Grape-Fed Wild Boar to Be <i> Piece de Resistance</i> at Newport Dinner

You’ve heard of grain-fed beef and milk-fed veal. Now you can try grape-fed wild boar. It’s the piece de resistance of Showley Wrightson’s second annual Guenoc Winemaker’s dinner Sunday in Newport Beach. The boar, from the Guenoc Winery estate, literally feeds on the grapes in the vineyards.

Another unique twist to the dinner: a component wine tasting. Grant Showley explained, “Several different grapes are involved in making a Cabernet Sauvignon, and we will taste separately the Merlot, Petit Sirah--all five of the components of Guenoc’s Cabernet,” as well as the finished Cabernet itself.

Grant and Sharon Showley’s menu also includes a salad of broiled salmon and greens with chervil vinaigrette, wild and Basmati rice timbales with porcini mushrooms; $65 per person includes dinner, all wines, tax and gratuities. Reservations: (714) 760-9700.

MORE WINING AND DINING: Now that the beach crowds have departed, The Rex in Newport Beach gets down to serious wine dinners, showcasing Carmenet wines on Oct. 16 and Freemark Abbey vintages on Oct. 23. Reservations: (714) 675-2566.

On Sunday, the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Dana Point will launch a monthlong Oktober Weinfest. In contrast to a folksy “Oktoberfest,” this celebration will explore “the modern, sophisticated new world of German wines, cuisine and fashion.”

With a wide selection of German wines available (many by the glass), the hotel’s chefs will present compatible cuisine throughout the month. And from Oct. 10 to 13, chef Boris Keller from Boris’ Restaurant in Walluf (in the heart of Germany’s Rheingau wine-growing region) will join the hotel’s staff to prepare “signature” menus.

Other fest highlights include visits by German wine makers and fashion shows of German couture. Information: (714) 240-5008.

Mr. Stox in Anaheim opens its wine dinner season with vintages from Saintsbury in the Carneros region, presented by David Graves, Wednesday at 7 p.m. New releases as well as older wines will complement the cuisine of chef Scott Raczek; $65 per person.

(The restaurant will also celebrate Oktoberfest with a participation dinner and cooking class Oct. 25. Learn to make sausage, potato pancakes, apple strudel and more, starting at 6:30 p.m. The tab is $60, gratuity included.) Information: (714) 634-2994.

It’s Aussie night on Oct. 18 at the Bouzy Rouge in Newport Beach. An Australian dinner will accent Tahbilk wines, presented by Australian wine maker Alistair Purbrick. Reservations: (714) 673-3440.

There’s more: The Bouzy’s annual wine sale throughout October offers 75 cases of rare and older wines to connoisseurs. These California and imported wines may be purchased by the case or mixed case.

HERE ‘N’ THERE: New at McCharles House in Tustin is Edwardian High Tea, more substantial fare than the traditional high tea, served from 2 to 5:30 p.m., Monday through Saturday. With its hearty Shepherd’s pie--vegetables with chicken, beef, pasta or pork and a mashed potato topping--it could serve as early supper. At $15.95 per person, it also includes McCharles House scones with cream and raspberry preserves, a pot of Fortnum & Mason tea and your choice of homemade desserts such as bread pudding, apple crisp, chocolate-chocolate cake.

El Torito Grill in Costa Mesa recently began a Wednesday “Salsa Night” at the Top of the Grill, overlooking the Noguchi sculpture garden. From 9 p.m. to 1 a.m., a nine-piece salsa band entertains. There’s no cover charge or increase in drink prices, and you can order from a seven-item appetizer menu.

Two veteran restaurateurs died recently: Opasso (of Balboa Thai, Newport Beach) and Gus Muller (partner with brother Geril in the original Newport Beach Ambrosia). Balboa Thai remains open, with Opasso’s nephew Peter in charge.

