I just had a great experience with the Windy City Wine Guy. I hosted a birthday party for a close friend and thought a pop up wine tasting would be unique. The service and guidance I received throughout the process was excellent. My party of 12 got to sample six wines as well as learn about food pairings. The wines were tailored to our specific tastes (on the sweeter side). I can now highly recommend 2016 Braida d'Acqui (Italy). read more

Michael is fantastic! I host a yearly fundraiser and he is absolutely wonderful about going through the various offerings and explaining in detail about the varietals while still making it fun. Magnifique! read more

I recently attended a private event in a home that Michael hosted. It was really great. He is obviously very knowledgeable about wines, food pairings, all different price points, etc, but I'd expect that. What I loved most about him, was how accommodating he was of the crowd. We're a crowd of drinkers. While we did want to taste the wines and learn more about them, no one was going to take a sip and spit it out (except maybe the two pregnant ladies!) There were generous pours and lots of time to sip and snack between wines. I'm sure it's not a tasting that he's used to, but for us it was absolutely perfect. No need to feel like a criminal for drinking a full glass! It didn't feel like a class, it felt like a fun party where we got to learn about wine. I definitely discovered some favorites too. I'd highly recommend tracking Michael down wherever he might be, but the private events are a special treat. Such a fun idea for a girls night or any special occasion. Also, while I sometimes do understand yelp's review filtering process, I'd recommend checking out Michael's filtered reviews. I view them more as people who barely use yelp wanting to create accounts and make a special point to call him out, rather than friends etc trying to bump up his ratings. Definitely also check out the filtered responses if you don't find there are enough showing to make a decision. read more

Best of the Best! We engaged Michael to facilitate our "Wine in the Cloud event" this past Thursday. We had over 100 customers in attendance and every single one of them complimented us on what an awesome job Michael did. Michael was an amazing partner in helping us. He chose a tasting menu of 6 wines, 3 white, 3 reds. Not only did he provide a great class on the various wines, he also helped us find a great catering company that matched their appetizers to Michael's wine choices. He also assisted in procuring the wine and cheese, fruit and nuts for our guests. There are many Som's out there and most of them I met have been snobby. Michael is anything but!! Not only does he have an outstanding knowledge of wines, but he also has a very engaging, comfortable charming personality. He engaged with all of our customers chatting with each one of them individually, making them all feel special. I am torn, because I want to tell the whole world that you should look no further for advice, education and event hosting because a part of me wants to keep this all to ourselves and afraid that he will book up. But something this good just has to be shared with the world. Michael will always be at the top of our list!! read more

2012 was not a good year for me. Towards the end of the year I got hit by a car. Yes, you read it. Hit by a CAR! You can imagine how thrilled I was to be planning a wine tasting at work along with a out of the country business trip all at the same time. Michael Bottigliero was the perfect person to help. He picked out some great wines and arranged the delivery to the office. He gave us some great cheese paring suggestions too. He was knowledgeable and friendly. He did such a great job educating our whole group and spent time chatting with everyone. Those of the group that love wine and those that never really drake it before all had a wonderful time. We'll definitely have Michael back to do a beer tasting in the Spring. read more

Michael recently prepared a wine tasting and food pairing for a 70 person event at my office. Everyone loved his expert pairings of food and wine. Of course, he's has the credentials to prove his knowledge of wine; what I appreciated most was that he made the event very approachable to everyone. He was able to accommodate my theme while staying within the budget and was able to host the event at my office. If you want to hold a fun, unpretentious wine/food tasting, call Michael! read more

I hosted a bridal shower for my best friend in Chicago and thought it'd be a great idea to incorporate a wine tasting to add some fun to the traditional bridal shower I found just the person to deliver: Michael, the Windy City Wine Guy. Even though I was doing the planning from Miami, the wine tasting was a huge success! Michael is very knowledgeable about wine (at all price points), and food pairings. Since I'm not too familiar with Chicago, Michael handled bringing all of the wine for the party, as well as a beautiful spread of charcuterie. cheese, jam, nuts, dried fruit, and crackers. He even brought an extra bottle of wine for all of us to share just for fun! I found Michael to be reliable, accommodating to my requests, and approachable. Each part of the accompaniments were selected by Michael to specifically bring out the flavors of each wine we tasted. Based on my preferences, and his expertise, Michael chose a few wines for us to enjoy and provided a bit of history with each tasting. Many of the girls asked questions, and Michael was extremely flexible, molding the conversation based on the group's interests. I had the traditional bridal shower games to play in between tastings, and Michael was definitely a good sport in the room full of women, and I felt no pressure to finish the games to get back to the tastings. It turned out to be a really interactive experience between Michael and the guests, not just a wine 101 lecture. All of the girls had so much fun, and are still raving about how much they learned! The Windy City Wine Guy helped make my event a huge hit! It was truly a pleasure to work with Michael, and I highly recommend him for any event! read more

