MAY 23

Sure, wines from Italy, France, and Australia hog most of the headlines, but New England has its share of vino. On May 23, at 6 p.m., stop by Azure (Lenox Hotel, 61 Exeter Street, Boston) for a New England spring wine dinner featuring wines from the local Westport Rivers Winery, along with a four-course menu prepared by chef Robert Fathman. The cost is $50; call (617) 933-4800 for reservations and information.

MAY 24

Whether you’re a foodie or a bookworm, you’ll want to pay a visit to Union Bar & Grille (1357 Washington Street, Boston) on May 24, from noon to 3 p.m. That’s when the restaurant hosts a "Women Chefs and Restaurateurs" event featuring Ann Cooper, author of the upcoming In Mother’s Kitchen: Celebrated Women Chefs Share Beloved Family Recipes. Along with a book signing, there’ll be a prix fixe lunch with dishes from the collection. The cost is $55 for WCR members and students, and $65 for non-members; to register, call (877) 927-7787, or visit www.womenchefs.org.

What better place to pay homage to the olive than at that old favorite, Olives (10 City Square, Charlestown)? The restaurant does just that on May 24, from 6 to 8 p.m., when it hosts the first in a monthly dinner series focusing on a particular ingredient. First up: the olive. The five-course menu, paired with wines, will include fried olives, dumplings of olive and goat cheese, and green-olive-crusted rib-eye of beef. The cost is $65; call (617) 242-1999 for reservations and information.

MAY 26

Wine dinners are ubiquitous; even beer dinners have been gaining in popularity. But sake dinners are few and far between. So head to Kawa (1280 Beacon Street, Brookline) on May 26, from 5:30 to 10:30 p.m., for the first in a sake dinner series, to be held on the last Thursday of every month. For the inaugural event, the menu will include smoked-duck salad, steamed oysters wrapped with smoked Atlantic salmon, and grilled lobster tail — all paired, of course, with sake. The cost is $85; call (617) 383-6578 for reservations and information.