Chip and Lainie return triumphantly to No Chalice Required with this wonderful Otto Uve Gragnano from Door 24 in Bucktown. Show recorded at Birch Road in Roscoe Village. Interested in joining Birch Road? Mention "Chicago Wine Report" to waive your initiation fee when joining.

Chip intended for us to enjoy a Southern Rhone blend from Anne Pichon this show, and we did! We also had some leftover Elena Walch 2020 Pinot Grigio from our latest Chicago Wine Report. Delightful stuff. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/no-chalice/support

Chip & Lainie tried out some fantastic wines by two of Germany's best "natural" winemakers: The Brand Bros and Jochen Beurer. We've tried wines by both winemakers before and loved them. These two wines were no exception. Tip: The In der Luft improves with about 30 minutes of airing. Don't decant. Just open the bottle, put it in a chiller and let it open up a bit. It's worth the wait! --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/no-chalice/support

The focus of this episode was two wines from Austria by winemaker Ingrid Groiss: Ingrid Groiss Gemischter Satz and Ingrid Groiss Hasenhaide Rosé Both were purchased at All Together Now in Chicago. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/no-chalice/support

This week Chip selected two Chardonnay wines from the West Coast:  Washington's Columbia Valley: Browne Family Vineyards "Heritage" 2017 and  California's Monterey County: Poppy Santa Lucia Highlands 2018 --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/no-chalice/support

Lainie and Chip check out two "elevated" porch pounders: Light bodied, quaffable wines that are just a wee bit more elegant than what comes out of boxes and (most) jugs.  Mary Taylor Cabrerisse 2020 and Caruso & Minini Catarratto 2020 Both wines were purchased at the suggestion of Tristain, wine buyer for Augusta Food & Wine in Chicago's Lincoln Square neighborhood. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/no-chalice/support

We revisit Italy this week with two Italian whites that Chip picked out at Binny's: Pio Cesare Cortese di Gavi and Pepi Lignana Leopoldino Vermentino --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/no-chalice/support

Chip & Lainie decide that it is time to check out Muscadet (aka "Melon de Bourgogne" or just "Melon"). Lainie LOVES to compare so-called "New World" vs. "Old World" wines, so this week it was Bow & Arrow Johan Vineyard Melon 2020 and Jo Landron La Louvetrie Muscadet-Sèvre et Maine 2019. Both were purchased from The Noble Grape here in Chicago. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/no-chalice/support

Chip and Lainie revisit the wines of Matija Žerjav. This time we try Matic Ya Yeah Sauvignon Blanc (an orange/skin contact wine) and Šipon, aka Furmint. Our squeals of delight during the podcast should clue you in to what we thought of these Slovenian wines.  Producer: Matic Wines Importer: Terraneo Merchants --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/no-chalice/support

Note: Yes, we continue to have some audio issues that we are working to resolve. Thank you for your patience! This week Lainie introduced Chip to two very tasty, reasonably priced white wines. They couldn't be more different from each other, but they are both delicious, great on their own or with food, and reasonably priced! Es Okay Pinot Gris 2018 from Rootdown  and Domaine Cavalier Saint-Guilhem-le-Desert Blanc 2019 Both wines were purchased from Independent Spirits in Chicago. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/no-chalice/support

This episode focused on two Washington state wines: Poet's Leap Riesling 2015 from Long Shadows and Milbrandt Merlot 2017 --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/no-chalice/support

Note: We had audio issues with this episode. We are aware of the problem and will correct it in future episodes! We apologize for the inconvenience.  This week we tasted two fantastic wines from Chile: 2020 Pais Granitico from A Los Viñateros Bravos2019 Naranjo from González Bastías Both were purchased from Printers Row Wine in Chicago. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/no-chalice/support

We return for the second season of No Chalice Required! In this episode, we revisited producers of wines that we'd enjoyed in the past.  This week's wines were: Studio by Miraval  Weis Trocken 2020 by Beurer  --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/no-chalice/support