The Wine Tasting Party we recently had (for a 30th birthday party) was so good, I would recommend to anyone. Michael was great to work with. He was very receptive to my ideas (offered a few of his own) and responsive! He was on time and ready to go! He is also very knowledgeable about wine and the wines he suggested and the food pairings were perfect! He answered the numerous questions that were thrown at him - and we never felt like we were being rushed. He was also very patient with the non-wine drinkers. My only suggestion would be to keep it small - we had more people than we should have, and it created confusion (not to mention the noise level) - but Mike went with the flow, and never seemed to be flustered or bothered. I can't say enough - we'll be talking about this party for some time - and would recommend Mike without hesitation! read more

I hired Michael for a small get-together for my wife's 30th birthday. We were able to coordinate most of the details via email before the event, which made things easy. He was punctual and was flexible with the start time, given we were trying to put a 5-month-old to bed. He was very engaging and pleasant, and answered all the questions the group had. All in all, he helped make it a successful and fun event. I'd gladly use him again! read more

Michael and Jhea are top-notch and so easy to work with. Michael picked out six delicious and diverse wines for us to taste, provided lovely food pairing recommendations, and Jhea led our tasting in person and provided great information about each wine from the history of each producer to the method of production to the characteristics of each grape. I highly recommend Michael and Jhea for your next party! read more

We hosted a both-sides-of-the-family engagement party where it was the first time some of our guests had met. So what better way for people to enjoy themselves, but a wine tasting? I found MIchael Bottigliero randomly through Google. Michael is detail oriented, easy to work with, and responsive. All in all, he is wonderful resource, and stellar chooser of wines and Sommeliers. He is now located in Minneapolis, but has a huge network in Chicago. We chatted, he ordered the wines and arranged for delivery. He chose his colleague, Chris Bryan to actually BE at our event. Chris is knowledgable, and most importantly, funny and approachable. He came early, stayed late, and even mixed drinks for some in the crowd. I will absolutely contact the Windy City Wine Guy again! read more

Michael hosted a wine tasting for my company. Booking and coordinating the event was easy and he was willing to accommodated based on our tastes and and budget. He was knowledgeable and friendly. Would book definitely book with him again! read more

Michael Bottigliero is extremely knowledgeable about wines and can help explain them to all levels of wine lovers, from beginners to experts! He can also help you plan a party with a great wine list, some nice cheeses, and whatever else you need! He'll be with you at each step of the planning process. He's great to work with thanks to his calm demeanor and genuine niceness. I highly recommend using the Windy City Wine Guy for your next wine-centric event! read more

AH- MAZING! We had such a great experience with Michael at Windy City Wine Guy. We called him at the last minute for an at home wine tasting and he came through in the clutch!! Chris was our host for the day and he was AWESOME! He knew so many fun little tips/tricks and we had a great time talking to him, bouncing questions/ideas and just tasting different wines/cheeses. He was seriously amazing and so funny and fun! If you're looking for a unique idea this is the way to go! I am definitely planning another one of these parties. It was that much fun!! read more

This is my second event I have done with Windy City Wine Guy and they do not disappoint! Erin was our hostess for this wine tasting and she was nice, very knowledgable, fun and everyone had a great time!!! I would definitely recommend hiring them to do an event. This will not be the last time that we book them! read more

Michael was great and easy talk to about wine. Our event was such a success with him.

We had a wonderful wine tasting event and fundraiser at our home with Michael! He was knowledgeable, personable and professional. He tailored the event to our needs and was easy to work with. We would happily host with Michael again and recommend him highly! read more

Michael hosted a wine tasting at my office (100+ in the Chicago office) and that is why I thought of him as I was planning my father's 70th birthday party (small event at our house with only 8 people). I have to say that I was not disappointed at all - large events or small events, Michael is the best. We had a great time talking wine, food, restaurants, whisky and even beer. His appearance on the Steve Harvey show also was a great topic of conversation. My father had a great time, we all learned a lot and Michael hung out with us into the evening (the hours just flew by). Thanks for the great event and also for the wine suggestions you provided me afterward. I am really looking forward to trying the different varieties. read more

