Category: Events

Evo chef Matt Ginn will be competing in an upcoming episode of Chopped set to air July 10, 9pm on the Food Network. My money’s on Ginn.

Portland Wine Week (website, facebook, instagram, twitter) kicks off today and the organizers and Portland restaurants have put together a really great schedule of events. It would be nearly impossible to go to every one of the 50+ wine dinners, signature events, tasting and seminars but you could have a lot of fun giving it a try.

I’ve looked over the full schedule and here are some of the highlights:

• Opening Night Events – the Grand Wine Tasting at the Custom House, and Grand Cru Lounge at the Cumberland Club
• Blind Tasting Seminar – taught by Master Sommelier Chris Tanghe
• Tasting Contest at MJs – test your skill at blind tasting and identifying
• Wine Passport – 25+ restaurant around town will have wine specials on the menu, get your passport stamped at least 10 to enter a drawing for a special dinner at the 2019 PWW
• Tasting Seminar with Michael Madrigale – Food & Wine Sommelier of the Year, Michael Madrigale, will be leading a tasting on Expensive Wines and Their Designer Imposters
• Women in Wine Panel – explores the growing leadership of women in the wine industry
• Natural Wine Panel Discussion – moderated by Joe Appel, and including panelists Ned Swain, Alice Feiring and others
• Wine Dinners – there are 12 different wine dinners taking place during PWW
• Wild Beer/Wild Wine – “Set to a sound track of David Bowie, Tim from Oxbow and Ned Swain from Devenish will serve a flight of beers and wines, all fermented with wild yeasts, and discuss how much overlap there actually is between these fizzy, ambient, yeast-wild beverages.”
• A Billecart-Salmon champagne brunch at Lolita
• A grower champagne and caviar event at Central Provisions
• Wine List Talk/Tasting/Exhibit –Maine-based rare book dealer and culinary historian by Don Lingren from Rabelais Books has put together an exhibit of wine lists from the past two centuries. He will be giving a talk on ‘what historical wine lists tell us about how wine marketing and wine drinking has changed over the decades”. Drifters will be pairing the talk with some wines “updated versions of historical wine list favorites”.
• Closing Gala – a 5-course dinner with pairings prepared by some of Maine’s top chefs: Bowman Brown from Elda, Ilma Lopez from Chaval/Piccolo, Emil Rivera from Sur Lie, Courtney Loreg from Woodford F&B, Fred Eliot from Scales. Accompanied by “High-flying ‘cirque’ aerial performances”.

You can check out the full schedule online and also download this handy printable pocket guide to Portland Wine Week.

Monday – this is the first day of Portland Wine Week – 50+  tastings, wine dinners, classes, kicked off by a tasting events on Monday at the Cumberland Club and the Custom House, and capped of by a 5-course gala prepared by chefs Bowman Brown from Elda, Ilma Lopez from Chaval, Courtney Loreg from Woodford F&B, Fred Eliot from Scales and Emil Rivera from Sur Lie. The Maine Farmlands Trust will be celebrating the release of the 5th issue of Maine Farms.

Tuesday – 9 Portland Wine Week events are taking place.

Wednesday – 8 Portland Wine Week events are taking place, as is the Monument Square Farmers’ Market.

Thursday – 6 Portland Wine Week events are taking place, and The Great Lost Bear is holding an Allagash Street Fair Showcase.

Friday – 4 Portland Wine Week events are taking place, and there will be a wine tasting at Rosemont on Congress Street.

Saturday – 10 Portland Wine Week events are taking place, and Allagash is holding their annual Street Fair, and the Deering Oaks Farmers’ Market is taking place.

Sunday – 7 Portland Wine Week events are taking place, and Scattaloni Bakery is teaching a baking class.

For more information on these and other upcoming food happenings in the area, visit the event calendar.

If you are holding a food event this week that’s not listed above, publicize it by adding it as a comment to this post.

The first Flea Bites of the season is taking place today at Congress Square Park, 11am – 3pm.

Mobile food vendors Mr. Tuna, Eighty 8 Donut Cafe, Pizza by Fire, Hakka Me, Little Bee Honey Ice Cream, and El Rodeo will all be participating.

