When the days start heating up - I head for my favorite Japanese restaurant. Why? ‘Cause its sake season. Honestly, nothing beats the heat better than chilly sushi and a glass of ice cold sake (ok maybe a perfectly chilled glass of rose) . For me, that means a trip to Shaker Square. Simple and chic, the stark white tables at Sasa Izakaya & Asian Bistro puts the focus on food and drink - and rightfully so. Boasting a stellar list of sakes made from polished grains of rice including Ginjo-Shu (polished to 60%),  Daiginjo-Shu (polished to 50%), Nama-shu (unpasterized), and Nigori (sweet dessert sake), Sasa is THE place to sip and learn about this ancient beverage. If you are new to sake - no worries. Here’s a quick sake 101 lesson.

First the outside of the rice is removed or”polished off” to expose the starchy part of the rice and then steamed. To break down the starch, a portion of the rice is kneaded with aspergillus spores (a fungi) creating a mixture called Koji. Ultimately, the remaining rice and Koji are placed in a vat with yeast and water to ferment. If the sake is made only using rice, water, koji and yeast is is called Junmai-shu. If short cuts such as adding alcohol during the fermentation take place, the sake is called Honjozo-shu. And that is all you need to know - best bet for learning more - go to Sasa and talk to the chef/owner Scott. He loves to chat about his native beverage and has a late-night menu that rocks. The kitchen is open until midnight! Do try the SasaTini and/or the SakeTini. Both are perfect finds for martini lovers - just in time for sake season. Cheers.

When we hear the words “wine cocktail,” most of us pull up memories of sipping sweet wine spritzers with our mothers or (better yet) cracking open wine coolers sometime in the early 80s with our college friends. Yet today’s wine-based cocktails are anything but dated. Trendy blends,punches and wine cocktails are being mixed up using interesting recipes that include Sake, Champagne, Prosecco, Vermouth, Sherry a variety of juices and yes - club soda. And with good reason. Making red, white or rose wine into a festive cocktail  stretches the drink - making it economical for a crowd - and plays on the characteristic of each wine style. Whether fortified, bubbly, still or aromatized, wine serves as a great base for mixing up refreshing drinks that help beat the summer heat. Here are a few of my favorites:

~ Lillet on the rocks with a splash of club soda and a slice of orange.

~ Prosecco with splash of orange and an ice cube made from cranberry juice.

~ Dubonnet with cointreau, grapefruit toppped with sparkling wine

~ Kir Royale made using Champagne and Creme de Cassis

Go ahead - give them a try. Cheers.

Here we are again - 90 degrees, on a deck in Lincoln Park and we are looking for something that is sip-worthy. In a word, rose. Come on. Its pink, it’s light in body and it hits the spot when wine consumption takes the role of quenching thirst! So what’s in our glasses? A spicy rose crafted from a native Greek variety called St. George…the label reads Zoe. Other grapes would make good rose choices as well - take Grenache in the southern Rhone Valley or Pinot Noir in Califorina or Caberet Franc in the Loire Valley - all great summertime choice for beating the heat. So uncork a bottle of the pink stuff and invite a few friends over for a glass or two. Cheers.