For the 18th year – the longest-running program of wine and food pairings in this country – the Boston Wine Festival will kick off its 2007 series on Friday, January 12 with a Grand Opening Reception; and will close almost four months later on Friday, April 6.

With fifty wine and food events, the Boston Wine Festival once again is spearheaded by Daniel Bruce, Executive Chef at the Boston Harbor Hotel. Bruce’s passion for pairing the right dishes with the right wines will manifest itself at each of the Festival’s events. And this same passion can also be sampled at the Hotel’s restaurant Meritage.

While not all of the Festival’s events, admittedly, will appeal to all oenophiles and all foodies, I have applied my infallible scrutiny to the 2007 Festival calendar, released last week.

Wines of Bordeaux (Wednesday, April 4) and Wines of Burgundy (Thursday, April 5) with Clive Coates, MW
To me – and to many oenophiles – any chance to learn from Clive Coates is a “must-attend”. Author of the authoritative wine newsletter The Vine as well as the authoritative books An Encyclopedia of the Wines and Domaines of France and Côte D'Or: A Celebration of the Great Wines of Burgundy, there’s no one better than Clive Coates to learn about these two great wine regions of France. Each of these events costs $305 for the seminar and dinner, or $205 for the dinner only.

Château Beychevelle (Wednesday, March 15)
Director Philippe Blanc will host this special dinner highlighting several vintages of this “grande marque” from the St. Julien region of Bordeaux. Founded in the 17th century, Château Beychevelle has seen  a recent increase of attention of their wine, particularly their recent vintages, and specifically the 1999. It will be quite interesting to see what M. Blanc chooses to showcase at this dinner!

Opus One Winery (Tuesday, March 20)
What can I say? Opus One is Opus One. Being among the elite labels from Napa Valley, this special event may be the single best pairing of food and wine of the whole Festival. Opus One, owing to the terroir, produces a truly complex wine. Given that, Daniel Bruce’s dishes (evidenced by his offerings at Meritage) will be quite a treat. Hosting the seminar and dinner will be winemaker Michael Silacci. The cost is $275 for the seminar and dinner, and $210 for dinner only.

For the other 46 events of the Boston Wine Festival, you can get more details at www.bostonwinefestival.net or by phone at 888-660-9463.