WINED & DINED » Wine Tastings & Events

Event Listing: Sushi & Sake Class at SUSHISAMBA on Nov. 1st

Fri, 29 Oct 2010 14:19:04 +0000

Wanna learn how to throw a sushi and sake dinner at home? On Monday, November 1st, SushiSAMBA 7th Avenue is offering a two-hour class on the Japanese culture surrounding sushi and sake. But it’s more than just a class since you’ll be eating and drinking throughout.

Class Highlights:
•Explanations on types of sake, its history and production
•Learning how to choose sushi-grade fish
•Finding out what tools you need to make sushi at home
•Gaining insider sushi-making tips from a SUSHISAMBA chef
•Guests can make and eat their own sushi roll throughout the program, guests sip and snack on a variety of sakes and enjoy aperitivo pairings, edamame, tempura, anticuchos, sashimi and sushi.

Date: Monday, November 1st, 2010
Time: 7:00-9:00PM
Price: $85.00
RSVP: 212-691-7885
Location: SUSHISAMBA 7th Avenue

This post was submitted by Ashley Rix.

Where to Celebrate Bastille Day in NYC

Andy — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 13:37:18 +0000

Vive la France! Each year, Bastille Day brings the best of France to NYC for a day (more like a week) of celebrating French culture with wining and dining across the city. There are loads of Bastille Day celebrations taking place across the city tonight and into the weekend. We’ve picked out some of the best events so you can join in on the festivities. Flute Gramercy (40 E 20th St) is hosting a free Champagne Open Bar with complimentary passed hors d’oeuvres from 6-7pm this evening. You have to RSVP here if you would like to attend. Bastille Day Brooklyn takes place this Sunday from 11 a.m. – 8 p.m. on Smith Street between Bergen and Pacific. This annual street festival features the largest pétanque tournament in the U.S. and plenty of live music, food and drink. Here are several more Bastille Day happenings in NYC, many of which are free.

Free Bastille Day Wine Tasting at Astor Center (399 Lafayette St) — Taste six Provençal wines as you raise a glass to French independence. Every bottle is on sale, and you can taste them all for free from 6-8 p.m.

Free Bastille Day Wine Tasting at Crush Wines & Spirits (153 E 57th St) — Taste 10+ wines at this Midtown East wine shop between 6-8 p.m. To attend, they ask that you RSVP at events@crushwineco.com. We hear the Frites ‘N’ Meats truck will make an appearance outside, peddling their delicious burgers.

Free Côtes de Provence Wine & Crostini Tasting at Fig & Olive (420 W. 13th St) – From 5-7 p.m., Fig and Olive in Meatpacking will provide the crostini to pair with the various wines from France’s oldest wine region.
After seven, the chef will be offering an amazing three course, fixed price Provencal menu with an optional wine pairing flight.

Bastille Day Oyster & Wine Party at Union Square Wines (140 Fourth Ave) – Wine and bivalves is what you’ll get tonight at USQ for just $15. Attendees may look forward to a lineup of sparkling wines, sauvignon blancs, chardonnays, and chillable reds while sipping and slurping their way through one dozen oysters. Executive Chef Paul Jambor of critically-acclaimed Wild Edibles Seafood Market will be on hand. Reservations ARE REQUIRED to attend this walk-around event. Tickets cost just $15 and include one dozen oysters (Please note that there are no substitutions on the oyster platters- 6 east coast and 6 west coast oysters per person). All featured wines will be discounted evening of event only. As space is limited, please limit two tickets per person. Sign up here.

Special Bastille Day Tasting at Bouchon Bakery (Time Warner Ctr) — Enjoy a specially prepared French dinner followed by desserts at Bouchon Bakery. Tickets are $65.

Bastille Day Fête at The James Beard House (167 W. 12th St) — Native Frenchmen Philippe Ruiz and Sébastien Verrier of Palme d’Or in Florida’s Biltmore resort will prepare a French feast for Bastille day at the Beard House. Tickets are $130 for members and $170 for nonmembers. More info here.

Sud de France Festival Party at The Frying Pan ($20) — From 8-12 a.m. tonight at The Frying Pan, guests will get to drink Sud de France wine from Languedoc-Roussillon and taste Mediterranean cuisine while watching a colorful sunset. For the next 2 months, wines from the Languedoc-Roussillon region of France will be available for tasting at 59 wine retailers and restaurants in Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Queens including Cafe d’Alsace, French Roast, and the 8th Street Wine Cellar. See here for exact times and locations.

