Bite and Blend Argentine wine dinner … Baton Rouge Uncorked returns for 2013

Bite into the new year: On Jan. 29, 225 food blogger and radio host Jay Ducote will host his first pop-up restaurant event of the new year, at Blend on Laurel Street downtown. The meal will feature an Argentinean theme, with wines and cuisine from that region. Dishes will include lamb carpaccio, beef short ribs and spiced flan, among others. Grab a sneak-peek of the menu and make your reservations by clicking here.

Uncork experience: Baton Rouge Uncorked is bringing back its seasonal wine tasting competition Thursday, Jan. 31, at L’Auberge Casino and Hotel from 6 p.m.-9 p.m. The featured wine will be Cabernet Sauvignon. Attendees form teams up to three members and participate in the wine tasting competition. Each team will bring three identical bottles of Cabernet Sauvignon, two of which will be bagged, tagged and offered to attendees for a blind tasting and scoring. The third bottle will go into the “pot,” which will be awarded to the winning team based on the tasting score—so it behooves you to bring the best wine you can. Proceeds from the event will benefit local non-profits Forum 35 and Inherit Baton Rouge. For more information, visit batonrougeuncorked.com.