Wine and Food Pairing at Siena

A wine and food pairing dinner with guidance and discussion from a certified sommelier and food from an acclaimed Italian-trained cook.  Includes a meal consisting of five small plate courses with a different wine paired with each course, followed by a cheese course and a desert course with coffee.  An epicurean and educational event for wine and food enthusiasts as well as folks who are just interested in learning more about wine.

Click here to view the food and wine menu.         Click here to view notes on the wines.

Sommelier:  Shel East is a sommelier certified by the Wine and Spirits Education Trust  (WSET)  in London.  She is a wine, food and event consultant.  She has worked with winemakers in the United States, Europe, Australia and all over the world.  She curates wine lists and pairing menus for restaurants and trains staff at wine shops and restaurants.  She frequently gives seminars on wine and hosts wine tastings.  She also authors a website and a newsletter with topics of interest to wine enthusiasts.

Chef:  Harvey Harris has been cooking for 40 years.  He was an executive chef at one of Austin’s first fine Italian restaurants, Mezzaluna.  He trained in Italy in the Italian Master Chef’s program at the Culinary Institute for Foreigners in Piedmonte and cooked at some of the top restaurants in Italy.   Returning to Texas, he developed the menu at Siena when it opened 22 years ago and has been the Executive Chef there ever since.

Format:  The event will be held in the private Caminetto room at the restaurant and will be limited to 30 guests.  All guests will be seated at tables.  Shel and Chef Harvey have collaborated to put together a gourmet experience.  Shel has selected five wines, each of a different style, and paired each one with a special small plate from Chef Harvey’s vast repertoire of creative dishes.  Each of the five small plate courses will be accompanied by a 2+ ounce wine pour.  For each course, Shel will introduce the wine, the grape and the region where it is grown, and will discuss what you should expect and why the particular food course was chosen to accompany the wine.  She will discuss wine pairing principles in general and answer any wine and wine pairing questions you may have.

Cost:  The cost for the event is $110.00 per person, which includes wine, food, tax and gratuity.

Takeaways:  In addition to a feeling of great satisfaction (from 7 small plate courses and the equivalent of half a bottle of wine), there will be menus describing the wines and the accompanying food courses.  There will also be handouts which briefly describe the wines served during the evening as well as general principles of pairing wines, beers and coffees with food.

Registration:  Registration will be on ClubRegistration.net.  Payment will be required at the time of registration.  A wait list will be created if necessary.  Registration for the event will close on Saturday, October 8.  Refunds will be provided for cancellations received prior to the close of registration.  Refunds will be provided for cancellations after registration closes only if the space can be filled from the wait list.   If the wait list indicates sufficient interest in this event, the event will be repeated in the very near future with priority given to registrants that did not make it in for the initial event.  The event will be repeated as many times as it takes to clear the wait list.

Click HERE to register