WELCOME TO THE ONLINE HOME of the Essentials of Wine,

a company operated in Chicago by certified sommelier and wine consultant/educator John Laloganes. He provides a straightforward approach to understand wine and providing a framework for making intelligent food pairing decisions.

As your personal sommelier, John provides tailored wine services for private consumers and business clients, wine focused retail stores, restaurants and other organizations.

Browse the site for online wine related resources as well as a menu of personalized sommelier services specializing in wine training and education, interactive wine tastings and food pairings, wine list consulting, speaking and writing engagements.