(openPR) - Philadelphia, PA. The Wine School of Philadelphia is excited to welcome Christian Garces to his very first Sommelier Smackdown. Hailing from Philadelphia's Peruvian-Cantonese fusion restaurant, Chifa, Mr. Garces is also the brother of Iron Chef and super restaurateur, Jose Garces.

After a few brief stints with a catering company in his native Chicago, Garces entered the restaurant business full-time in October of 2005 when he moved to Philadelphia, joining his brother as an opening manager at Amada.

His knowledge of Spanish food and wine deepened during his stint at The Iron Chef's flagship outpost, and he brought that skill set to Chifa as beverage manager when it opened in February 2009. Since then, he has worked to develop the restaurant’s beverage program, including cocktails, wine and beer that pair with the unusual Latin-Asian cuisine.

In a unique twist this month, the menu will be designed and executed by the chefs at Chifa, thereby giving the visiting sommelier a bit of an edge. But, we’re sure our Senior Sommelier-Instructor, Frank Cipparone, has a few tricks up his sleeve for the young Sr. Garces.

The Sommelier Smackdown is a critically acclaimed culinary competition that pits two wine professionals in a head-to-head battle of food and wine pairing acumen. These wine-soaked tussles take place on the last Wednesday of each month and are sold out long in advance.

To join us at the Wine School for class or to speak with the Director, Keith Wallace, please contact the Wine School at 1-800-817-7351, ext. 30, or email press@vinology.com.

The Wine School is dedicated to educating wine novices and professionals alike. Their philosophy is simple: the information needed to appreciate wine should be available to everyone, and they accomplish this by providing dynamic, enjoyable learning experiences based on a sensory and an academic understanding of wine.

2006 Fairmount Avenue
Philadelphia, PA 19130