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PROVISIONS AND POURS
Hotel Valley Ho: March 13 ZuZu Executive Chef Russell LaCasce is inviting guests to join him for an evening of food and wine – not to mention great stories about both – during his Monday Night Chef’s Table Wine Dinner series, now monthly through year’s end. Each event includes a four-course dinner paired with wines from a venue chosen by his team, as well as one-on-one time with the chef and special guests from the winery. In March, the event will be hosted in the Hotel Valley Ho’s Sands Room and will feature selections by Qupé, which produces Rhônestyle wines out of California. 6:30 p.m. $68. Reservations: 480.421.7997.
Find your perfect pairing at four winemaker dinners this spring BY ALISON BAILIN BATZ
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pringtime ushers in a plethora of winemaker dinners, where chefs craft menus in collaboration with select wineries. Showcasing the best provisions and pours, the fixed-price menus span three to five courses thoughtfully paired with wines. Whether you’re a wine lover or a novice, dive right into four opportunities of culinary and vintner exploration.
Sassi Ristorante: March 29 For the third year, Sassi Executive Chef Christopher Nicosia is teaming up with Duncan Trading Company, a local farm that provides more than 150 types of fresh produce to Valley restaurants and resorts, for a Farmer in the House wine dinner, which will feature a special guest: farmer Pat Duncan himself. Though the five-course dinner is not fully vegetarian, this is an evening where the delicate flavors of the best local fruit and vegetables get the spotlight, with simple yet skillful preparation by Nicosia and unique wines selected by Sassi’s award-winning sommelier. A portion of the evening’s proceeds will benefit the Association of Arizona Food Banks. 6 p.m. $110. Reservations: 480.502.9095. Boulders Resort & Spa: March 30 Fresh off his 2016 win on the Food Network’s Beat Bobby Flay, the Boulders Resort & Spa Executive Chef Brian Archibald is teaming up with world-renowned master sommelier Michael Jordan (no, not that Michael Jordan!) for a Sommelier & Chef Wine Dinner. Hosted in the Boulders’ own organic garden at its spa and limited to just 25 guests to ensure intimacy, the outdoor dinner will feature a welcome reception followed by a five-course meal and personal time with both Archibald and Jordan. 6:30 p.m. $125. Reservations: 480.488.7349. T. Cook’s at Royal Palms Resort and Spa: April 6 Titled the Cellar Series in the Mansion Courtyard, T. Cook’s Executive Chef Todd Allison invites guests – limited to just 18 – to join him under the stars in the historic resort’s Mansion Courtyard to enjoy a three-course menu paired with wines hand-picked by a famed winemaker each month. In April, T. Cook’s will partner with Paul Hobbs Wines. Nicknamed the “Steve Jobs of Wines” by Forbes, Paul Hobbs once mentored under Robert Mondavi himself and is credited with not only driving the wine industry in California, but helping discover the now-thriving wine region in Argentina as well. 6 p.m. $120. Reservations: 602.808.0766.
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| MARCH 2017