New Tasting Room at The Westin St. Francis, Espressamente to Face-Off vs. Starbucks, and More

WINE WIRE - You've probably heard the story of the the 1976 Paris Tasting, the famous blind-tasting wherein a California wine beat out French vintages. The winery that produced that very epic wine, Chateau Montelena, now has a new tasting room in the The Westin St. Francis in Union Square. It's open Wednesday through Saturday from 1 p.m. to 8 p.m. [PR Newswire via GrubStreet]

PLYWOOD - A new cafe called Espressamente is coming to a former Starbucks location at 123 Battery, directly across the street from another Starbucks. [SFBJ]

FOOD TV - Local restaurant owner, head-to-tail promoter, and shoe mogul Chris Cosentino will be the featured guest on this Saturday's episode of Easy Chinese: San Francisco on The Cooking Channel. He'll be showing his versions of chow mein, chopped suey , General Tso's chicken and other classic Chinese take-out dishes. [TCC via 7x7]

COMING ATTRACTIONS - This coming Sunday, Cafe Claude is hosting a benefit for Amy Powers, a manager at Cafe Claude who is recovering from a cancerous tumor. For $10, you get access to bountiful sausage samplings, chef Joey Altman's band, and a live auction including prizes from Gitane, Cafe Claude and Tres. More information is here. [EaterWire]