{"id":411677,"date":"2022-12-15T11:25:07","date_gmt":"2022-12-15T17:25:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/urbanmatter.com\/chicago\/?p=411677"},"modified":"2022-12-15T14:35:07","modified_gmt":"2022-12-15T20:35:07","slug":"gejas-champagne-festival-celebrates-3-months-of-bubbles","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/urbanmatter.com\/chicago\/gejas-champagne-festival-celebrates-3-months-of-bubbles\/","title":{"rendered":"3 Months of Bubbles! Geja Kicks Off 42nd Annual Champagn Festival"},"content":{"rendered":"

There is no better time of the year to enjoy a toast with bubbles than the holiday season. May it be Christmas, New Year’s or the soon-to-arrive V Day, we’re definitely craving a good bottle of Champagne around this season. Well, bubble lovers, I have good news. The best fondue restaurant in Chicago<\/a>, Geja’s Cafe, is kicking off its 42nd Annual Champagne Festival this December.<\/p>\n

Geja’s Champagne Festival is loved by its regular patrons and new visitors alike. Each year, the festival features a varied selection from a chosen winery, providing an inclusive portfolio of dry to sweet bubbles to satisfy your unique preferences. This year, Geja’s Champagne Festival is featuring seven of Gruet\u2019s incredible varietals on the menu at Geja\u2019s, now through the end of February. Made in the same style as French Champagne, each Guret varietal is more delicious than the next.<\/p>\n

Finally, to learn more about the history, culture, and offerings behind Geja’s Champagne Festivals, we’ve invited Geja’s Owner, Jeff, to share Geja’s stories with us.<\/p>\n

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Image Credit: Geja’s Cafe<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Q (Urban Matter): Welcome, welcome! How are things since we last met?<\/strong><\/p>\n

A (Jeff)<\/strong>: Well. We’re lavishly decorated for the holidays. That’s something we take great pride in. We celebrate the season by adding a lot of sparkles to our dining room during the holidays. And speaking of sparkles… we have our Gruet festival!<\/p>\n

Q: Isn’t that exciting? Why don’t we start with some history of Geja’s Champagne Festival?<\/strong><\/p>\n

A: <\/strong>Yes. Geja has been doing this for 42 years out of our 57 years of history. John Davis, the founder of Geja’s, started wine festivals during the very early days of Geja’s. He had a wine and cheese cafe featuring wines all around the world and he would do wine festivals where he’d feature wines from different areas for two or three months. One year it might be France, next Spain, then California… He was really all about educating people and making people comfortable with drinking wine and champagne.<\/p>\n

Back in 1965 when Geja started, wine and champagne was not enjoyed on a regular basis. We were a Whiskey and beer society. So he has been hosting these wine festivals for the first 15 years, then he said: let’s do something that features champagnes.<\/p>\n

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A post shared by Geja's Cafe (@gejas_cafe)<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n