The presence and impact of COVID-19 has caused us all to live life differently…likely for longer than we would all hope. Our small business prides itself on working with and supporting other locally-owned small businesses. These friendships and our willingness to support their small businesses is as strong as ever. And for now, the Wine Wise experience will be coming to you virtually and it’s going to be awesome. We hope to see you on the screen—fine wines in hand of course!
Join with Sommelier, Erica Archer + four acclaimed chefs for an epic virtual wine dinner centered around Maine-grown winter squash in four farm-fresh varieties and paired with two really great bottles of wine—delivered to your door in Greater Portland.*
That’s right, 1-2 hours before logging-on to join everyone for wine and dinner you’ll receive your dinner-for-two package containing the two featured bottles of wines and 4 different Maine Squash dishes, one from each chef—we’ll enjoy them all together, with the chefs and they’ll walk us through and quick and easy details we need to plate.
Featured Wines
Furlani, Metodo Interrotto, Brut Natur Rosé, Trentino, Italy
2011 Cantina Sociale di Gattinara, Gattinara DOCG, Italy
Featured Chefs and Menu
First Course
Chef Jordan Rubin of Mr. Tuna; Maine Bluefin Tuna Belly Sashimi, Ginger, Pickled and Roasted Kabocha Squash Chips
Second Course
Chris Gould of Central Provisions and Tipo: Shaved Honeynut Squash with Brown Butter, Sage, Stracciatella, Currents, and Hazelnut.
Third Course
Chef Damian Sansonetti of Chaval: Musque de Provence Squash, House made Pasta, Buttermilk-Braised Breezy Hill Farm Pork Ragu, Local Swiss Chard, Marjoram, Pecorino, and Brown Butter
Dessert
Chef Ilma Lopez of Chaval: Delicata Squash Frangipane Tart with Milk Chocolate Mousse
We are excited to have you join us for this incredible collaborative virtual wine dinner as we gather online from the comforts of home—with two wine glasses in hand, four Chefs, and a Sommelier on the screen—to discuss the featured wines and the delicious Maine Squash dishes from Chefs Rubin, Gould, Sansonetti, and Lopez, all while creating community, and supporting local restaurants, farmers, and purveyors.
Due to the nature of this event, we regret that we cannot accommodate food substitutions.
The dinner-for-two ticket price is all-inclusive of a 4-course dinner-for-two with these 4 incredible chefs, 2 bottles of wine, tax, service, download materials, event experience, and delivery. “Seating” is limited to 20 deliveries of wine-dinner-for-two in the Greater Portland area. Our delivery area includes: Cape Elizabeth, Cumberland Foreside, Falmouth, Gorham, Portland, Scarborough, South Portland, and Westbrook.
Live outside of our Greater Portland delivery area? No problem. You may meet us for contact-less curbside pick-up at 3:45 pm at Chaval. Just make sure to put a note in the comments section at checkout that you’ll do 3:45 curbside at Chaval.
For delivery and curbside you can rest assured that we are exceeding all requirements for your safety and the safety of our teams in preparing, pick-up, and delivering.
Your Chefs
Chef Jordan Rubin has worked on and off in sushi for over fifteen years. His first professional kitchen experience was at Uni Sashimi Bar under the mentorship of Ken Origner, one of Boston’s most notable chefs and restaurateurs. His time at Uni overlapped with Chris Gould’s, who went on to open Central Provisions where Jordan eventually got his local start. Jordan’s affection for Maine brought him to Portland in 2014. He joined Gould in the kitchen for one year before leaving Central Provisions to help open Solo Italiano with Paolo Labao. He manned Solo’s crudo bar and crafted spectacular dishes. He opened his own effort, Mr. Tuna, in Portland in July 2017—gaining national attention and a loyal local following from the start. For many, Mr. Tuna is a gateway to sushi. Colorful cone-shaped rolls served cartside coupled with owner Jordan Rubin’s laid-back attitude makes eating sushi for the first time far less intimidating. You don’t need to know the difference between nigiri and maki or how to use chopsticks to enjoy his food. When he launched Mr. Tuna, he set up shop on Commercial Street right across from Solo Italiano, slinging hand rolls and sushi burritos from a hot dog cart. Not surprisingly, Paulo was one of his first customers. Since then, he’s added several trailers to his mobile unit and landed a spot in Portland’s Public Market House.
Chef Chris Gould began his culinary career at the age of 15 as a summer dishwasher and prep cook at the Bethel Inn in Bethel, ME. When asked to return the following summer, he said yes, but only as a cook on the line. He spent the following summer on the line working sauté and when it came to deciding where to go for college his chef Steve Stone pointed him toward The Balsams Hotel in Northern New Hampshire. The Balsams had an accredited ACF (American Culinary Foundation) apprenticeship program where chef Chris trained under several Certified Master Chefs and Bakers such as Chef Roland Henin, Chef Phil Learned, and Chef Steve James.
