For the second time event (first time on this coast), SherryFest is coming to Portland to share and educate consumers and industry professionals on its namesake fortified wine. Created by Peter Liem, co-author of Sherry, Manzanilla & Montilla, and Rosemary Gray, director of RS Productions NYC, most of the Sherry fun will be taking place at Bar Vivant with a few offsite dinners and book signings. Check out a dinner paired with sherries selected by Liem himslef at Smallwares on March 13 for an educational meal ($75, call Smallwares for reservations), with another dinner on the 15th featuring Jason Barwikowski of the Woodsman Tavern that promises 11 sherries from the houses of Fernando de Castilla and Valdespino ($125, call the Woodsman Tavern for reservations). [Full disclosure: Clare is employed by Ava Gene's bakery whose boss also owns The Woodsman. Thanks Martin!]

A special Sherry glass-pour menu will be featured at Bar Vivant all week—remember how rad we think this place is?—and a schedule of seminars and other relevant events (like a flamenco dance party) can be found on their website here. And expect to see the stuff in cocktails all over town in the very near future—with Spanish reps swarming the city for the week, you can bet more than a few free bottles will be handed out to your favorite bartenders. We'll see how the trend shakes out!

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  • sherryfest.com
Bar Vivant is located at 2225 E Burnside. Other locations vary.