The Inverness Hotel, a hidden treasure in South Denver is launching a new series of events combining wine and song to delight all your senses and help raise money for the Colorado Children’s Chorale.

The hotels signature restaurant, Baca, will be the venue of choice for this Sip and Savor wine paired dinner series. Executive Chef Rodney Herwerth’s locally-sourced, summer dining menu is sure to please even the most developed palate. Mercer Estates Winery has partnered with Lukas Liquor to skillfully pair the perfect Washington state wine selections with each dinner course.

The Sip & Savor event is designed to combine the aims to elicit the perfect palate pleasing experience in a charming setting. Baca’s ambiance is conducive to intimate conversation or lively discourse and there are ample opportunities to make new acquaintances with fellow wine lovers.

Sip and Savor on July 21, 2010
$55/ per person non-inclusive of tax and gratuity, with 10 percent of proceeds being donated to the Colorado Children’s Chorale.

Reception 6:30 p.m.
Dinner 7:00 p.m.

Seating is limited so make your reservations early

Attendees receive a free WinePort passport entitling them to discounts, perks and free dinners

Sip and Savor menu and accompanying wine.

• Chef’s Selection of Artesinal Cheeses and Hand Passed Hors D’ Oeuvres ~ Pinot Grigio ~
• Duet of Soft Shell Crab and Petite Jonas Crab Cake with Black Garlic Aioli, Chervil Orange Syrup and Micro Peppercress ~ Chardonnay ~
• White Truffle Mache with a Grilled SummerVegetable Bundle, Warm Lamb Strudel and Huckleberry Gastrique ~ Merlot ~
• Roasted Root Vegetable and Colorado Bison Pot Pie with Oven Dried Local Tomato and Warm Wild Mushroom Salad ~ Cabernet Sauvignon ~
• Sable Britton with Apple Confit and Nutted Butter Foi Gras Ice Cream ~ Riesling ~

Not only will you be indulging yourself with this sumptuous culinary evening, you’ll also be helping to support the nationally known group of talented youngsters of the Colorado Childrens Chorale.

Self-described as a “locally grown and globally loved group of 400 youngsters, ages 7-14, which are supported by professionals focused on guiding them to be their best. These talented youths come from all backgrounds and work long and hard learning choreography, voice, lyrics and stage presence to put on blockbuster performances here and abroad. The Chorale backs up legendary entertainers and serves as chorus in a number of operas, as well as staging its own revues.

To learn more about the Sip & Savor series or to make a reservation, please call 877-857-5680 or visit The Inverness Hotel.

The Inverness Hotel

The Inverness Hotel is a full-service hotel and conference center situated in suburban Denver, Colo. that offers 302 recently renovated guestrooms and suites and a premiere medley of business and leisure amenities. Hotel guests enjoy convenient, on-property access to a new, full-service spa; an 18-hole Preston Maxwell designed golf course, five multi-cuisine restaurants and boutique shops. With 43 individual meeting rooms and a wide array of outdoor event venues encompassing more than 60,000 square-feet, The Inverness Hotel is a preferred property of choice for work, play or both.

Destination Hotels & Resorts

The Inverness Hotel is one of more than 30 independent, upscale hotels, resorts and conference centers managed by Destination Hotels & Resorts, which is consistently rated one of the top 10 independent hospitality management companies in the United States. The company has developed a variety of initiatives to better serve its communities, stakeholders and customers including Destination Earth, an environmental sustainability program, and the Destination Delivers guest loyalty program, which provides the best available offers to members. Destination operates properties in key metropolitan areas and resort markets including Washington, D.C., Denver, San Diego, Santa Fe, Aspen, Palm Springs, Houston and Lake Tahoe. Destination is a subsidiary of Los Angeles-based investment, development and management firm Lowe Enterprises. For more information on the properties in the Destination Hotels & Resorts collection, please visit www.destinationhotels.com or to join Destination Delivers, visit www.destinationdelivers.com.

The Colorado Children’s Chorale

For more than three decades, the award-winning Colorado Children’s Chorale has brought its artistry and charm to audiences in our home state of Colorado, across the nation and around the world. With a diverse repertoire, ranging from fully staged opera and musical theater to choral compositions in classical, folk and popular traditions, the Chorale performs with an innovative stage presence and dynamic theatrical spirit. www.childrenschorale.org.

