on sale at its Saturday auction, including the 1990 Moet et Chandon Cuvee Dom Perignon, Brut (Magnum), 1982 Chateau Mouton-Rothschild, and 1975 Chateau d’Yquem. The champagne reception begins at 7 PM, followed by a multicourse dinner. Lunch at Tru during the auction is $75.

The Lore of the Latke, a talk by local food writer and culinary historian Leah Zeldes at Kendall College Saturday at 10 AM, investigates the history of the potato latke and how it became an integral part of Hanukkah festivities. Presented by the Chicago Foodways Roundtable; latkes will of course be served. $3.

Saturday at 2 PM, Isabella and Olivia Gerasole sign The Spatulatta Cookbook at the Old Orchard Barnes & Noble. The Webcasts by the young sisters on kids' cooking site spatulatta.com won a James Beard award last year.

Cyrano's Bistrot holds its second annual champagne festival Sunday from 4-8 PM, featuring bubblies from 20 houses, including Lanson, Perrier Jouet, Besserat de Bellefon, Nicolas Feuillate, and Moet Chandon. There'll also be hors d'oeuvres and food stations. $59.

The cost of lunch plus a $7 donation to Common Threads will allow you to try wines from around the world this week at David Burke's Primehouse. Listed in order from Monday to Friday, the offerings will come from: Austria/Northern Italy/Hungary, Australia, France, North America, and Spain.

The Newberry Library hosts a talk on Cultural, Technological, and Sociological Changes in Cookbooks From the Early Twentieth Century to the Present Wednesday at 6:15 PM. Food historian and cookbook expert Penelope Bingham and cookbook author Connie Fairbanks will discuss how cookbooks and the whole culture of food and cooking have changed over the last 75 years. A reception with wine, soft drinks, and snacks precedes at 5:30 PM, and a book signing will follow the presentation. $9.

Quebec specialty brewer Unibroue produces mainly Belgian-style ales bottled “on the lees,” meaning they contain yeast sediment that allows the beer to continue fermenting after bottling. You can sample several of them for free Wednesday from 6-9 PM at the Logan Square location of Provenance Food and Wine, including Chambly Noire, a very dark ale, Seigneuriale, a hoppy amber ale, and Quelque Chose, a cherry ale that can be served hot or on the rocks.