A benefit event will pair food with wines, including the proverbial new kids on the Grand Valley viticultural block.

The Edesia culinary, wine and spirits adventure dinner is set for 6 p.m. July 16 at the Wine Country Inn, 777 Grande River Drive in Palisade. Tickets sell for $140 each and are available online at www.EdesiaPalisade.com. 

Sponsored by FCI Constructors and Alpine Bank, the dinner is part of an annual fund-raiser named after the Roman goddess of food. The fund-raiser included an expo in April and also will include a concert in August at Grande River Vineyards in Palisade. Proceeds will benefit MarillacHealth, which provides medical care for uninsured and underinsured patients in Mesa County. 

Chad Griffith, executive chef at the Wine Country Inn, has designed a menu to pair with wines from Centennial Cellars,  Grande River Vineyards, Ordinary Fellow, Sauvage Spectrum and Vines 79.

“We’re excited about this rare opportunity to sample wines from these particular winemakers, so we decided to open up a couple more tables for our food and wine lovers,” said Ian Kelley, general manager of the Wine Country Inn. “We expect the limited number of places to sell out pretty quickly.”

The dinner offers an opportunity to showcase the changing Grand Valley wine industry, Kelley said. Even as new wineries have opened, the ownership of other wineries has changed. Established wineries continued to introduce new wines.

“This is an exciting time to be in the Grand Valley. Our wines just get better and better, and so does the food,” Kelley said.. “The same terroir that produces great wines enriches our local crops and creates an unparalleled field to fork cuisine here. This is going to be a fun time.”