The Friday Buffet

Taste Food and Wine's weekly wine tasting will focus on pinot noir, which can also be sampled with the store's wide selection of cheeses. The tasting runs from 6-7:30 p.m.

Viet Bistro, 1346 W. Devon, will be featuring a Svedka vodka tasting this evening from 7-9 p.m. Sommelier/bar manager Rashed Islam will have some inventive cocktails lined up for guests, paired with appetizers from Dan Nguyen.

2005 was a banner year for burgundy. This evening from 7-8:30 p.m. The Bottle Shop in Wilmette is hosting a tasting of some of the best selections from that year. The $55 price tag includes light noshes and Riedel stemware for the tasting. You break it, you buy it.

Binny's South Loop is hosting a homebrew competition from noon-4 p.m. Saturday. Homebrewers are encouraged to bring a 12-pack of their best selections to the store. All entries will be shipped to Sam Adams Brewery for their Longshot competition. The winning amateur brewmaster will win a free trip to this year's Great American Beer Festival.

Tuesday at the Chicago History Museum will host "Hot Dog! A History of Chicago Foods." This panel discussion on local foods and their evolution over the years will feature insight from Bruce Kraig, Sarah Marcus and Peter Engler of the Culinary Historians of Chicago, and Tribune food writer Monica Eng. The $10 lecture begins at 7 p.m., but Vienna Beef hot dogs will be served starting at 6:15.

Back to Binny's South Loop we head Wednesday for a meet-and-greet with legendary wine glass maker Georg Riedel. Riedel will guide attendees through through a Vitis Series wine glass comparative tasting using 4 unique glasses. Vitis is the pinnacle of modern stemmed-glass technology featuring a highly sophisticated, grape variety specific bowl on a pulled stem. Reservations for this are highly recommended, and the cost is $100 ($63 for Binny's Card members), but it includes a set of four Vitis stems to keep (a $135 value).