MEDITERRANEAN FOOD AND WINE EVENT NOT TO BE MISSED.

Noted cookbook author Diane Kochilas teams with Pylos Restaurant and Vina Mediterranean Wines for cookbook signing and food and wine pairing in Manhatten.

Diane Kochilas, one of the world's foremost authorities on Greek cuisine will be conducting a tasting of dishes from her new cookbook, Meze, at New York's Pylos Restaurant on Monday, June 23rd at 7:00 pm. Diane will be signing copies of her book and speaking about the origins and cultural importance of mezedes in eastern Mediterranean culture.

The dishes served at the event will be paired with wines provided by Vina Mediterranean Imports, a leading importer of quality Greek wines in America.

Pylos Restaurant is located at 128 East 7th Street in Manhatten.

Diane Kochilas is an American of Greek descent, a born-and-bred New Yorker, but she has lived in Greece since the early 1990s. Her weekly columns on both food and restaurants appear in that country's largest daily newspaper, Ta Nea. She writes frequently for American newspapers and magazines, including: the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, Saveur, and Gourmet. She has written three other books on Greek cuisine: The Food and Wine of Greece (St. Martin's Press, 1990) The Greek Vegetarian (St. Martin's Press, 1996) The Glorious Foods of Greece (William Morrow, 2001).

Vina Mediterranean, located in Maryland, was begun three years ago by owner Sotiris Bafitis in order to expose American wine lovers to a new generation of quality wine producers from Greece. The producers who make up the company's portfolio are frequent recipients of articles and high marks from leading wine publications such as Decanter, the Wine Advocate and Wine and Spirits magazine.

For more information about this event call Pylos at 212-473-0220, or Vina Mediterranean at 301-599-8380.