Some wine dinners pour a different bottle with every course. The one coming to L'Étoile in Oyster Bay on Wednesday, October 21 does something more interesting: it pours two at a time. The Lokoya-Cardinale Wine Dinner sets Napa Valley Cabernets side by side at the table, so the evening becomes a quiet lesson in how much a vintage, or a single mountain, changes what ends up in the glass.

Two Napa names, one evening on South Street

Lokoya builds its reputation on mountain-grown Cabernet Sauvignon, bottled by place: Mount Veeder, Spring Mountain District, Howell Mountain and Diamond Mountain District. Cardinale makes Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon of its own. Bringing both to one table gives guests a rare chance to taste across a whole style of California winemaking in a single sitting, without leaving the North Shore.

The setting suits it. L'Étoile occupies the historic Snouder's Building on South Street, a restored room that runs on classic French cooking under executive chef Bryan Dedcovich. Guests are seated at 6:30 PM.

The menu, course by course

First course. Seared diver scallops with cauliflower puree, brown butter, lemon, hazelnut and caviar, poured with La Jota Vineyard Chardonnay. A rich, bright opening, and the only white of the night.

Second course. Wagyu tartare with smoked egg yolk, black garlic, crispy potato and a cabernet cherry glaze. Here the side-by-side begins: the 2017 Cardinale Cabernet Sauvignon next to the 2022. Five years apart, the same wine, and a clear look at what time in the bottle does.

Entrée. Dry-aged ribeye with foie gras butter and sweet potato velouté, alongside two 2022 Lokoya Cabernets from two different mountains. Same vintage, same grape, different hillsides. If the second course is about time, this one is about place.

Dessert. Artisan cheese with a 2010 Lokoya Howell Mountain, a sixteen-year-old mountain Cabernet to close the night.

Why the side-by-side format works

Tasting two wines at once is how winemakers themselves learn. Sip one, then the other, then go back. Differences that would vanish across a whole evening become obvious in a single bite of ribeye. For anyone who has always wondered what "mountain fruit" or "a few years of age" actually taste like, this is the most direct way to find out, and the kitchen has built each course to stand up to wines with real structure.

How to book

The Lokoya-Cardinale Wine Dinner runs one night only, Wednesday, October 21, with seating at 6:30 PM. Reservations are for parties of one to six and are made through L'Étoile's OpenTable page. Seats at an evening like this tend to go quickly, so booking ahead is the safe move. Full details are on L'Étoile's events page.

L'Étoile is at 108 South Street, Oyster Bay. Questions can go to the restaurant at (516) 730-8088. As with any special event, confirm details directly with the restaurant before you go.