Venue opened just a few months ago in the former home of 8 Rivers. But already on February 3, it's offering its first wine dinner, pairing up with Fran Kysela, who was named one of the top selectors of wine by Wine Advocate. And the pairing has proved such an advance hit that the dinner's already sold out.
"We were originally informed of Kysela's visit to Denver through CTS Distributing," says Venue chef James Rugile. "However, we have an informal 'partnership' with Mondo Vino, the wine shop next to us, and we work hand in hand with them in order to host events and also promote each other's businesses. They have been a big help in keeping us informed on new products and also lending their extensive wine and beer knowledge to help us compile our wine and beer lists in order to keep them progressive and exciting at an affordable cost. Many of our wines are available next door for purchase as well."
And when the Venue folks heard that Kysela might be available,
they decided to host their first wine dinner. "We are starting the wine
dinners in order to give people an opportunity to come out and
experience great food and appropriate paired wines without having to
spend the excessive amounts of money that dinners of that nature
usually cost," Rugile adds. "It's also a way for us to say 'thank you' to all
the loyal guests we have here in the Highlands who have been incredibly
gracious and supportive since we opened."And his patrons are indeed supportive: The wine dinner was booked in about five days. Rugile says he's now planning to offer wine dinners every month, and if the
speed at which this one sold out is any indication, he should have no
problem filling many more.
Venue is located at 3609 West 32nd Street; for more information, call 303-477-0477.