The fifth annual New Haven Food & Wine Festival Grand Tasting will return this summer alongside the New Haven Open at Yale and will feature more than 20 of the city’s top restaurants.  Local chefs will offer roving diners a chance to sample a selection of menu items complemented by wine pairings.  Participating restaurants for 2012 include 116 Crown, Barcelona, Basta Trattoria, Caseus, The Cask Republic, Claire’s Corner Copia, Geronimo, Gilt, Heirloom, Ibiza, John Davenport’s, Kitchen Zinc, L’Orcio, Miso, Oaxaca, Pacifico, Soul de Cuba, Thali, Thali Too, Union League Café, and Zinc.  The Grand Tasting will be held on Wednesday, August 22 from 5:00 pm to 7:30 pm.  Tickets to the event are $125 and include a box seat ticket for Wednesday evening.

Additionally, an ideal event for the “foodie” fashionista is the Vineyard Vines Ladies Day Luncheon & Fashion Show hosted by Island Time on Thursday, August 23, from 11:30 am to 1:00 pm.  The luncheon feature a menu created by beloved local chef Claire Criscuolo of New Haven’s famous Claire’s Corner Copia. Following lunch, the ladies will enjoy a private “back to school” fashion show.  Tables of six cost $570; individual tickets $100. Each includes a box seat tennis ticket, gift bag and door prizes.

To purchase tickets or for complete details on all of the special events taking place during the 2012 New Haven Open, please click here.