A classic Denver Food & Wine Classic

The fifth annual Denver Food & Wine Classic kicked off last night, and it's bigger and better than ever this year -- in every way. "Art of the Cocktail and a Movie" brought several hundred people to the Quad at Metropolitan State College on a beautiful summer night for an...

By Patricia Calhoun

September 11, 2009

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The fifth annual Denver Food & Wine Classic kicked off last night, and it's bigger and better than ever this year -- in every way. "Art of the Cocktail and a Movie" brought several hundred people to the Quad at Metropolitan State College on a beautiful summer night for an outdoor screening of Pressure Cooker and an incredible array of cocktails served up by members of the Colorado bartenders guild. (Not surprisingly, Anika Zappe poured some of the most winning drinks; read all about her cocktailology philosophy here.)

Tonight, paired wine dinners will take place at participating restaurants ranging from the Fort to TAG. Troy Guard, chef/owner of TAG (read all about him here) is also part of the the Classic's culiminating event: Saturday's Grand Tasting, which this year will include more than 400 featured wines, spirits and cuisine from local restaurants, plus chef demonstrations (Guard is part of the Denver Five), a wine auction, and special guest Bethenny Frankel, author of the Naturally Thin cookbook and star of Bravo's The Real Housewives of New York City.

The Grand Tasting takes place on the Metro campus from noon to 4 p.m. For information on all this and still more Classic events taking place across the city, visit www.denverfoodandwine.com.

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Patricia Calhoun is editor-in-chief of Westword, the alt-weekly she co-founded in September 1977. She’s been inducted into the Colorado Press Association Hall of Fame, the Association of Alternative Newsmedia Hall of Fame and the Colorado Restaurant Association Hall of Fame. She’s also received dozens of local, state and national awards for writing, including first place for feature writing and first place for column writing with the Society of Professional Journalists. Patricia is a weekly commentator on Colorado Inside Out, PBS 12's public affairs roundtable, which has won two Emmys.

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