My husband and I noticed this garden patio area with the fountain and soft lights and I thought it very reminiscent of my visit to Italy, so he knew he just had to bring me back here to see if the food and service was as good as the ambiance we’d seen outside.

It definitely delivered!

We started with The Grilled Artichoke which was sliced in half grilled and served with a lemon-garlic aioli.  YUM!

We also sampled the Tuna Carpaccio… thinly sliced ahi tuna, soy ginger vinigrette, toasted sesame, avocado and mango.  This was just wonderful, fresh, with enticingly complex flavors.

They have several salads available including a Grilled Summer Tomato & Fresh Mozzarella, Mixed Baby Greens, Italian and Tradtional Caesar.  We chose to share the Fig and Spinach Salad. This salad featured a pistachio crusted goat cheese served over prosciutto carpaccio and tossed with a light chianti-honey vinaigrette.  Take a LOOK!

One of my favorite Italian Foods is Pizza.  I tend to like something other than pepperoni, so this pizza below attracted my attention.  It has Roasted Chicken, Boursin cheese, artichoke hearts and of course brushed with extra virgin olive oil.

The Owner, Head Chef and Marketing Director  Maureen stopped by our table to check on us.

Our waitress was just fantastic and knew so much about the menu and the chef’s new world take on old world Italian Classics.

I am allergic to shrimp but she kept talking about this angel hair pasta in a puttanesca sauce… The chef was kind enough to make me a little taste of it being careful to not contaminate my dish with shrimp.  You should always alert your server and the chef if you have any common food allergies but rarely will they go out of their way like this to give you a taste of something you expessed an interest in.

These flavor combination’s in the puttanesca sauce did not disappoint.  A blend of all the classic Italian aromatics.. garlic, basil, parsley, olives, tomatoes… Soooo flavorful it’s hard to explain, and the owner and the server had different takes on the classic story of what  a “puttanesca” sauce is.  I’ll let you read what the Wiki has to say aout Puttanesca Sauce This picture does not do the dish justice at all.

My husband is a more meat and potatoes guy so he ordered the Double Cut Pork Chop which is grilled and served in a ranch style Topping Italian Gigande Beans with roasted chilies and peppers and topped with pickled red onions and a chimichurri sauce.  He enjoyed this huge hunk of pork immensely.

The other options for dinner were a non traditional take on Spaghetti, Baked Penne, Smoked Chicken Raviolis, Lasagna, Linguini with Clam Sauce, Eggplant Rollatini, Chicken Parmagiana, Pan Roasted Scallops, Grilled Florentine Steak, and Veal Piccata.  They also serve burgers and sandwiches and have an entire lunch menu as well.

Now for the most romantic and fun part of the meal… Dessert!

OH MY GOSH! The pastry chef here is simply amazing.  Take a look at these scrumptious things we had to choose from.

Cannolis and Spumoni.. Classic mini cannolis served with a scoop of spumoni ice cream and strawberries pazzo. My date (husband) chose this dessert.. for one thing it’s the biggest and who can go wrong with chocolate, cream and berries… all high on the romance factor and tastes exploding in your mouth.

Vanilla Creme Brulee with Caramelized Lemon Sugar - This didn’t look the prettiest but it was a perfect Brulee, crispy crunchy sugar topping with a killer creamy custard hiding underneath.

Flourless Chocolate Cake – espresso flavored chocolate cake with warm chocolate sauce and roasted banana gelato.

Coconut Panna Cotta with lime syrup, fruit garnish and cookies.

Chocolate Tiramisu – Rum and Kahlua soaked chocolate cake, iced in coffee ganache and layered with mascarpone sabayan. Sienna Restaurant, Castle Rock Colorado.

We also enjoyed 3 glasses of wine each chosen by our server and they were reasonably priced and melded perfectly with our selections.

This was simply a wonderful spot to choose for date night and one we will go back to again and again.  Check it out and lets us know in the comments what you thought.

Check out the website for the Courtyard at Castle Rock Here.