P’ville Rotary to Host International Wine Pairing Event Oct. 7

September 24, 2014 Examiner Media Pleasantville

For the past 15 years, the Rotary Club of Pleasantville has enticed probably thousands of local wine lovers to the Westchester Wine Experience. Now Rotary leaders are expanding their efforts, based on comments from the public and the event’s popularity.

Rotary’s Janet DiBenedetto said to keep up with the demand of people who have supported the Pleasantville Rotary’s efforts for so many years, the International Wine Pairing was developed.

“This is not replacing the Wine Experience, but what’s happened is that our clientele list has grown and people have been asking us to do more, to do something additional,” DiBenedetto explained.

While the Westchester Wine Experience, which is typically held in March at Pace University, sees its visitors walking from table to table to sample local wines and food, the International Wine Pairing will be a formal, sit-down dinner held on Tuesday, Oct. 7 at Stone Manor 101 in Hawthorne. The event will feature a five-course meal, which includes seafood stuffed jumbo shrimp and Argentinean skirt steak. Each course will be expertly paired with wines from around the world.

There will be guest speakers who will talk to the crowd about the art of wine pairing, explaining why certain types go well with specific dishes.

DiBenedetto said that when Pleasantville Rotary developed the Westchester Wine Experience, they weren’t sure the idea would work. More than a decade later, an rapidly increasing number of locals have become well-informed about wine and are eager to attend events that allow them to expand their knowledge.

“Wine has become quite the thing,” DiBenedetto said. “Everybody knows something about wine and we’re certainly more sophisticated about our wines and we’re more interested in them.”

As with all Rotary events, proceeds from the International Wine Pairing will go toward a variety of different charitable causes, in the village as well as at the national and international level. There are numerous organizations in need of assistance, and the Pleasantville Rotary Club will spread the money among a variety of them, DiBenedetto said.

The International Wine Pairing is $125 per person, and attendees must register in advance. The event will be limited to 200 guests. Payment must be received by Sept. 30. Stone Manor 101 is located at 101 Saw Mill River Rd. in Hawthorne.

For more information and to register, visit http://www.rotaryclubpleasantville.com/winepairing/