XIX Nineteen hosts wine dinner
Manager Molly Flahavan is already salivating over the menu chef Rino Lam is organizing for a wine dinner at St. Albert's XIX Nineteen Restaurant on Wednesday, July 25.The upscale restaurant presents a California-themed five-course dinner that includes baked brie, pickled B.C. cherries and candied pecans. And that’s just the dessert.
Lam starts the evening with Meuwly’s pancetta-wrapped pickled asparagus, an amuse-bouche designed to tease the palette. Following is a deconstructed California roll, house smoked salmon and a duck-centre main.
Each course is paired with a wine from California’s Wente Vineyards, America’s oldest, continuously operated family winery. It was founded in 1883 and this year celebrates its 135th anniversary.
As a vineyard it focuses on sustainable practices recycling organic fertilizer into the soil and drip irrigation to reduce water consumption. It also applies natural oils to smother mildew and builds bird boxes and perches for pest management.
Philip Wente, a fourth generation grape grower and wine maker, will be on hand to discuss each of the wines paired to the varying courses.
“People like to buy what is hottest and it's one of the few times people actually meet the winemaker,” said Flahavan.
The dinner is at 150 Bellerose Drive. The reception starts at 6 p.m. followed by dinner at 6:30 p.m. Admission is $100 per person including GST and gratuities. To reserve call 780-569-1819.
Taste of Edmonton
The Taste of Edmonton is the region’s biggest festival dedicated solely to food.Wildly successful, the 10-day festival attracts nearly 500,000 visitors sampling 50 local restaurants featuring Asian, European, Canadian, Mexican, Caribbean, South American and fusion cuisine.
This year’s food festival runs July 18 to 29 at Capital Plaza on 99 Ave and 108 Ave. Traditionally it was held in Edmonton’s Sir Winston Churchill Square. However, downtown building and road construction forced organizers to shift location.
Advance tickets are available at a cost saving of $10. Sheets of 40 Taste of Edmonton tickets are $57 until July 18. From July 19 to 29, tickets are priced at $67. Visit http://www.tasteofedm.ca