Michael provided a wonderful consultation for a wine tasting birthday party my friends and I recently hosted. He was easily and readily available by phone and e-mail throughout the whole process. Michael heard our requests and tastes and designed a perfect tasting menu which included cheese and chocolate pairings! We had a wonderful time sipping the unique wines Michael selected. If you're looking to host an at home wine tasting party with or without a sommelier present, I highly recommend Michael! read more

Michael's coworker Scott hosted a wine tasting for us this weekend for my husband's birthday. It was so easy to coordinate with them from initial inquiry to wine selection to the day of details. Everyone loved the event and Scott --- we will definitely use them again for a future event! read more

I have used Michael on 3 occasions and have had nothing but wonderful experiences with him from the moment we connect right through the event! He is my go to guy for any occasion! read more

We used Windy City Wine Guy for a bachelorette party this past weekend. Michael was our host and did an amazing job! He kept the tasting interesting and funny without being too stuffy for a bachelorette party. The wine choices were awesome, and the cheese pairing was delicious. Everyone had a great time and the bride couldn't have been more pleased! I would definitely recommend him to add something a little different for your next party or event. read more

I had a small birthday party in the suburbs and Michael came all the way out to my house. It was a fun night! The depth of knowledge in all facets of wine that Michael had was pretty amazing. The wine selections were great. And, he was very understanding when we didn't really pay attention anymore after the 4th bottle! read more

Michael was an excellent addition to my mother in law's 70th b-day party. He was very easy to work with. We spoke on the phone once or twice and the rest was done via email which was a breeze. He happily worked with our caterers and picked 6 fantastic wines that paired perfectly with the menu. The day of the event, he was punctual and eager to engage with our guests. I appreciated the fact that he was super knowledgeable yet entertaining. He connected with the guests well and helped make the wine tasting process easy for all, even some beginners. Since it was a party, he ensured everyone was able to sample the wines yet allowed plenty of time for guests to mingle throughout the evening. His services made for such a nice touch rather than just having random bottles of wine out for people to help themselves. If you're looking for a nice addition to any gathering, I would definitely recommend the Windy City Wine Guy. I look forward to working with Michael again in the near future. read more

Fantastic party! We just had holiday party at our house with 50 people and Chris, from Windy City Wine Guy was amazing. Super friendly, very helpful and best of all, engaging and knowledgeable with our guests. We have had so many compliments about the party in just a few days. Michael Bottigliero was fantastic to work with. He was flexible and great. His suggestions for food pairings was wonderful. A must do for any party! read more

Great Experience! My friend and I were hosting a "big" birthday party for our dear friend and we wanted it to be special. Working with Michael made it special. He chose five wines for us to taste and then he lead the tasting throughout the night. He was knowledgeable about the wines but did not come off as snobby. In fact he was casual and fun and kept the night moving smoothly. The hostesses had a great time and so did our guests. Many left with Michael's card! read more

Michael hosted our corporate event for 100 people. He was very responsive, informative and interacted with our large group well! Glad we choose him, the wine selection was great! read more

I used Michael's company to host a whiskey tasting for my fiance's 30th birthday! He was able to give a list of a variety of whiskeys as well as food pairings that were easy to prepare at home. The person who came to our condo to put on the actual tasting was Nick K. from Longman and Eagle. He was amazing! He was extremely knowledgeable and was super friendly which made our guests really enjoy their evening. read more

I worked with Michael on a wine pairing project for a new product launch, and couldn't be more pleased with his work. He brought great professionalism and expertise to the project and was very helpful in making it a success. During our onsite sampling with Michael his depth of knowledge of the wine industry was shown and he taught us a lot about wine making as a whole, as well as about each individual wine that was served. The overall experience was very fun for the whole team - I very much enjoyed working with Michael and would highly recommend his services! read more

We had Michael host a wine tasting at a recent bachelorette party with 16 guests of varying ages. From start to finish, the whole experience was so much fun! I had attended another bachelorette party with Michael previously and I knew I wanted to call him as soon as I was tasked with planning the event. I organized the party from a distance and Michael provided assistance and suggestions every step of the way. During the tasting, Michael was very engaging with the guests and his knowledge of wine was impressive. Our crowd was a bit rowdy and I appreciated that Michael was great with just rolling with the moment. After the party I received numerous compliments from guests regarding how they had learned something new and just really enjoyed the experience. Best of all - our bride loved her special night! read more