Two special dinners scheduled for later this week offer a tour of French wines, and a tour of what Main Street offers after 20 years of redevelopment.

Wine dinners – special menus focused around thematic tastings of wine – are frequent around town, and all deserve notice, for they are opportunities to be introduced to unfamiliar wines, to be educated without undue trauma to some wine esoterica, and to sample the fuller range of the skills and creativity of a chef and his team. The Rosenthal French Wine Dinner at LouVino’s Douglas Hills location will provide all that on Thursday, Oct. 5 at 6:30 p.m.

Advanced Sommelier Julie DeFriend will conduct a tour France’s most iconic wine regions by tasting wines from the portfolio of Rosenthal Wine Merchants.  Her wine choices will be paired with four courses from Executive Chef Tavis Rockwell.

The Menu:

1st Course:  Marc Deschamps Pouilly Fume “Les Porcheronnes,”  Loire, 2014

Seared scallops, goat cheese croutons, apple slaw, chive oil

2nd Course: Domaine Henri Prudhon & Fils Saint Aubin “Les Argillers,” Cote de Beaune, Burgundy, 2013

Frondosa Farms roasted mushroom risotto, Parmesan, herbs 

3rd Course: Domaine du Gour du Chaule, Gigondas, 2013

Roasted duck breast, white bean ragout, red eye gravy, crispy leeks

4th Course:  Chateau La Peyre, Haut Medoc, Bordeaux, 2014

Braised beef short ribs, root vegetables

The dinner and wine pairings will be $65. Call (502-) 42-1456 or email douglasshills@louvino.com.

On Friday, Oct. 6 The Main Street Association will mark its 20th year with a Progressive Dinner, beginning with appetizers at the Kentucky Science Center, served from 6 – 7:30 p.m. Transportation will be provided to the venue for the main course, served at The Ice House between 7 and 9:30 p.m. For dessert, participants will be bussed back to the Kentucky Center for Performing Arts, where the can finish the dinner between 9 and 10:30.

For those who are still in the mood for celebrating, an Unofficial After-Party will be held at The Bristol Bar & Grille Downtown, beginning at 10:30 p.m. Tickets for the fund-raising dinner will be $125, with tables for 8 priced at $1000. For tickets, go to https://louisvilletickets.com/events/main-street-association-progressive-dinner/tickets