October 6: Strategies for Building a Balanced Wine Collection The experts at the Italian Wine Merchants can show you how to build up your wine collection beyond those bottles that were left over from your last party. During the course of the afternoon, you'll taste eight Italian wines including vintage Barolo, Brunello, Super-Tuscans, and more while sampling assorted antipasti. $125 per person. Reservations required and can be made online or by calling 212-473-2323 x106. 1:00......

Gothamist is here at Joyce Bakeshop in Prospect Heights, where we’ve secretly replaced Scott Lindenbaum’s 12 oz. Fair Trade Gorilla Coffee with a cup of freshly brewed David Lynch Signature Cup Coffee Organic House Roast. For good measure, we’ve also selected one of each flavor cupcake from the Joyce Bakeshop glass case display, and a toasted hazelnut mini financier to accompany the hot beverage. What we found may surprise you. Yes, we said David Lynch......

July 11 - 13: Chianina at at Maremma Join Tuscan native Chef Cesare Casella and his team at Maremma as they make special dishes featuring the traditional Tuscan beef -- Chianina (pronounced kee-a-nee-na). Chef Casella raises his herd of Chianina at Thanksgiving Farm in the Catskills regions of upstate New York. 228 West 10th Street, 212.645.0200. July 13: A Celebration of Simple Pleasures This panel discussion features Ruth Reichl, Anne Patchett, Jane and Michael Stern,......

- Paris Commune, the West Village eatery that moved into new space at 99 Bank Street last year, is celebrating its anniversary by opening the Rouge Wine Bar. Quaff wines from France, New Zealand, Australia, South Africa, and Chile while you wait for a table upstairs, or finish off your night by sipping on a glass of cognac while you gaze at the original fresco covering two walls. Look closely and you might see Marc......

Jeffrey Abramson, Gen Art...