Bubbly memories and a great wining and dining gift deal.

Bubbly and friends for the holidays!

Thanks to all who attended our wonderful Veuve Clicquot tasting at Centennial Fine Wine and Spirits in Addison. The taste treats were divine and we made lots of new friends. We have another wonderful wine dinner in the works with our friends from Centennial coming up in January. Stay tuned for details in this very place.

Virginia, Santa would rather have a great glass of wine and chef cuisine instead of milk and cookies!

The great value of the holiday gift giving season for the person on your list who loves food and wine is the special advance purchase ticket prices offered for Savor Dallas. (OK, let's call it a discount, but I prefer to think of it as a reward for prompt behavior in getting those tickets early and getting Savor Dallas down on your schedule--March 5-7). The deal is only in effect through New Year's Eve. When the ball drops on Times Square it starts the 60 minute countdown in the Central Time Zone before those ticket prices go up to their regular price. Let me put that in perspective for you, though: You can buy a weekend, all-access pass to Savor Dallas for $425 (after January 1--it's $375 now). Tickets to the Aspen Food and Wine Classic in June top $1000 per person! The Festival has no night-time events, and almost no food is offered (other than some cheese, bread, and other munchies at their Grand Tasting--in a tent). You also have the big travel expense and even bigger resort lodging expense for the honor of being in Aspen. By comparison, Savor Dallas offers an early evening and a nighttime event (Arts District Wine Stroll on Friday, and International Grand Tasting on Saturday), featuring great signature cuisine samples from over 60 of Dallas-Fort Worth's top chefs, and a dazzling array of premium wines, spirits and beers from around the world offered in beautiful settings in the Dallas Arts District and the fabulous "new" Sheraton Dallas Hotel (recently renovated to the tune of nearly $100 million). Travel to DFW is easy--thanks to American Airlines--and relatively cheap by comparison to Aspen. There's even FREE transportation if you take the "Savor Dallas Shuttle" to the International Grand Tasting. And, the Sheraton Dallas is offering an exceptional $89 per night Savor Dallas room rate (that's the double occupancy price and the new rooms are beautiful and spacious). Even if your schedule only permits one night of wining and dining, the Savor Dallas International Grand Tasting ticket is only $125 per person ($100 now until January 1). Aspen's grand tasting, as best I can recall, is priced at about $200 per person for the 2 hour event in the afternoon. Did I mention it's in a tent? And, it's often muddy? And, there's barely any food? The beautiful Lone Star Ballroom at the Sheraton Dallas Hotel is the site of next year's Savor Dallas International Grand Tasting. Dress up and join us for a good time. Wonderful wine and lots of good food for half the price. OK, I admit, we have no mountains. But you can make a down payment on the Rockies with the money you save attending Savor Dallas.

Congratulations to Marcus Cascio, new GM of Wolfgang Puck's Five Sixty Restaurant. He's been the General Manager of the Mansion on Turtle Creek for the last two years. Other notable establishments on his résumé include the Delano Hotel and the Astor Hotel in Miami, and White Face Lodge in White Plains New York. The restaurant is about to hit its one year anniversary atop Reunion Tower (described today to someone in Colorado as "God's golfball or the biggest dandelion you've ever seen). Congratulations to Executive Chef Sara Johannes who is planning big things with a view at Five Sixty. Get all the details when you visit www.wolfgangpuck.com or call 214.741.5560.

Scott Romano at Charlie Palmer at the Joule Hotel has the holiday spirit. He's offering Christmas Day Brunch from 11 until 3 for $55 per person (children under 12 dine for $35) and a Christmas Day Dinner from 5 until 9 for $75 ($35 for kids). Get details on their website.

The Catalina on Lemmon Avenue is offering a cool Christmas special: "The Ultimate Christmas Light Tours". They've setup a deal with a limo company where you view the Christmas lights and then dine with them at the Catalina. Very civilized. Very merry. Get details and reservations by calling 214-742-5466. Ask for Alex.

Happy Christmas and Merry New Year! Jim