Wine dinners to savor

I don’t usually blog about wine dinners because that’s all I’d be writing about most weeks. There are so many of them, which, of course, is great for local oenophiles. But I wanted to tell you about two upcoming events that are a little different.

The first is on Tuesday, May 18, at The Wine Market in Locust Point. It features a four-course dinner, prepared by the restaurant, paired with local Black Ankle wines.

Black Ankle, owned by Ed Boyce and wife Sarah O’Herron, has already achieved fame by winning Maryland’s coveted Governor’s Cup in 2008 and ’09 . It also was the only Maryland representative at a Slow Food Nation gathering in San Francisco to celebrate regional and sustainable food.

The cost is $69 a person (tax included) plus a 20 percent gratuity.

The other dinner on Thursday, May 20, features a wine tasting by Georg (not a typo, there’s no "e") Riedel, a 10th generation family member of Riedel Stemware, who will lead an interactive Riedel wine seminar. A multi-course wine dinner, catered by Chef’s Expressions, will follow the wine talk. Wines from Napa Valley's Conn Creek Winery's Luxury Collection will accompany the meal.

The event will be held at Jordan Faye Contemporary art studio in Federal Hill, which should add some extra ambiance. There’s a price to pay for all this imbibing and gorging: $144.95 plus tax and service a person. But each guest receives a set of four Riedel glasses (valued at $123, according to a press release). It adds up to me.

Photo: Sarah O’Herron and Ed Boyce at their Black Ankle vineyard in Mt. Airy.