First came the private wine tasting at some trés lûxe suite atop the Hilton (yes Virginia, there still are trés lûxe suites in this old warhorse of a hotel….who knew?):

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…involving some serious juice from a fellow named Dennis De La Montanya (whom you may not of heard of), and rock ‘n roll dude/songwriter/keyboardist Jonathan Cain, from a band named Journey, of whom you just may have.

Turns out, De La Montanya got his good buddy into the wine making biz, and their results are pretty impressive. The pinot noirs are what got ELV’s attention, but Cain’s Finale cab is a keeper too. Expect to start seeing these on lists soon — and expect a mouthful from these estate grown grapes.

From there, it was off to Caesars Palace for the now traditional kick-off Grand Masters Dinners from some of their top chefs. ELV took his usual seat at Restaurant Guy Savoy (alongside some frustrated Borscht Belt comedian named Slapsie Maxie Jacobson) and settled in for the usual French-filled festivities and fulsome fare:

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Besides the lame jokes we endured, it was a hoot and a half to hang with The Daily Blender’s Jennifer Heigl.

Jennifer, we’re looking forward to hangin’ with today and tomorrow at Uncork’d. Slapsie Maxie’s jokes we can do without.

Example:

Did you hear about the bad Jewish restaurant?

The food is terrible…and oy veh…the portions are so small!

Thankfully, we won’t have to suffer through any more comedic and (not to mention gastronomic) indignities over the next two days.