Advance registration or reservations are recommended for most events.
THIS WEEK
FEB. 22 Elysian Brewery’s seventh annual Winter Beer Festival is a retrospective of the best brews of the past season, chosen by the Elysian crew. No cover. 3 p.m.-midnight at 1221 E. Pike St. on CAPITOL HILL, 206-860-1920.
More beer25 breweries worthdeployed among the crop dusters and biplanes of the Museum of Flight, alongside bite-sized snacks catered by McCormick & Schmick’s. $45 gets you in and puts a commemorative tasting-glass in your hand; for $75 you rate early admission, reserved parking, and a private tasting sponsored by those monks from Chimay. 7-10 p.m. at 9404 E. Marginal Way S., 206-768-7162.
FEB. 24 You’re in the wine and food game and you haven’t booked your seats for the first ever Washington Wine Restaurant Awards? Shame! Call the Washington Wine Commission immediately, RSVP, and apologize for the delay: 206-667-9463.
FEB. 25 Knock back a few single-malt scotches while sucking on cigars: three samples of the former and two of the latter (along with complimentary appetizers) will set you back just $39.95. 5:30-7:30 p.m. at El Gaucho, 2505 First in BELLTOWN, 206-728-1337.
FEB. 26 How often have you spotted a great bottle on a restaurant wine-list and regretfully passed because it was just too pricy? Shawn Mead of Campagne has come up with a way to indulge and stay within your budget. Every Wednesday she’ll open some killer bottles and dispense them for a flat up-front payment (usually $25 for three glasses). The debut of “The Flight Club” will feature some extraordinary Rhônes of the 2000 vintage: Les Cailloux, Beaucastel, and Vieux Télégraphe. 86 Pine in the PIKE PLACE MARKET, 5:30 p.m. on in the upstairs bar. 206-728-2800.
How about some beans with your cab? Fremont Red Apple in-house chefs Mike & Mimi whomp up a pot o’ cassoulet (the bean-and-cured-meat specialty of Southern France) to accompany a tasting of what wine-steward Michael Cawdry calls “blockbuster” cabernet sauvignons. $15. 3601 FREMONT Ave. N., 206-633-3663.
Eight wines from Hedges of Red Mountain and l’Ecole 41 of Walla Walla accompany a five course dinner featuring wild sturgeon, duck with cabbage and foie gras, and Kobe beef. $75. 6:15 p.m. at Nells, 6804 E. GREENLAKE Way N., 206-524-4044.
COMING UP
FEB. 27 Scallops and prawns in a curried corn bisque, game hens with fennel and mushrooms, monkfish and eggplant, and rack of lamb stand up to the robust yet refined Bordeaux-styled wines of Delille Cellars. $85. 7 p.m. at Vivanda, 95 Pine St. DOWNTOWN, 206-442-1121.
Chocolate madness! Dozens of desserts created by the region’s best bakers tempt you to overdose in a benefit for Washington NARAL. $35 gets you in to the feed; premium donations ($75 or $100) send you home not only sated but toting parcels for further occasions of sin. 6-8 p.m. in the Terrace Club, Safeco Field 1250 FIRST AVENUE SOUTH. Reservation information: 206-624-1990.
MAR. 1 Don formal clothes and prepare to bid high at Chateau Ste. Michelle’s benefit dinner and auction for Washington State University’s two-year-old wine education program. $175. 6 p.m. at the Chateau, 14111 N.E. 145th St., WOODINVILLE, reservations 206-448-1335.
MAR. 4 It’s Fat Tuesday. If you can’t be on Bourbon Street, be at Sazerac. From 6 p.m. on, find yourself in a flurry of beads and Hurricanes. Also, live music from Filé Gumbo, dancing, and a very Southern dinner. Fifty dollars from each ticket sale will go to the local Ronald McDonald House. Tickets $150. 1101 Fourth Ave. DOWNTOWN, 206-624-7755.
