Allegro's Chef series takes a break

From Allegro's Carl Helrich on the reason the ultrapopular Chef series, where dinner was prepared by a local chef and paired up with wines, was dropped from the schedule this year:

"We dropped the Chef series initially because of space constraints [too much wine taking up space where the chefs used to work] and the fact that my wife would be gone the month we usually have them [July]. This is only the second year out of the last 18 or so that we haven't done it. The demand for the series has always been great, sometimes bordering on crazy. Where else can you get amazing food cooked by the best local chefs and four large glasses of wine to match for $45 [tax and gratuity included]? Hanging out on our deck from 6-11 PM with friends was a way to bring a little bit of Europe to Brogue.

"Dropping the series has allowed me to free my mind a but and focus more on the growth in quality and quantity of our winery. We'll have to see if we bring it back next year."