OPENINGS: Carmelo Manto of Corona del Mar’s Carmelo’s will offer a new style of dining at his Viva Italia. Opening next week in Laguna Beach on Laguna Canyon Road, the trattoria will present meals under $10. They’ll roast meats and poultry on a jumbo rotisserie, bake breads, focaccias and pizzas in a wood burning oven and prepare over two dozen varieties of pasta in the exhibition kitchen.

Active in the venture with Manto are brothers Vittorio and Ignazio Romeo and Frank Arciero. They’ll open a second Viva Italia in Laguna Niguel at Crown Valley Parkway and Greenfield Drive before the end of the year.

Places Afar recently debuted in Mission Viejo on Muirlands Boulevard at La Paz Road. Partners are Cuban Alex Llorente, his French- Vietnamese wife, Evelyne, his mother-in-law, Lucie Alm (who ran a French restaurant in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.) and Don Hilscher. The cuisine? Cuban, French and Vietnamese, of course--from black beans with rice and meat or pork asada to crevettes Catalan or choucroute to salad with rice noodles, barbecued pork, shrimp.

Two gentlemen from Milan--Tony Bagatta, who owned Capuccino in Laguna Beach, and Andrea Rogantini, opening chef at Tutto Mare--combine talents at the new Il Ristorante Bagatta in Newport Beach. Bagatta has transformed the old Le Saint Tropez with mirrors, mauve carpeting, a center dome. The cuisine focuses on Northern Italian, with antipastos such as carpaccio of salmon or beef with artichoke, smoked Mozarella. The a la carte menu includes risotto with Dungeness crab, fresh spinach and dried tomato; rabbit in a slightly sweetened balsamic vinegar sauce; baby rack of lamb with tarragon, with all desserts made in-house.

CHANGING COURSES: Larry Cano, busy developing his own restaurant operations (Cano’s in Newport Beach, Studio Cafe in Corona del Mar, Salud! in Huntington Beach and Manana in Fountain Valley and Pasadena) has turned the management of six El Torito specialty restaurants back to El Torito Restaurants Inc. They include Las Brisas in Laguna Beach; Chanteclair, Remick’s and Players in Irvine; the El Torito Grills in Newport Beach and Costa Mesa. Mike Casey, president of El Torito Restaurants, termed the change a “mutual decision” and predicts “ . . . a smooth transition.”

Corrado Gianotti, late of Sostanza in Los Angeles (and before that, Italy) is the new chef at Tutto Mare in Newport Beach.

The Maniacci Brothers changed their minds about selling Capriccio in Mission Viejo after they opened Sapori in Newport Beach. Sal Maniacci’s in charge of the Saddleback Valley restaurant at the moment.

ADIOS: John Pohl’s Bistro in the South Coast Plaza area is closed. . . . So, too, is the nearby Ambrosia. . . . Ditto, Gemmell’s in Costa Mesa. Award-winning chef Byron Gemmell is now with the Ritz in Newport Center.

ON THE HOTEL SCENE: The Radisson Plaza in Irvine, known as the Registry Hotel in its earlier incarnation, opens Nov. 1 with two new restaurants, the Orangeflower Bistro and the Promenade Cafe. Gone is Le Chardonnay, converted to a ballroom, with the Orangeflower Bistro (formerly Cafe Chablis) the hotel’s primary restaurant. According to food and beverage director Michael Minassian, it will specialize in a touch of French, French/California, with an Oriental flavor in the plate design. Moderately priced, it will serve breakfast, lunch and a more upscale dinner. The Promenade Cafe, highlighting a deluxe breakfast bar with fresh bakery items, fresh fruits and cereals, will also be open for lunch and dinner.

At the Hyatt Newporter, Tom Dusing promises that the new management won’t touch The Wine Cellar, where Karel Vidlak remains as maitre d’. The Jamboree Cafe has retained the same basic menu, but, Dusing reports, executive chef Ted Gray is departing and a replacement has not been named.

BETTER WATCH OUT: I know, it’s not even Halloween yet. But if you don’t want to to miss watching the Christmas boat parade from the windows of your favorite harbor restaurant, it’s time to make reservations.