French Tuesday Bastille Day Event @ Water Taxi Beach (LIC) — French Tuesday’s presents a Bastille Day bash at Water Taxi Beach in Long Island City (accessible by water taxi from E 34th). Morei nfo here.

Live Jazz & Special Bastille Day Menu at Brasserie Cognac (1740 Broadway) — Live jazz music begins at 6pm and a special $45 Bastille Day prix-fixe will be offered, featuring a main course of seafood vol-au-vent.

“Discover Albariño” Wine Week Starts This Sunday

Andy — Fri, 04 Jun 2010 20:20:55 +0000

Starting this Sunday, June 6th “Discover Albariño” Wine Week is coming to NYC. From June 6-19, more than 15 restaurants across the city will be offering some great deals on Albariño wines, including by-the-glass specials, bottle discounts, wine pairings and special tasting menus during lunch, happy hour and dinner. Tapas standout Las Ramblas is offering 15% off bottles of participating Albariño, as is Socarrat, home of the city’s best paella, and also Boqueria (both locations), Casellula, Yerba Buena (both locations) and at Vermilion. Midtown East tapas joint Solera is offering 1 free tapas with each glass of Albariño purchased during happy hour. To check out all the participating restaurant deals, click here. Throughout the 2-week promotion, wine retailers and restaurants will be offering Albariño tastings and food pairing seminars to celebrate this summer favorite white wine.

Here’s the schedule of tastings and classes:

Consumer Tastings

June 10th:	Albariño & Cheese Pairing Class at the Artisanal Cheese Center (6:30 – 8:30 pm)

June 12th:	Albariño Tasting at September Wines (6 – 9 pm)

June 14th:	Albariño class at La Fonda Del Sol (6:30 – 8:30 pm)

June 14th:	A Taste of Summer – Albariño Master Class at City Winery with Top Chef Harold Dieterle with writer & educator WR Tish (7 -9 pm)

June 18th:	Albariño Tasting at Astor Wines & Spirits (6 – 8 pm)

Score Discount Tickets to Wine Enthusiast’s ‘Toast of The Town’

Andy — Tue, 18 May 2010 16:27:28 +0000

Wine Enthusiast’s “Toast of the Town” tasting event is coming up next Monday, May 24th at the David H. Koch Theater at Lincoln Center (5-7pm VIP Tasting; 7-10pm General Admission Grand Tasting). It promises to be a good one, too, with great wineries and local restaurants serving up their goods, including bites from Academia di Vino, SD26, SushiSamba, Toloache Toqueville, The Capital Grille, among many others. VIP tickets are currently going for $189 and general admission tickets are going for $100. The difference is that a VIP ticket gets you special access to 2 hours of pre-event private tastings where wineries will be pouring their reserve and estate wines and restaurants will be serving their signature bites. With less than a week til the event, we’re here to reward the procrastinators. We’ve got a special promo code that will get you $10 off the General Admission tickets and $20 off the VIP tickets. Enter the code WDTOTT at checkout and you should be all set.

Tonight’s Virtual Wines of Chile Blogger Tasting: Sauvignon Blancs for Spring

Andy — Wed, 12 May 2010 20:14:29 +0000

Jill and I are big fans of Chilean wines, especially when it comes to getting lots of bang for our buck. We’ve found lots of $10 and under Sauvignon Blancs from Chile that taste as good as their $15-$20 New Zealand SB counterparts. We also love Chile’s Carmenère varietal, aka the “lost grape of Bordeaux,” and have been exploring several different Chilean wines made from this grape. Chile has been trying to cope with the widespread devastation caused by one of the most powerful earthquakes ever recorded that struck back in late February. Damage from the quake not only destroyed wine, but threatens the coming vintage as well. When we’re not drinking local, we’re making a concerted effort to support the Chilean wine industry. So, you can imagine our excitement when we were invited by Wines of Chile to take part in tonight’s massive virtual Wines of Chile Blogger Tasting event with the theme Explore Chile: Sauvignon Blancs for Spring. The virtual tasting is being led by Master Sommelier Fred Dexheimer (former National Wine & Beverage Director for BLT Restaurants), Chile USA’s new educator, and a panel of 8 winemakers gathered in Chile. We’ll be tasting 8 Chilean Sauvignon Blancs from the comfort of our home and we’ll be live tweeting the virtual tasting. You can follow all the action by searching the hashtag #SBChile and @DrinkChile. We’ll report back soon with our faves from the tasting and where you can find them! Stay tuned.

