Thursday Sips & Nibbles

I am back again with a new edition of Thursday Sips & Nibbles, my regular column where I highlight some interesting, upcoming food & drink events.
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1) In honor of National Rosé Day (Saturday, June 8), Forge & Vine, located at The Groton Inn, will offer guests an opportunity to explore a special flight of Rosé wines from French and Italian wine regions. For $20 for four 3-ounce pours, the restaurant will feature distinctive, flavorful and aromatic rosés from Provence and Campagna. The Rosé Wine Flight will be available beginning Saturday, June 8th and will run til the end of June.

The Rosé wine flight includes:
Bieler Pere et Fils Rosé, Provence, France 2017
Crispy apple, medium body, floral nose
Esprit Gassier, Cótes de Provence, France 2017
Shades of peach and citrus fruits
Vetere Rosato Paestum Rosé, Campagna, Italy 2017
Juicy wild red berries, tangy finish
Château Peyrossel, Cótes de Provence, France 2017
Citrus, apricot

Check out my recent review of Forge & Vine, and you'll see why I think it is a worthy culinary destination with some compelling wines.

2) Vialé in Central Square, Cambridge is enthused to announce the 5th event in their seasonal dinner series in collaboration with Cambridge School of Culinary Arts (CSCA). The next CSCA Takeover at Vialé will be held on Sunday, June 2, from 5pm-10pm. As with all of the dinners in the series, this dinner will pair Vialé chef/co-owner, Greg Reeves (CSCA graduate) and the Vialé team with a different CSCA student/chef. For this event, Chef Reeves will team with Sam Amsterdam and Brendan Germain from the Professional Chef's Program, serving their own unique plates alongside Vialé's summer dinner menu.

Sam is from Guyana, South America, where her passion for food started at the age of five while watching her mom and grandmother prepare scrumptious meals for their family. Sam grew up on an eclectic fusion of Caribbean, Indian, and African cuisines. As a teenager, Sam migrated to the US with her family, where she lived in New York City and ultimately moved to Boston for college before beginning a career in Biotech. Sam has always found her bliss at the stove or and visiting local markets and restaurants while traveling to experience the local fare. To combine her love of travel and the passion for food, Sam’s dream is to operate her own Bed, Breakfast, and Dinner establishment. After completing her MBA in Entrepreneurship, Sam decided to take the next step toward making her dream a reality at CSCA.

Brendan was born in central New Jersey where he watched his parents navigate the industry as waiters, bartenders, restaurant managers, and owners of a wholesale specialty spice and produce distributor which would later evolve into a gourmet deli and catering company. His exposure to their careers and experiences assisting lead to a passion for food at a very young age. In addition to cooking, Brendan has an established career as an information technology professional, specializing in system engineering, designing future technologies to create highly reliable and performant trading systems for NASDAQ’s global stock exchange markets.

They will be preparing three courses to supplement Viale’s usual dinner menu:
Spicy Calamari with Plantain Chips & Wood Grilled Pineapple Aioli
Marinated Lamb Skewers with Asparagus Risotto garnished with Toasted Pine Nut Gremolata and Garlic Dill Yogurt Sauce
Roasted Blood Orange Sorbet garnished with Orange Tuiles and Pink Peppercorns

Make reservations here for this fascinating CSCA Takeover at Vialé.