BearBoat and the Didier Farmers' Market wine dinners will be the grand finale to the Wildfire August events calendar!

August has been jam packed with well attended wine and beer events and there is still time to sign up for the final 3 events of the month.

There will be two wine dinners featuring Russian River Valley's highly regarded BearBoat Winery that will be held on Monday, August 23^rd at the Wildfire Oakbrook location and on Tuesday, August 24^th at the Wildfire Chicago location. Some menu items and pairings to entice your appetite would be the Home Smoked Rainbow Trout with whole wheat crepe, arugula, red onion, celery & lemon-caper aioli paired with the BearBoat Winery Russian River Valley Chardonnay. The BearBoat Chardonnay has aromas of ripe apple, vanilla, toast and spice and has a voluptuous, buttery texture with notes of butterscotch. The smokiness in the trout along with the buttery toasty notes in the Chardonnay promises to be an outstanding pairing!  Another course not to be missed is the Porcini Mushroom Crusted Tenderloin of Beef with wild mushroom potato cake, pinot noir & vanilla reduction paired with the BearBoat Winery Russian River Valley Pinot Noir. This Pinot Noir has pronounced strawberry and bing cherry aromas and a lingering finish of strawberries and hint of vanilla spice.

Since the winemaker for BearBoat Winery, Raphael Brisbois, also happens to be the winemaker for Piper Sonoma in California, we will be pouring the Piper Sonoma Blanc de Blancs to be paired with the dessert course;  A Farmers' Market Summer Strawberry Tart with a classic pie crust, Meyer lemon and pastry cream.  This sparkling wine has delicate aromas of ripe apple, toast and peach. Crisp citrus flavors with a hint of strawberries, vanilla and smoke that ends with a long, elegant finish. Strawberries and champagne- a classic pairing!

Speaking of the Farmers' Market, the Wildfire Lincolnshire and Didier Farmers' Market Wine Dinner promises to be the perfect way to say good-bye to the sweltering heat of August! With the Didier Farmers' Market literally just down the road from Wildfire Lincolnshire, it was inevitable that the two concepts would one day join forces. That day will be held on Friday, August 27^th- a great way to end your work week with fresh food from the Farmers' Market and hand selected wines off of the Wildfire wine list. One of the courses that I'm really looking forward to is the reception course that showcases a Grilled Fresh Calamari with roasted corn, cherry tomatoes, Marjoram goat cheese crostini and sweet pea pesto paired with the highly rated Groom Winery Sauvignon Blanc. For the lucky few that were privileged to attend the Groom wine dinner at Wildfire Lincolnshire this past April, here is another chance for you to experience for yourselves one of the best Sauvignon Blancs from Australia. The wine has a myriad of fresh ripe tropical fruit aromas which are vibrant, but not overpowering. Flavors of juicy grapefruit, passion fruit and blood orange along with a mouth watering acidity makes this wine a sure bet to go along with the calamari.

All three dinners are priced at $65.00 per person (plus tax and gratuity) and start at 6:30 p.m., followed by dinner at 7:00 p.m. To make a reservation for any of these exciting events, please contact myself, Brad, at 773-398-6960.

With the colder months not too far away, I hope to celebrate the last days of August with many of you at one of these delicious wine dinner events!

Cheers to you!

Brad Wermager