As season winds down, it's time for locals to lift a glass about town

Easter arrives early this year, spelling an early end to the tourist season. With lots of wine events still taking place, it's an ideal time for locals to venture out to explore. To that end, here's a sampling of upcoming wine-related events around town:

• Chef's outing with Scott Sopher, executive chef of Cin Cin Mediterranean Bar & Grille: Sopher brings his sophisticated cuisine to 55° Cool Wine and Cheese at 4 p.m. Sunday, March 16. "It will be tapas style, light foods with big flavors," he says. "We'll be doing boutique wines because we want wines that are limited in quantity to differentiate from the larger wineries. We want to get people thinking about what they are eating instead of just 'bring on the wine'." Cost: $40 per person. 55° is at Gulf Coast Town Center. Call 461-0155 for reservations.

• Awesome Australian shiraz tasting: Austin's Wine Cellar hosts a tasting of premium shiraz from Down Under from 7 to 9 p.m. Tuesday, March 18. Owner and oenophile Frank Pulice says he's working on a lineup that may include Mollydooker wines such as The Boxer and Enchanted Path, as well as Two Hands' Bella's Garden, and possibly Marquis #9. Cost: $50. Reservations required. Austin's is at 12377 S. Cleveland Ave., Fort Myers. Call 275-7200.

COURTESY BOUCHARD FINDLAYSON Galpin Peak Pinot Noir label • Catalonian wine dinner: Kristina San Filippo, the new executive chef at the Robb & Stucky KitchenAid Culinary Center, teams up with Pulice for this fivecourse dinner at 7 p.m. Friday, March 28. Pulice will select wines from this prime Spanish region and San Filippo will create dishes to complement them. Cost: $85. The center is at 26501 S. Tamiami Trail, Bonita Springs. Call 390-2222 for reservations.

• Wine Down featuring Scholium Project wines from Abe Schoener: 55° holds its last-Friday-of-themonth event from 6 to 8 p.m. March 28 with the intriguing wines of philosophy-professor turned-winemaker Abe Schoener. Sample these small-production, high-quality wines crafted from single vineyards in California and Europe. Osmin Rodriquez of 55° says, "Schoener tries to make the wines as unobtrusively as possible. He uses natural vineyard yeasts and a hands-off winemaking style to allow the fruit and juice to work as naturally as possible. The sauvignon blanc is made in a style that is less crisp but with more fruit to make it rounded and supple. The verdelho, in contrast, is crisp, with good acidity and no wood on the finish. They don't own any vineyards, but they go out and find gems growing in different areas, like the Sacramento foothills and southern France, near the Spanish border." Cost: $20. Call 461-0155 for reservations.

COURTESY POST HOUSE ESTATE WINES Post House Merlot label • Cru's four-year anniversary: The celebration starts at 5:30 p.m. on Saturday, March 29 with the trendy restaurant's signature fare and always interesting wines from Meeker Vineyards, along with more liquid refreshment from Ketel One and

Remy Martin, hand-rolled cigars from the Reserve Cigar and Wine bar and live music. Cru is at Bell Tower Shops, U.S. 41 and Daniels Parkway, Fort Myers. Call 466-3663 for reservations.

• South African wine dinner: Bistro 41 will host a dinner at 7 p.m. Sunday, April 27, that will be attended by two South African winemakers whose wines will be featured along with indigenous cuisine. Bouchard Finlayson Winery produces chardonnay, sauvignon blanc, pinot noir and Hannibal, a Franco-Italian blend. Owner-winemaker Peter Finlayson likens his flagship wine Galpin Peak Pinot Noir to opera. "When it is great it is pure seduction, almost hedonistic," he says. "There is no middle road." Nick and Tracy Gebers from Posthouse Wine Estate make cabernet, chenin blanc, merlot and pennyblack, a meritage wine blended with cabernet, merlot, shiraz and petite verdot. Gebers makes his reds with natural vineyard yeasts and ages them in 59-gallon barrels for up to 20 months, producing full-bodied, rich and supple wines. Cost: $75. Bistro 41 is at Bell Tower Shops, U.S. 41 and Daniels Parkway, Fort Myers. Call 466-4141 for reservations.

And, as it has in previous years, Bistro 41 will hold wine parties on the third Thursday of each month through the summer. Cost: $25.

Wine picks of the week

Here are three great wines I sampled at Bacchus (aka Toro) at Bell Tower last week:

>>Alvear Pedro Ximenez Solera 1927: Mahogany in color, with a big nose of nectar and raisins, not too sweet and with a silky smooth texture. It's a fine dessert on its own, or enjoy with chocolate or cheese - or both. About $25.

>>Seghesio Zinfandel Sonoma County 2005: Big berry flavors, black cherry, a little spice. This pairs nicely with complex flavors. It was great with duck and cassoulet. About $20.

>>Bodegas Ateca Garnacha de Fuego 2006: Made from Grenache, the most widely planted grape in the world, this old-vine wine is supple and easy to drink with jammy raspberry and plum flavors. About $15.