A Taste of Portugal: The first 25 people who call can sign up for a free demonstration/sampling of Portuguese cuisine, 10 to 11 a.m. Saturday, Kalihi-Palama Public Library. Millicent Borges and Diane Leong of Hawaii Council on Portuguese Heritage host the event. Call 832-3466.

Vintage unveiling: Chef/co-owner David Paul Johnson introduces his house wine, David Paul's "Private Cuvee" Chardonnay 1995, at a lavish reception and five-course winemaker dinner, 6 p.m. tomorrow, David Paul's Lahaina Grill; $75. Call 667-5117 on Maui. DeLoach wineries created the house wine, to be served with British Columbia salmon cake scented with ginger and shiso.

Roy's protege: St. Louis graduate Chris Garnier, sous chef at Roy's Restaurant, holds a cooking demonstration/tasting, 9:30 to 11:45 a.m. Saturday, Lyon Arboretum; $22. Call 988-7378.

Euro-Island Cuisine: 3660 on the Rise chef/restaurateur Russell Siu prepares cioppino and chocolate Kahlua bavarois, among other dishes, at a demonstration/tasting, 10 a.m. to noon Saturday, JMD Educational Center in Halawa valley; $38. Register and pay be credit card at 956-8581.

Suds to da max: "Da Kine Brew Grinds" recipe contest and sampling of more than 30 microbrewed beers highlight the second annual Kona Brew Fest, 2 to 7 p.m. Saturday, Big Island's King Kamehameha Beach Hotel lu'au grounds. Admission is $30 for 10 beer tasting scrips, with proceeds benefiting Recycle Hawaii. Call 936-9005 on the Big Isle.

Also, there are only four kegs at a special offering of DoubleBlack Stout from Redhook Ale Brewery, 6:30 p.m. March 19, Sunset Grill in Restaurant Row. Call 521-4409.

Dim sum enchanted evening: Indigo chef/restaurateur Glen Chu speaks on "The History of Dim Sum" at a sampler dinner featuring dim sum, an entree and dessert, 5 to 8:30 p.m. Saturday, Indigo Restaurant; $37.50. Call 988-7378.

Dungeness deal: "Sam Choy's Kitchen" features oven-roasted dungeness crab with garlic butter, and South Pacific coconut rice with sauteed pork loin, televised 5 p.m. Saturday, KHNL Channel 8. Call 847-9338. Recipes are available on the Sam Choy Restaurants web site wwwplaces.com/samchoy

For your own sake: Papaya with crab hash headlines a six-course sake tasting dinner featuring world champion Dai Ginjo sake and other Momokawa premium sakes, 6 p.m. Monday, Hakone Restaurant in Waikiki's Hawaii Prince Hotel; $55. Call 944-4494. Also, sakes are featured with five-course tasting dinners at 7 p.m. Saturday, Big Island's Hapuna Beach Prince Hotel, $65 (call 880-1111, Ext. 3592, on Big Isle); and 6 p.m. Sunday, Maui Prince Hotel, $55 (call 875-5888 on Maui).

Toast the millenium: A very rare bottle of 1952 La Tache Domaine de la Romanee Conti headlines an auction/tasting, noon Sunday, Hilton Hawaiian Village's South Pacific Ballroom; $35, with proceeds benefiting Hawaii Public Radio. Call 955-8821. The 11th annual HPR Wine Classic Auction & Tasting features a noon "Wine Trends of the New Millenium" seminar with five panelists, including Dennis Foley, rare wine consultant for Christie's of New York; live auction at 3 p.m.; and more than 70 tasting wines served throughout the day.

All-star chefs: Susanna Foo, owner of Susanna Foo Chinese Cuisine restaurant in Philadelphia, and Jaime D'Oliveira, executive chef of the Capital Grille of Providence, Boston and Washington, D.C., demonstrate garlic cookery on the "New American Cuisine" series produced by Melanie Kosaka of Hawaii, televised 3 p.m. Sunday, KHET Channel 10. Call 973-1190.

St. Pat's brew: A specially created Hawaiian Irish black and tan beer accompanies St. Patrick's Day specialties, from 5:30 p.m. Monday, A Pacific Cafe.

Also, A Pacific Cafe serves a three-course prix-fixe lunch menu, 11:30 to 2 p.m. weekdays in March; $12.95. Call 593-0035 to reserve or to order a monthly calendar/recipe card.

Flavored oils, vinegars: Chef Michael Chiarello of Napa Valley's Tra Vigne prepares roasted beet salad with a citrus tarragon dressing, and Maggie Nevin presents Molokai Maggie's flavored vinegars on "Hawaii Cooks with Roy Yamaguchi," televised 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, KHET Channel 10. Call 973-1190.

In praise of pasta: Speaking of Chiarello, he's a contributing chef to the "Pasta Press," a 28-page quarterly. The spring 1997 issue features isle cookbook author Shirley Rizzuto's Szechuan shrimp recipe. The publication is touted as "The Newsletter for Connoisseurs of Fine Pasta ... With a healthy twist! All recipes are under 20 percent of calories from fat!"

Co-editor Chris Gluck said in a phone interview, "My wife and I both lost 20 pounds each when we switched to diet using lots of pasta. We still haven't gained an ounce and, you know what, we eat like pigs. My wife and I will eat a pound of pasta between us. Our diet is high in complex carbohydrates and low in fat, the way I prepare pasta. My cholesterol is 149 and hers is 141."

The issue is available soon for $2.95 at Borders, and Barnes & Noble. Subscription rates are $8.95 one year, $15.95 two years, $21.95 three years. Send checks made to: Pasta Press, P.O. Box 3070, San Diego, Calif. 92163. Call (619) 295-3939.