Wine Dinners Near You

This past Saturday night, we had the pleasure to attend a wine dinner locally that was quite literally – awesome. The evening started out with a sparkling wine while the room was being prepared fully for the experience. It was an intimate experience, including less than 20 wine aficionados, which provided a pleasant environment to enjoy and learn. The venue was a restaurant, and the theme of the evening was Cabernet Sauvignon from 2004. Yes – that is right! All these cabernets had been well kept and aged for 10 years. While the dinner was not specifically paired to each wine, it lent itself well to the taste and texture of these lovely wines.

This was a journey through some wonderful wines with the pièce de résistance being a Harlan. Harlan itself is one of the most highly regarded wines from the Napa Valley and upon release will sell at $500 plus a bottle. When else would one get to experience these wines all together? That is why I say it was an awesome experience.

For Sacramentans, one of the places you can enjoy these dinners is at at Enotria. The restaurant recently reopened to host special events, like wine events, and offers a bar menu. Our host for the evening was Sommelier Matthew Lewis who was warm, knowledgeable,and gracious. He set the table with good information and walked us through each wine to savor and enjoy. And enjoy we all did. The listings of all the wines are captured in a picture for you below. The evening was not inexpensive yet well worth it for the opportunity to taste six lovely aged cabernets.

Wine events like this or wine dinners are available around the country. Just this past week I was in Overland Park, Kansas for business. I met friends at Sullivan’s Steak House; and, while we did not attend, the restaurant was hosting a wine dinner that very evening. Aaron, who works at Revana Family Vineyards in St. Helena, CA, was in town hosting the dinner and pouring wines from their winery, including Pinot Noir and Cabernet. Again, he offered both aged and young wines, which really gives you an opportunity to get a sense of how these wines will evolve over time and what to expect from your treasures as you carefully let them age.

There are several ways to find out when wine events or dinners will be coming to a restaurant near you. The first would be to check with some of the larger chains such as Ruth’s Chris or Sullivan’s. Restaurants that have fine wine collections are the most likely to hold events, such as restaurants that have a Wine Spectator Award of Excellence. Hawks Restaurant in Granite Bay, CA, which is a fine restaurant (one of my favorite all time restaurants) will be hosting 2-3 in the future. All these quality restaurants will most likely host wine dinners at some time to showcase their wine expertise and wine library.

Another way may be to check some of your favorite wineries’ web sites. Most well-established wineries host events around the country in major cities. I have seen events for Kansas City, Houston, Dallas, and so on. It is worth checking to see what type of events the winery will be participating in to promote their wines. Another option is to ask at your own fine wine store where you purchase your own wine. They may be well-connected to the wineries or may even host their own events. All in all, wine dinners are a great way to taste and experience many different wines.

Enjoy!