Let the Wine Games Begin!
When it comes to friendly restaurant challenges, food and cooking get all the glory. Until now. Thanks to restaurants like Acanto and Roka Akor, wine is getting in on the competitive action through a couple upcoming events and series.
On February 23, Acanto’s wine director Jon McDaniel brings back the fun-to-say “Somm Slam” with Acanto’s Wine Gladiator Challenge, which sounds absolutely thrilling. Unlike other gladiator events that end in death by lion, Acanto’s version is a chummy competition featuring a colorful array of Chicago sommeliers battling it out for oenophile glory. Over the course of a five-course dinner, guests will slip into wine comas as they sample dual pairings with each dish, as two sommeliers offer their wine pick for each of Chris Gawronski’s plates. Guests will vote for their favorite of the pairing, narrowing it down to the finale, wherein they vote for the best pairing of the night and thus electing the ultimate Wine Gladiator. Competing sommeliers include Andrew Algren of Alinea, Arthur Hon of Sepia, Jason Prah of Bascule Wine Bar, Jean Tomaro of Hogsalt restaurant group, Dan Pilkey of Sixteen, Richard Hanauer of RPM Steak, and more.
Hot on the heels of the Wine Gladiator Challenge, Roka Akor is serving up a vino smack down of its own. On February 26, the restaurant will serve a special sommelier-guided wine dinner that pits two classic wine regions against one another with each course. The four-course meal includes dishes like Kushi oysters, robata-grilled lobster, miso-glazed foie gras, and lavender creme brûlée, with wines such as Schrambsberg Brut de Blancs vs. Michael Arnould Grand Brut; Wind Gap Chardonnay vs. Domaine William Fevre per Cru; and Walter Hansel Cahill Vineyard vs. Albert Morot “Les Toussaints” her Cru. The menu doubles as a teaser for upcoming dishes to Roka Akor’s a la carte menu, and the event marks the first of a monthly series focused on regional world wines.
Acanto
18 S. Michigan Avenue, Chicago
(312) 578-0763
Website
Roka Akor
(456 N. Clark Street, Chicago
(312) 477-7652
Website
