The Pittsburgh Wine Festival, now in its sixth year, provides attendees with an extraordinary opportunity to taste and learn about different varietals, producers, techniques and regions. As a standalone event, it is impressive and effective.

But the key to its success is more than just the sheer number of vineyards, vintners and distributors that participate. It is the overwhelming support the festival has received from the community that has made it such an unqualified success, and in recent years local restaurants have stepped into their natural roles as additional assets to the community and to the festival.

Last year only six restaurants held wine dinners in conjunction with the festival. This year, 18 restaurants are participating; some old, some new, some only blocks from Heinz Field, others as far away as Greensburg. These restaurants are holding dinners and luncheons to celebrate the synergy between great food and great wine.

The festival is a great opportunity for restaurateurs, chefs and other restaurant professionals, whose early access to the festival gives them an opportunity to interact with wine makers and explore new wines to offer diners.

Some of the restaurants involved hold wine dinners throughout the year, and these have led the way in their involvement with the festival. The Carlton, as owner Kevin Joyce recalls, began holding wine dinners about 18 years ago and at one point was holding as many as three a month. This is the third year that the Carlton dinner, at 6:30 p.m. Saturday, will be the kick-off for the festival.

This year, Mr. Joyce is excited to "feature some wines that you typically wouldn't find at a wine dinner," such as the 2006 Conundrum and the 2005 Caymus "Special Select" Cabernet Sauvignon. The five-course dinner is priced at $169 per person. As of Tuesday the dinner's 200 spaces were full, and Mr. Joyce is confident it will "raise a lot of money" for the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute through the auction and direct donations.

The dinner Tuesday at the Pines Tavern, another restaurant known for its wine list, is also a celebration of the restaurant's 30th anniversary. The six-course dinner, priced at $139 per person, will include several wine flights, a wonderful way to allow diners to explore pairings. For example, "house-made goat cheese rosemary raviolis in a sun-dried tomato and black pepper pasta with braised Elysian Fields lamb, toasted pine nuts, wilted arugula and a natural pan sauce" will be paired with a 2005 Lolonis Estate Zinfandel, a 2004 Eberle Steinbeck Vineyard Syrah, and a 2006 Cline Small Berry Mourvedre.

While wine dinners are offered throughout the year, a look through the participating restaurants' menus suggests that restaurants are pulling out all the stops to put together dinners for the festival, feeding off of the excitement it generates.

Since many vintners are in Pittsburgh for the festival, it also is a great opportunity for restaurants to partner with specific vineyards, designing menus around their offerings. Passport Cafe in Pine is featuring the wines of L'Ecole N degrees 41, a vineyard in Washington's Walla Walla Valley. Bistro 19 in Mt. Lebanon is working with St. Supery, a winery in Napa Valley.

Other dinners are focused around particular regions, such as at Mio Kitchen and Wine Bar, where Chef Matthew Porco's menu will be paired with a variety of wines from the southern Rhone region.

The menu features southern French specialties such as bouillabaisse and roasted leg of lamb, a wonderful example of the classic wine pairing technique -- traditional ingredients and preparations from a particular region always pair well with wines from that region.

Many dinners will be attended by representatives of the winery or wine distributors, who will speak about the wines.

Lidia's Pittsburgh staff, headed by Executive Chef Eric Wallace, have been hard at work preparing for the arrival of Lidia Bastianich herself, who has been a tireless promoter of the festival.

Lidia's will offer a special three-course lunch menu for the entire week of the festival, Monday through May 9. Lidia Bastianich will be in attendance next Thursday.

The Pittsburgh Wine Festival raises money for the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute through auctions, private dinners and donations. Last year private home dinners and auctions raised $1.2 million.

Not every wine dinner next week is directly connected with the festival. Walnut Grove in Pine was already holding a wine dinner with Joe Barsotti from Winebow (a wine importer) to raise money for the Learning and Mentoring Partnership (LAMP).

Restaurant owner Kirk Vogel realized that the date coincided with the wine festival, but hopes that there will be enough enthusiasm to fill tables around the city. The four-course dinner at Walnut Grove costs $80 per person, $15 of which will be donated to LAMP.

Festival events being held around the city provide diverse options for those wishing to learn more about the interaction between food and wine, whether they are supplementing their experiences at the festival or simply getting a small taste of the opportunities this week offers.

Though serious wine aficionados may enjoy quibbling about the hardships of Pennsylvania liquor laws, at least next week, there's nowhere else that they would rather be than here.

For more information, visit www.pittsburghwinefestival.com.

---

MONDAY THROUGH MAY 9

Lidia's Pittsburgh, Strip Disctrict, 11:30 p.m.-2 p.m., $35 per person, 412-552-0150

SATURDAY

The Carlton, Downtown, 6:30 p.m., $169 per person, 412-391-4099 (full)

Palomino, Downtown, featured wine pairings, 412-642-7711

SUNDAY

Morton's, Downtown, 6:30 p.m., $100 per person (inclusive of tax and gratiuty), 412-261-7141

Capital Grille, Downtown, 6 p.m., $125 per person, limited to 25 guests, 412-338-9100

Sewickley Cafe, Sewickley, 6 p.m., $500 per person (inclusive of tax and gratuity), proceeds going to the Hillman Cancer Center, dinner on terrace, limited to 30 guests, 412-749-0300

MONDAY

Mio Kitchen and Wine Bar, Aspinwall, 6:30 p.m., $100 per person, 412-781-3141 (full)

Nine on Nine, Downtown, 6:30 p.m., $140 per person, 412-338-6463

Tuscan Inn, Allison Park, 7 p.m., $85 per person, 412-486-7696

TUESDAY

McCormick & Schmick's, Downtown, 6 p.m., $125 per person (inclusive of tax and gratuity), 412-201-1156

Common Plea, Downtown, 6 p.m., $99 per person, 412-697-3100

Pines Tavern, Pine, 6:30 p.m., $139 per person, 724-625-3252

Six Penn, Downtown, 6:30 p.m., $100 per person (inclusive of tax and gratuity), 412-566-7366

WEDNESDAY

Sonoma Grille, Downtown, open seating, $125 per person, 412-697-1336

Tusca, South Side, 7 p.m., $75 per person, 412-488-9000

Passport Cafe, Pine, 7 p.m., $85 per person, 724-934-3663

Bistro 19, Mt. Lebanon, 6:30 p.m., $80 per person, 412-306-1919

Spitfire Grille, Greensburg, 6:30 p.m., $70 per person, 724-850-4676

Stone Mansion, Sewickley, 6:30 p.m., $110 per person (inclusive of tax and gratuity), 724-934-3000