Vero Midtown Launches “Wine On Wednesdays” Tastings

Andy — Tue, 06 Apr 2010 22:39:59 +0000

We already love Vero Restaurant & Wine Bar for its Monday night complimentary panini promo. Now we hear they’re launching a weekly ”Wine on Wednesdays” from 5-7 pm at the Midtown location (2nd Ave at E. 53rd St). It’s basically a two-hour happy hour where, for $35, you get to partake in a wine tasting and taste light hors d’oeuvres. Each week features a different theme and selection of wines. It kicks off April 7th with an Italy vs. France tasting where you will try whites and reds from both countries and see which you prefer. The tasting on Wednesday April 14th will showcase the wines of Sicily, and the following Wednesday, April 21st, the tasting will feature cold, sparkling white and rose wines.

REMINDER: This Week is National Wine Week at Smith & Wollensky, Park Avenue Autumn, Maloney & Porcelli, Quality Meats & The Post House

Andy — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 12:56:13 +0000

Our favorite lunchtime wine-drinking deal is back! During the week of March 1-5, head to Smith & Wollensky, Park Avenue Autumn, Maloney & Porcelli, Quality Meats or The Post House for lunch and for just $10 you will get ten generous samples of wine! The wines vary by restaurant and by day. So, check out the different wines that will be poured each day at each of the restaurants here and plan accordingly. I’d recommend hitting up Quality Meats next Thursday, March 4th when they’ll be pouring Mulderbosch (South Africa), Errazuriz (Chile) and Torres (Spain), among others. If you head to Smith & Wollensky any of the days, one of your ten samples will be their in-house S&W Private Reserve wine.

Holiday Deal Alert: 2-For-1 Tickets to Wine Classes at Astor Center

Andy — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 15:26:25 +0000

As part of their ongoing “The 12 Days of Astor” holiday specials, for one day only Astor Center is offering 2-for-1 tickets to several upcoming wine classes. Use the promo code HOLIDAY09. If you’re looking to get someone a holiday gift, you may as well get to share in the fun, too. Your ticket is basically free…just don’t tell them that. You can choose from seven different wine classes being offered in early 2010. For every pair of seats, you’ll save between $55 and $95 big ones! Check out the list of wine classes…

Every wine class below is on sale now:
Enter promo code HOLIDAY09 to get 2-for-1 tickets!
Since tickets are so heavily discounted for this promotion, no further discounts will apply.

The Organic Revolution: Changing Tastes in the Wine World (February 22nd)

Exploring Cool Climate Winegrowing Regions: Friuli-Venezia Giulia (January 11th)

Tasting Wine Like a Master: The Art of Blind Tasting (February 3rd)

The Elements of Wine (January 4th & February 15th)

Sommelier’s Secrets: Principles of Wine & Food Pairing (February 17th)

Sommelier’s Secrets: A Tasting Tour of the Wines of Spain (February 8th)

It’s All Greek to Me (Greek Wine & Food Pairing) (February 10th)

(Free) Wine Tasting Wednesday at Uncle Jack’s Steakhouse

Andy — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 15:14:46 +0000

Tonight is Wine Tasting Wednesday at all three Uncle Jack’s Steakhouses. The complimentary wine tasting with artisanal cheese and fruit pairings takes place from 5-7pm in the bar area at the NYC locations and from 6-8 in Bayside. Unlce Jack’s locations are 440 9^th avenue between 34^th/35^th streets, 44 W 56^th street between 5^th/6^th avenue, and the Bayside restaurant is 39-40 Bell Blvd.

All-You-Can-Drink Wine Dinners & Free Wine Tastings This Week at Kellari Taverna and Bistro

Andy — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 21:01:35 +0000

It’s that time of the year when Greek people gather to celebrate the harvesting of the grapes. The Festival of Dionysia is a time of abundant feasts with hearty foods and flowing wine, i.e. a great excuse to get drunk. From today through October 9th, Kellari Taverna in Midtown (19 West 44^th Street) and Kellari Bistro in Gramercy (36 East 20^th Street) are celebrating in AYCD-fashion with 4-course feasts featuring unlimited wine for just $50 a person. They will also be offering complimentary daily wine tastings from 5-8pm featuring the same wines from that night’s menu pairing. Every night there will be a different wine importer, at both Kellari’s, featuring a different grape varietal specific to certain wine-producing regions of Greece. Call 212-221-0144 to reserve.