Mouthful: Art and fine wines for Valentine’s Day

Mark Your Calendars for Sweet 116: On Valentine’s Day, Saturday, February 14, Taste Route 116 Wine Group hosts a special day of tasting, nibbling and art. We’re telling you now because this event typically sells out in advance.

Here’s the deal. For $40 ($35 for wine club members), you get a special tasting glass, hand painted by a local artist. You then carry that glass from winery to winery, where you’ll enjoy special tastings and sweet nibbles. Many of the artists will be on hand, too.

Thirteen wineries are participating, including Atascadero Creek, Balletto Vineyards, Dutton Estate, Ektimo , Graton Ridge Cellars, Hanna Vineyards, Hook & Ladder, Jigar, Martin Ray, Occidental Road Cellars, Russian River Vineyards, Taft Street and Wine Guerrilla.

Advance tickets may be purchased at any of the wineries during normal business hours and through their websites, which you’ll find at taste116.com.

For more information, call 823-3040.

Designated drivers pay $10 and receive a logo mug.

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Calling all junk-food junkies: On Saturday, January 24, Robert Rue Vineyard and Winery (1406 Wood Rd., Fulton) hosts a very special happy hour from 4 to 8 p.m. Guests are invited to bring their favorite junk food for its Junk Food and Wine Pairing Contest.

Just bring your guilty pleasure and choose the wine you think best flatters it. Twinkies with gewurztraminer? Go for it. Chili cheese fries with zinfandel? Why not? Rice Krispy treats with rosé? Mmm, maybe. You are limited only by your imagination and, perhaps, your good taste.

Admission is free and wines will be sold by the glass and bottle. Bring a jacket, play some night bocce or just sit back, listen to music and cheer on your Doritos or ... whatever.

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Whisky, Robert Burns, Plaid and You: This Sunday, January 25, Jack and Tony’s Restaurant and Whisky Bar (115 Fourth St., Santa Rosa) celebrates Scotland’s Poet Laureate, Robert Burns, with a special Whisky Supper. The event was so popular last year that they’re doing it again this year.

A four-course menu features Single Malt Scotch pairings and, of course, delicious house-made haggis.

The evening’s ceremonial entertainment includes bagpipes, poetry, toasts and a Highland dance performance by members of the Santa Rosa Scottish Dancers.

Cost is $65 per person. Doors open at 6 p.m. and dinner will be served promptly at 7 p.m.

Reservations are required; for yours, call 526-4347 or visit jackandtonys.com.

Plaid is not required but it is definitely encouraged.

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Crab Feed! On Saturday, Boys & Girls Clubs of Central Sonoma County hosts its annual Crab Feed at Brooks Road Club (9640 Brooks Road South, Windsor).

The evening gets started at 5:30 p.m. and includes all-you-can-eat cracked crab, pasta, salad and bread, along with a no-host bar, a DJ, dancing and both live and silent auctions. The event wraps up around 11 p.m.

Cost is $70 per person. To snag yours, visit bgccsc.org and follow the prompts.

All proceeds benefit the programs that serve nearly 6,000 children in Sonoma County.

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Worth Our Weight Reopens: Worth Our Weight Culinary Apprenticeship Program (1021 Hahman Dr., Santa Rosa) reopens Saturday, January 24, at 9 a.m. for brunch, after a well-deserved winter break.

Saturday’s brunch service continues through 2 p.m. Sunday service is from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Sometime soon the line-up for the third annual Third Thursday chef series at WOW will be released so stay tuned. It’s shaping up to be another fabulous year.

For more information about this remarkable program, founded and directed by chef Evelyn Cheatham, visit worthourweight.org.

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Benefit for Mark Malicki: Chef Mark Malicki, who has been cooking at The Casino in Bodega for a few years now, is ill, suffering from advanced Crohn’s Disease. Family, friends and colleagues have teamed up to host a benefit for him on Saturday, January 31.

Brian Anderson of Bistro 29, Josh Silvers of Jackson’s, Ruben Gomez of Feast Catering and Barbara Hom are cooking, with Jenny Malicki doing dessert. Greenstring Farm, Victorian Farmstead, Sonoma County Meat Co. and other local business are providing the food, at no charge.

The evening includes a three-course prix-fixe menu, with vegetarian options for each course.

There will also be a raffle and silent auction. So far, there are donations from Backyard Restaurant, Buddha’s Palm Tattoo Gallery, Bella Rosa Coffee Company, Peter Lowell’s, K & L Bistro, Atascadero Creek Winery, Willow Wood Market, Underwood Bar and Bistro, Jackson’s Bar and Oven, Bistro 29, Worth Our Weight, Glassfusion Studio, Cypress Gallery, Sumbody Spa, Water Street Press, and Jewelry by Jaime Jean, along with several others, including yours truly.

Chef Malicki has a long history cooking in Sonoma County, including Truffles Restaurant in Sebastopol in the 1980s and early 1990s, Iron Horse Vineyards and two incarnations of Saint Rose Cafe.

He also has a long history of donating the proceeds of his work to local nonprofits and individuals in crisis. Now it’s time for the community to rally around him.

Dinner service begins at 5 p.m. and continues until around 9 p.m., but without a fixed end time. The recommended donations is $50 per person. They’ll be able to accept only cash but there is an ATM at The Casino.

The evening is first come first served, no reservations.

The Casino is located at 17000 Bodega Highway, smack in the middle of beautiful downtown Bodega (NOT Bodega Bay).

Monday Aloha at Sweet T’s: On Monday, January 26, Da Puna Bruddahs play from 5 to 8 p.m. The evening will be, in part, a welcome home fete for bruddah Bill Rhyne, who has just returned from Vietnam, where he did a two-month stint teaching, singing and eating. Welcome Home, Bill!

As always, arrive early if you want a seat, as the group has a growing legion of fans for its breezy aloha sound. If you want dinner, it is a good idea to make reservations.

Bruddah George Ah Chin is now pit master at Sweet T’s and if you haven’t savored his smoky specialties, Ms. Mouthful urges you to give ‘em a try. He’s the real deal.

Sweet T’s Restaurant and Bar is located at 2097 Stagecoach Rd. in north Santa Rosa. For reservations, call 595-3935 or visit sweettssr.com.

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Goodbye, GTO’s: New Year’s Eve was the final official night of business for GTO’s Seafood House (234 S. Main St.), the downtown Sebastopol restaurant, but the bar has been opened now and then this month.

Based on a change in ownership form posted in the window, Ginger Thai, Inc. will be taking over the space soon. If it is good and we so hope it will be, it will be a wonderful thing for Sebastopol, which needs a great Thai restaurant.

Speaking of Southeast Asian cuisine, if you’re in west county and get a hankering for pho, K & L Bistro (119 S. Main St.) will be featuring it on their weekend brunch menu for the next several weeks. Options include pork belly, poached eggs and more.

Michele Anna Jordan has written 18 books to date, including “Vinaigrettes and Other Dressings.” Email Jordan at michele@saladdresser.com. You’ll find her blog, “Eat This Now,” at pantry.blogs.pressdemocrat.com.