After graduating from The Balsams Chris landed in Boston in 2006 and started working at Clio Restaurant as a Garde Manager cook; within a year he was chef tournant including taking on the position of sashimi assistant at Uni Sashimi Bar. In 2009, he helped Chef Ken Oringer and Chef Jamie Bissonnette open Coppa Enoteca as the opening sous chef. Later that year Chef Oringer had Chris return to Uni Sashimi Bar as his chef de cuisine where he spent the next three years. He also met his wife and business partner, Paige Gould at Clio and in October 2012 the two moved to Portland, ME.
Chris and Paige spent two years making Central Provisions a reality, and in February 2014 they opened the doors to national acclaim, including nominated for best new restaurant in the nation by the James Beard Foundation. Three years later they opened their another Portland restaurant, Tipo, specializing in Neapolitan pizzas, pasta, and small plates.
Chef Damian Sansonetti, a Pittsburgh native, grew up exploring fresh, local ingredients, making pasta with his grandmothers, curing meats with his grandfather, and assisting his father in the family kitchen. A career in food was practically his birthright. Graduating from the Pennsylvania Culinary Institute, Sansonetti worked at Nantucket’s Brant Point Grill and Pittsburgh’s Steelhead Grill, moving to New York to open Heartbeat in the W Hotel. Sansonetti met Daniel Boulud while working at Shallots in Midtown and eventually took a position at Boulud’s DB Bistro Moderne.
Training rigorously under Chef Olivier Muller, Sansonetti became chef de banquet at Daniel and then sous chef under Jean Francois Bruel. Promoted to executive chef of Bar Boulud in 2008, Sansonetti was named a 2009 StarChefs.com Rising Star. Now ensconced in the burgeoning food scene of Portland, Maine, Sansonetti’s partnered with his wife, Pastry Chef Ilma Lopez (a 2014 StarChefs.com Rising Star Pastry Chef and nominated in 2018 for a James Beard Award as Outstanding Pastry Chef), to open their Italian fine dining restaurant Piccolo and in 2017 Chaval.
Chef Ilma Lopez has worked in some of the most demanding and rewarding kitchens in the industry, such as DB Bistro, Corton, Tailor, El Bulli, Café Boulud, and Le Bernardin. When she left New York City to the quieter reaches of Maine, Lopez found a new terrain she couldn’t resist. Arriving with a mastery of colors, flavors, textures, and spices—and a seasoned ability to work under pressure—Lopez makes classic dishes her own, with attention to micro-detail and thoughtful twists. For her work, Lopez earned a 2014 StarChefs Coastal New England Rising Star Pastry Chef Award, has been a twice a semi-finalist James Beard “Best Pastry Chef” (national), and you may have seen her name in an issue of Bon Appetit Magazine highlighting her incredible talents when naming Portland, Maine as their pick for ‘Restaurant City of The Year’.
Your Sommelier
Archer is a true oenophile, having obtained high levels of certification in her field. In 2010, she was awarded the Wine Spirit and Education Trust Level Three Advanced Certification in Wines and Spirits (with merit), became a Sommelier in the American Court of Master Sommeliers, and received her Certified Wine Professional award from the Culinary Institute of America in St. Helena, California. Erica is the principal of Wine Wise, a wine education and events service, and is skilled at creating truly creative and memorable wine experiences that take guests beyond a typical tasting with her intimate understanding of what makes each wine unique. And she’ll do it with her trademark down to earth style and sense of humor. Archer is also the founder of Portland Wine Week, an annual week of signature events; incredible wine dinners, wine events, educational seminars, and special events, she’s the founder of the Maine Sommelier Society and former Board Member of the Boston Sommelier Society.
Where do we meet?
On your computer screen on the date and time of the event. You’ll download the Zoom app and access our event through a link that we will send you.
What do we need?
Set your dinner table with a fork, knife, spoon, napkin, water, and two wine glasses per person so each of you has one glass each of the two wines to enjoy through the first three savory courses. You’ll also need a corkscrew, the downloaded materials for this event, and a computer with internet access, sound, and video capability. Be sure to download the ZOOM app before this event as that is the platform, we will be using so that we can all see and hear each other.
Tell us about delivery and curbside pick-up.
We’ll deliver your dinners between 4-5:30 pm on the day of the event. Please include your greater Portland delivery address in the comments section at checkout if they are different from your billing address. Or let us know in the comments section at checkout that you’ll meet us at 3:45 at Chaval for non-contact curbside pick-up. Please put these details in the comments section at checkout so they stay attached to your order. We are vigilant about abiding by all safety and physical distancing requirements for your safety and that of ourselves and our teams.
Cancellations/Reschedules/No Shows
Because of our size, and the need to purchase the wine and food to accommodate the number of tickets sold, we will be able to refund you only if we can re-sell your tickets (minus the $20.00 credit card transactions we have to pay) OR reschedule you to a different event (there is no credit card transaction fee in this case). There are no refunds or reschedules for no shows or if we are not able to resell your tickets. Makes sense, right?
Chef Chris Gould of Central Provision and Tipo
Chef/Owner Jordan Rubin of Mr. Tuna
Chef/owner Damian Sansonetti of Chaval
Chef/owner Ilma Lopez of Chaval
Sommelier/owner Erica Archer of Wine Wise
Featuring wine from Maine-based Devenish