There is wine; there is cheese; there is tequila. But the high point of this week's food-and-drink events is a beer tasting being held at Goodfriend Burger & Beer Garden, part of a very-special series being held at select cities across the country. Time to call your designated driver.

And when in doubt, there's always Santa.

Tuesday, December 11

Wine Hour at Hotel Palomar

The holiday season is a busy time for food banks around the country, so Hotel Palomar Dallas and The Round Table, North Texas Food Bank's young professional organization, are hosting a wine hour from 5 to 7 pm with complementary wine, craft cocktails and small bites by Central 214's Graham Dodds and mixologist Amber West. They're suggesting a minimum donation of $15 at the door for NTFB.

Wednesday, December 12

The People's Last Stand Holiday Cocktail Class

It's tucked away in Mockingbird Station, but The People's Last Stand is making some seriously good cocktails. Lucky for you, they'll be hosting a holiday cocktail class for $55 per person that'll instruct budding mixologists and party throwers on how to make three different cocktails for the holidays. The event, from 7 to 9 pm, will teach you how to make a starter cocktail, a holiday punch bowl and a dessert cocktail. Reservations only, call 214-370-8755 for a spot.

Thursday, December 13

Wild Salsa Presents Partida Tequila Dinner

Wild Salsa has teamed with Partida Tequila for a four-course dinner with tequila pairings. Feast on chili-spiked foie gras lollipops for starters before moving on to seared sea scallops, cochinita pibil and creamy corn tamales, mojito-painted grouper with green crab enchilada and, for dessert, a plantain empanada with coconut ice cream. $50 per person, event begins at 7 pm. RSVP to mchildress@drgconcepts.com.

Friday, December 14

Special Tasting of Stone Vertical Epic Ale

Stone Brewing's Vertical Epic Ale series will go down as one of the most creative moves in the history of craft beer. It began like this: In 2002, the California brewery decided it would release a Belgian-inspired beer every year whenever the day, month and year were the same — 2-2-02, 3-3-03, and so on — culminating on 12-12-12. That day has arrived, and the final 12.12.12 Vertical Epic Ale is out.

To celebrate its release, Stone Brewing has organized a series of limited tastings across the country, including one in Dallas, at Goodfriend Burger & Beer Garden, who will have 11 Vertical Epic Ale vintages on hand. They'll offer it in flights: 3-ounce pours of the vintages from 2003 to 2009, and 5-ounce tastes from 2010 to 2012. Designated driver alert! Beer events don't get much bigger than this.

Saturday, December 15

Murray's Cheese at Kroger Hosts Fondue Nation

I might've missed the fondue craze by a few decades, but cheese of any kind should never go out of style. Murray's Cheese of New York City is hosting a fondue tasting at three area Krogers from 2 to 6 pm with Murray's cheese experts leading instructions on how to prepare the perfect fondue.

There will also be a chance to enter to win a trip to NYC including dinner at Murray's Cheese Bar and a private tour of their cheese cave, which is not something I knew existed, but now need to visit immediately. They'll be at the Krogers at 5665 E. Mockingbird Lane in Dallas and 7505 N. MacArthur Blvd. in Las Colinas.

Dallas Santa Rampage 2012

After you're all full of cheese, put on your Santa outfit and head out for Dallas Santa Rampage 2012, a serious pub crawl of Santas. Have you ever seen a DART train full of drunk Santas? It's glorious.

RSVP on their Facebook page for full details and then follow along on Twitter. Just remember to bring along some cash and comfy shoes as this crawl goes from 3 to 11:30 pm. Any additional jollying is up to you.