Winemaker Dinner at Sent Sovi, Thursday, Mar. 24
This Thursday night, try two different Varner chardonnays and two different Varner pinot noirs along with some “great French dessert wine” from Jim Varner’s private cellar paired with a lovely French dinner at Sent Sovi. On the menu is Arctic char, slow cooked chicken, braised monk fish, roasted duck and apple tarte tatin for dessert. It’s a great way to celebrate the weekend before it even starts.

Chateau St. Jean at Maggiano’s, Thursday, Mar. 24
Enjoy a four-course dinner featuring Chateau St. Jean’s wines at Maggiano’s Little Italy. The menu will include hors d’oeuvres paired with fume blanc,salad and pasta with chardonnay, a surf and turf entree with pinot noir, and chocolate marshmallow torte for a sweet finish.

Winemaker Dinner at the Fairmont, Friday, Mar. 25
Enjoy a winemaker’s dinner featuring Coterie Cellars at the Fairmont Hotel on Friday. The gourmet menu will include fresh morel, asparagus and duck broth soup, smoked black cod, roast veal rib eye and bittersweet chocolate mousse, all paired with Coterie Cellars wine. Start your weekend off in style.

Women Winemaker’s Wine Tasting, Sunday, Mar. 27
Join Enoteca La Storia in celebrating Women’s History Month with a tasting featuring some of the world’s top women winemakers. It’s often said that the personality of the winemaker is reflected in the wine and it will be interesting to sample wines from across the globe. Some wines being poured include French Champagne by Julie Cavil, Spanish Verdejo by Belinda Thomson, Italian Occhipinti Il Frappato by Arianna Occhipinti and Napa Cabernet Sauvignon by Heidi Peterson Barrett.

France vs. California Cheese Tasting, Sunday, Mar. 27
This Sunday, Chef Jaimie will hold a cheese taste off at Hidden Villa. It will be France versus California and there will be six yummy cheeses-three styles from France and three cheeses of equal finesse and style from California. There will be a discussion of what makes each cheese similar, yet quite unique. It is a fascinating way to experience the concept of “terroir” (how soil and air create food flavors), and that even with the same raw ingredients, the end results can differ greatly. As always, there will be wonderful wines to complement the tasting.