It’s time to work up those appetites for Sacramento Wine & Dine week. Beginning on Friday and running until July 11, the 10-day event features three- to four-course gourmet meals and wine from Sacramento’s best restaurants for a discounted price.
Produced by the Sacramento Convention and Visitor’s Bureau and sponsored by the California Restaurant Association’s Sacramento Chapter, OpenTable.com and Fox 40, the celebration of good food and good wine allows diners a culinary experience for a portion of the normal price. A total of 39 restaurants from downtown and Midtown Sacramento, Woodland, Granite Bay, Davis, Folsom and El Dorado Hills are participating this year. During the event, dinners will be offered for prices ranging from $29-$50.
Mike Testa, vice president of communications and public affairs of the Sacramento Convention and Visitor’s Bureau said the event is an extension of the Raley’s Grape Escape, held in early June, and the Grape and Gourmet , held in July at the Convention Center.
“We really want to create a sort of design culinary week in Sacramento,” Testa said. “It would be a weeklong spotlight on Sacramento restaurants and wineries.”
Testa said that people normally think of Napa when they think of quality wineries, forgetting the ones in our own backyard. Many of the restaurants participating in the festivities offer some local wine to help raise awareness about the resources in Sacramento. Testa said the wine element is what sets Wine and Dine apart from other culinary weeks.
By Lisa Palmer, Sacramento Press
While most people may save the culinary treats offered by restaurants like The Firehouse for a special occasion, Wine and Dine week allows them to try it out.
“Wine and Dine gives you the opportunity to taste The Firehouse and try something new,” Testa said. The Firehouse is offering a three-course meal, complete with your choice between salmon and pork tenderloin for the main course, for $48. The first course gives diners the choice between honey-Thai prawn and heirloom tomato Napoleon, and a dark chocolate torte for dessert. The dinner features wines by Sobon Estates in Amador County, Peirano in Lodi, Booker in El Dorado and Renaissance Vineyards in the Sierra Foothills.
The River City Brewing Company will offer a three-course meal, complete with wine for each course, for $39 per person. Diners can choose between shrimp scampi or crispy eggplant Napoleon for the first course; seabass, Kobe beef, grilled marinated pork tenderloin, or angel hair pasta for the second course; and a dessert of either vanilla crème brulee or French-style cheesecake. Each course is paired with a wine from local winery Boeger. River City Brewing Company general manager Beth Ayres said that food alone would total over $32 normally. The glasses of wine would cost around $6-$7 each, she said.
Ayres said the restaurant has been participating in the Wine and Dine week since its inception. “It’s a good way to get people out to the different restaurants downtown and give them the opportunity to try more things,” Ayres said. “It gives you an option at a better price to come and try some good food.”