Brewer meet-and-greets: Want to rub elbows (and drink beers) with a few brewers? ChurchKey hosts two events this week where you can do just that. Today at 6 PM, celebrate the DC debut of Virginia-based brewery Blue Mountain—cofounders Taylor and Mandi Smack will be talking about their eight drafts and five cask ales on offer. Then on Tuesday at 4 PM, Harpoon Brewery founder Rich Doyle will oversee pours of the new White IPA as well as old favorites like UFO White. Admission is free.
Drink yourself blind: Society Fair hosts its first in a monthly series of blind tastings tonight at 7 PM, where guests taste ten different varietals and try to guess the grape and its origin. Incentive to show off your knowledge: prizes! The event is $40 per person.
14th Street specials: Sister restaurants Masa 14 and El Centro D.F. launch two boozy specials. In addition to half-price wine night on Mondays, Masa extends its happy hour specials to seven days a week, meaning you can pregame for Saturday night bar-hopping with $4 margaritas and wok-fried okra. Next door at El Centro, there’s half-price sangria on Sundays from 5 to close; flavors change weekly.
Greek grapes: Zaytinya is celebrating all things grape through Sunday, with special dishes, wines, and cocktails. Stop in any time during the week, or head there on Wednesday at 8 for a five-course wine dinner with pours from Ioannis Tsapos of Dionysos Importers and Marianna Mitsi, a Greek oenologist. Reservations for the dinner are $85 and can be made by calling 202-638-0800.
James Bond dinner: Plume at the Jefferson Hotel hosts a five-course Bond-themed dinner with wine pairings on Thursday at “007” PM. Come dressed as your favorite Bond character and enjoy dishes inspired by the movies’ villains, such as Octopussy grilled octopus with coconut-curry sauce and Hugo Drax Kobe beef with “space-age accompaniments.” Reservations are $285 per person, and can be made by calling 202-448-2301.
Lunch like an Italian: If you have two hours to spare Thursday afternoon, there’s a lunch at Assaggi Osteria in McLean from 11:45 to 1:45, hosted by Les Dames d’Escoffier. The Glorious Pastas of Italy cookbook author Domenica Marchetti hops into the kitchen to help prepare the four-course meal, featuring dishes from the region of Abruzzo. Tickets ($46) can be reserved by calling 202-973-2168.
All-star reception: Tickets for Thursday night’s Share Our Strength fundraiser at Volt are sold out for dinner, but you can still get into the 6 PM cocktail reception ($95 per person). The draw: drinks and hors d’oeuvres from Bryan Voltaggio and talented visiting toques, including brother Michael Voltaggio of Ink in LA and Matt Orlando, chef de cuisine from Noma in Copenhagen.
Maryland Wine Festival: If you’ve run through all the Virginia wineries, why not try out Maryland? Held this Saturday and Sunday, the festival features plenty of tastings, educational seminars, live music, and food vendors.
Pilates and house-made donuts: Poste starts up its Saturday morning Pilates on the Patio series again this week: a 45-minute class is followed by a gratis glass of sparkling wine and a spa-themed menu. The class is $19, with menu items priced à la carte. Go light with an egg-white omelet, or splurge on freshly fried donuts.
Anna Spiegel covers the dining and drinking scene in her native DC. Prior to joining Washingtonian in 2010, she attended the French Culinary Institute and Columbia University’s MFA program in New York, and held various cooking and writing positions in NYC and in St. John, US Virgin Islands.