Fleabites food truck/cart events are planned Monthly through October on July 15th, August 19th, September 16th and October 21st.

The Press Herald has published an article on Portland Wine Week, which is taking place next week June 18-24.

Archer, a sommelier, is best known for her business Wine Wise, which educates people about wine as they sample food at a fine local restaurant, walk the streets of the Old Port, or take a sunset sail around Casco Bay. In January, she began planning the first Portland Wine Week (June 18-24), and in just five short months – with the help of sponsors, more than two dozen restaurants, and a long list of local wine enthusiasts – the affair has grown exponentially into a celebration rivaling Portland’s other big food-and-wine festival, Harvest on the Harbor.

Wednesday – photographer Kari Herer is teaching an iPhone photography workshop at Tipo, and the Monument Square Farmers’ Market is taking place.

Friday – Opus Ten is scheduled to reopen for the season.

Saturday – there will be a Greek wine tasting at RSVP, Sebago Brewing is celebrating their 20th anniversary, and the Deering Oaks Farmers’ Market is taking place.

Sunday – there will be a Highroller Lobster pop-up at the Island Creek Oyster Shop on Washington Ave.

For more information on these and other upcoming food happenings in the area, visit the event calendar.

If you are holding a food event this week that’s not listed above, publicize it by adding it as a comment to this post.

The organizers have released the menu for the upcoming Portland Wine Week Gala and it looks wonderful:

• Course 1 — Baby shrimp in creamy salsa verde with whipped feta, charred avocado, cucumber, and young lettuce by chef Courtney Loreg from Woodford F&B
• Course 2 — Savory pea custard with grilled squid, barely cooked peas, beach herbs, finished with a smoked squid broth and beach rose oil by chef Bowman Brown from Elda in Biddeford
• Course 3 — Oreiller pâté en croûte with pork, duck, foie gras, morel mushrooms and pistachios (shown here) by chef Fred Eliot from Scales
• Course 4 — Milk braised pork loin with roasted parsnips, leeks, pickled mushrooms, garlic demi glace by chef Emil Rivera from Sur Lie
• Course 5 — Strawberry, fennel, vanilla mousse, crumble, sponge cake by chef Ilma Lopez from Chaval

Tickets to the event are available at www.portlandwineweek.me

Tuesday – Elsmere BBQ is holding the grand opening for their new Portland location; it is located at 476 Stevens Ave and is scheduled to open at 4pm. The East Deering Other Side is holding a wine tasting.

Wednesday – the Monument Square Farmers’ Market is taking place.

Thursday – Bite Into Maine and Bob’s Clam Hut are participating in Tasting Table’s Lobster Roll Rumble taking place in Brooklyn.

Friday – the Maine Distiller’s Guild and Eat Drink Lucky are collaborating on Make Mine from Maine, a Maine spirits tasting event on Thompson’s Point.

Saturday – there will be a wine tasting at LeRoux Kitchen, and the Deering Oaks Farmers’ Market is taking place.

Sunday – Scattaloni Bakery is teaching a baking class.

For more information on these and other upcoming food happenings in the area, visit the event calendar.

If you are holding a food event this week that’s not listed above, publicize it by adding it as a comment to this post.

Monday – Bunker Brewing is holding a Memorial Day BBQ.

Tuesday – there will be a lecture on scaling up food businesses at Fork Food Lab, and a sake tasting at CloudPort.

Wednesday – there will be a wine tasting at Old Port Wine Merchants, and the Monument Square Farmers’ Market is taking place.

Thursday – The Great Lost Bear is showcasing beer from Bunker Brewing.

Friday – Sagamore Hill Lounge is holding their grand opening, The Well opens for the season, Rose Foods is hosting a BYOB Pizza Bagel Nite, and there will be a wine tasting at the West End Rosemont.

Saturday – the 14th Annual Veg Fest food truck festival is taking place, as is the Deering Oaks Farmers’ Market.

For more information on these and other upcoming food happenings in the area, visit the event calendar.

If you are holding a food event this week that’s not listed above, publicize it by adding it as a comment to this post.

The Press Herald has published an article about the speakers at this year’s Veg Fest.

Veg Fest is taking place June 2nd, 11 – 3.