After a silent nod of approval from Madame Lalou Bize-LeRoy herself on the pairings, five-time Michelin three star sommelier Christophe Rolland hosted an unbelievable intimate evening for 28 guests with Grand Cru white and red burgundies from vintages going back to 1976. How fortunate was I to eat at this one.

With seasoned Milwaukee sommelier, Peter Donahue, and Chef Gorman creating new menus, the upcoming events are definitely worth attending.

Upcoming events:
Tuesday May 12
Wine Maniacs Wine Dinner
5 courses of food and wine
$70 per person
6 p.m. reception/wine tasting
6:30 p.m. dinner

Thursday May 21
Frogs Leap Wine Dinner
Featuring Winemaker John Williams
5 courses of food and wine
6 p.m. Arrival
6:30 p.m. Dinner
Price TBD

Nanakusa
Hands down the freshest fish in Milwaukee, owner Richard Kaiser oversees Chef Ian Somerville as he creates amazing Japanese degustational delights. Nanakusa, 408 E. Chicago St., takes a little bit more informal and yet traditional Japanese serving approach to wine dinners. One of the other things that make wine or sake dinners here special, is that the wines are paired in tandem for each successive course. For example, a second wine is brought out halfway during the first course to compliment it in a different way than the first wine. This second wine becomes the first of two wines for the second course and so on. This adds a whole new intricate dimension and is amazing to try. If you join the "sushi society" you will be privy to all the great Sake Dinners and Wine Dinners like the one below.

Upcoming event:
Japanese Beer Dinner
featuring Japanese micro brewers Hitachino and Baird
Tentatively scheduled for July 15th, 2009
(414) 223-3200

Comet Café
Comet Café, 1947 N. Farwell Ave., is the dark horse addition to this list. Even though Comet serves up terrific brunch, great lunch and fun dinners in an ultra casual café/bar atmosphere, Chef Adam Lucks lets guests get a glimpse of his culinary past every now and then. Adam (he doesn't like the formality of "Chef") is actually classically French trained. He even interned at North Pond, a three-star French Restaurant in Chicago. Although not very well publicized because of their immediate popularity, the Comet Secret Supper Club dinners are recurring events not to miss. Adam creates amazing and inspired dishes paired with either beer or wine, depending on your preference. This is a super fun time, and if you want a great meal without all the fancy clothes, make your reservations early for the next Secret Supper Club.


Comet's upcoming event:
Secret Supper Club
An absurdly delicious evening at Comet! 
We go fine-dining with a 5-course tasting menu.
Each course is paired with your choice of beer or wine.
Tickets $65
Date is TBD
(414) 273-7677 


Balzac
Although Balzac, 1716 N Arlington Pl., is most thought of as a wine bar, they serve some tasty food, too. The style is more tapas oriented, with a nice selection of cheeses. On a regular night, you will want to order several small plates to make your meal, but on occasion they do full dinners with wine pairings as well. Just last month, they featured the wines of Plantagenet from Western Australia. If you want a wine dinner that makes a mission of taking the pomp and circumstance out of traditional wine and food dinners, make sure to check out their next event.

Upcoming event:
The "Finger-Lickin' Chicken & Mighty Fine Wine Supper," sponsored by OnMilwaukee.com 
6 p.m., Tuesday, May 12
$40/person (the event is limited to 75 people and seats are filling fast).
(414) 755-0099

There are always new events around the corner at these, and other great restaurants around the city. A great way to hear about upcoming events is to subscribe to the OnMilwaukee.com Daily Digest.

Comments:
There have undoubtedly been many other amazing wine dinners at other great restaurants that I have not mentioned here. Feel free to use the Talkback feature to mention the notable ones you have attended.

After three weeks, we have had some great comments on a variety of topics from the readers, but now that we have started to get this column moving, let's see what direction you want to take it.

A couple of questions for you:

What are some of your favorite establishments in Milwaukee to get a good glass of wine and why?

What are some juicy tidbits (pun intended) that you have always wanted to know about wine in general, but have never been able to ask?

As always, if you prefer to see yourself in print, please feel free to utilize the Talkback feature. If you prefer to volunteer your opinions safe from the scrutiny of your fellow readers, please e-mail me at your leisure.

I look forward to your comments.