A dozen restaurants and 15 wineries are...

A dozen restaurants and 15 wineries are expected to turn out for Vintage Experience 1995, a wine and gourmet food tasting Saturday at Keeline-Wilcox Nursery in Oxnard.

The event is sponsored by the Ventura County Home Care Assn. as a benefit for Food Share, which distributes food to those in need throughout Ventura County.

O’Grady’s Kansas City BBQ, The Greek at the Harbor, Yasmeen’s Indian Cuisine, Giovanni Tromba’s Pastabilities restaurants and The Chart House are among the establishments participating. Look for beverage samplings from Firestone Vineyard, Santa Ynez Winery, Daume Winery in Camarillo and Shields Brewing Co. in Ventura.

Organizers are hoping to raise about $10,000 to help Food Share expand its warehouse. Food Share handles about 9 million pounds of food annually, serving about 127,000 people a month.

The festival runs from 1 to 4 p.m. Admission is $20. Keeline-Wilcox Nursery is at 6135 N. Rose Ave.

*

On May 22, Le Rendez-Vous Restaurant in Newbury Park hosts the first of what owner Francois Zanni Jr. expects to be a regular series of wine dinners. Deadline for reservations is Wednesday.

The five-course meal will open with jumbo shrimp with honey mustard and tossed green salad with walnut dressing. Next will be fresh filet of petrale sole followed by an entree of filet mignon. For dessert, it’s cheesecake with fresh strawberries.

Each dish will be paired with a wine from Montinore Vineyards of Forest Grove, Ore. Meal cost is $45. Call 498-1019 to save a seat. Le Rendez-Vous is at 1282 Newbury Road.

*

Buzz Cuccia, head of the theater group at the Ojai Art Center, opened his Bryant Street Gym in Ojai last week. He expects to have a juice bar up and running by next week.

Cuccia said he plans to offer a light lunch menu at the juice bar. Expect to find bagels with avocado, turkey sandwiches and veggie burgers. He will also have muffins, vegetable platters, cappuccinos, espressos, wheat-grass juice, carrot juice and power shakes.

The bar is open 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Friday and 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday. The gym is at 4088 Bryant Circle.