Dine with wine

• Zebra creates a Barolo vs. Brunello challenge Oct. 18 with a five-wine, five-course dinner for $85. Among the selections: plank-roasted salmon with 2007 Giacomo Grimaldi Barolo “Le Coste,” and venison loin with mustard and preserved figs with 2006 Donatella Cinelli Colombini Brunello di Montalcino “Prime Donne.” 4521 Sharon Road; 704-442-9525.

• “The Feast of the Hunter’s Moon Antebellum Dinner” is the poetic name for an interesting dinner: Historic Rosedale aims to evoke the 19th century on Oct. 22 with a five-course dinner from area chefs, coordinated by chef Geoffrey Blount. First, you’ll have wine and canapés served on the lawn, by the 200-year-old boxwood; then you’ll repair to the house, built in 1815, for a candlelit, china-and-crystal-decked supper with wine pairings. (And yes, I’m told there will be some donning of period costumes, but not by everyone.) $150; 3427 N. Tryon St.; 704-335-0325; www.historicrosedale.org.

• Herons, the restaurant at Cary’s Umstead Hotel and Spa, is one of 10 destinations chosen for the 2012 Fête du Bordeaux, which will give diners a preview of the 2010 vintage – and it appears to be a good one. It’s the first time a restaurant in North Carolina has been included. (Other destinations this year include Spago in Los Angeles, the Four Seasons in New York and One Market in San Francisco.) Representatives from three top Médoc chậteaux will be on hand for the Oct. 25 dinner to guide the previews, and will present other wines as well, including the 2011 Blanc de Lynch Bages. Among the courses: guinea hen with foie gras pudding and pine barley risotto; venison loin with quinoa and smoked dates; and apple tart tatin. $185; 919-447-4000; 100 Woodland Pond Drive, Cary.

Eden eats in Charlotte

The Cooking Channel’s “Eden Eats” puts host Eden Grinshpan in a different city each week, with 24 hours to pack in ethnic eating experiences. Friday’s show has her in Charlotte, learning to make Taiwanese pickle sandwiches and bubble tea at Grand Asia Market; a mackerel dish at Caribbean Hut; the Serbian bread samoon at Nova’s; Venezuelan arepas at the Antojitos mi Colombia bakery; Korean rice cakes at PePeRo; and chaat (including dabeli) at Bollywood Bites.

Top chefs in New York

Top Chef Kitchen opens Oct. 16 and serves dinner through Nov. 18 in New York’s Tribeca, Bravo has announced. Look for “chef’testants” (that’s apparently the preferred spelling) Richard Blais, Jennifer Carroll, Tiffany Derry, Tiffani Faison, Mike Isabella, Edward Lee, Antonia Lofaso, Paul Qui, Grayson Schmitz and Fabio Viviani to rotate as executive chefs. Here’s how it works: Two chefs’ menus are offered simultaneously in Tuesday-Sunday timeframes, and you can mix and match or go with just one’s lineup. The four-course dinner goes for $95 ($125 with wine pairings), or you can order an eight-course tasting menu with wines. Oct. 16-21, it’s Mike Isabella and Edward Lee, with dishes such as butternut squash gnocchi with pork belly; olive-oil-poached smoked lamb saddle with sunchoke and preserved lemon; seafood sausage and brown butter oysters with pearl barley; and tamarind pork breast with collards and kimchi. (Extra points if you can guess which dish goes with which guy. Without looking.) 211 W. Broadway, New York City. Reservations: www.topchefkitchennyc.com.