(No Longer Available) Blackbird Vineyards Food & Wine Dinner w/ Virtual Class From The CA Vineyards!

In California’s legendary Napa Valley, the food is as important as the wine! Join Executive Chef, accomplished culinary instructor and oenophile Andrew Kneessy in our kitchens to help us explore gourmet California cuisine and the ultra-premium wines of Blackbird Vineyards. 

We are happy to virtually “live host” Blackbird Vineyard's President Brian Hilliard straight from the vineyards in California to our classroom in Kansas City!  Brian comes to this special dinner with deep knowledge of the Blackbird Vineyard's family of wines as well as extensive wine industry history including the likes of Pahlmeyer, Kosta Browne, Jackson Family Wines and Constellation Wines.  

Since the premier release of their 2003 vintage, Blackbird Vineyards' winemaking team has handcrafted truly expressive wines with a focus on the varieties of Merlot, Cabernet Franc, and Cabernet Sauvignon. Their commitment to quality winemaking involves intensive, hands-on, ‘best practice’ techniques to achieve the highest representation of terroir in their age-worthy wines. We can’t wait for you to experience a few of their fabulous wines for yourself as they’re paired with Chef Kneessy’s distinctive menu that highlights these wines perfectly.

Chef Kneessy has cooked at the finest establishments all over the world He is an accomplished Executive Chef and has used his extensive wine and food knowledge to host many dinners where he created perfectly harmonized food and wine pairings. 

It will be a wonderful night of wine education and beautiful foods prepared by a chef whose resumé includes the Occidental Restaurant (Washington, DC), the Canadian Embassy, Blair House and the White House, where he cooked for George Bush and Bill Clinton, among many other amazing accomplishments in his career, so you know you’re in good hands this evening.

The wines will be specially chosen by Chef to complement California-inspired dishes such as Lightly Smoked Canadian Salmon, Grilled Pineapple, & Vanilla Bean, followed by Field Greens, Ripe Pear, Pistachio, Apricot, Citrus Vinaigrette and Porchetta with Walnut Gnocchi, Butternut Squash & Cherry Gastrique.

Our killer entrée will showcase Braised Beef Short Ribs, Barley Risotto with Root Vegetables and Red Onion Compote. Finally, we’ll end on a sweet note with a decadent Dark Chocolate Terrine, Raspberry Coulis and Lace Cookie.

Throughout the evening, Chef will show you how to create these fantastic dishes and why he chose the paired wines.

Come hungry for both exceptional chef-prepared dishes and surprising wines. Doesn’t get better than this, folks.

Demonstration Class | Dinner, Wine Pairings & Virtual Class Straight From The Blackbird Vineyards in California
Sat 9/12/20    6:30 - 9:00 p.m.

Our Flavorful Weekend Nights™ classes are just that, unique and tasty culinary experiences on weekend nights, most of which are hands-on! Movie, Schmovie... why not learn to cook with your friends, dates or your “luvva”? They are the perfect mix of culinary education and fun night out!

Flavorful Weekend Nights™ is a trademark and service mark of The Culinary Center of Kansas City®.

NOTE: For Onsite Classes,when you arrive, please check in with our Class Assistant who will give you information as to where you will be seated.  We will be arranging our classrooms to allow for social distancing. In order to comply with governmental orders and for the protection of our guests and staff, we ask that you wear a mask when here at The Culinary Center of Kansas City. If you are planning to sit next to someone else attending the class, we would suggest arriving at least 20 minutes prior to the start time of the class so that we can address that request.  Both students would need to be comfortable with the request to be seated together. Thank you!