By Peter Covino

Entertainment Editor

If the cost of an Epcot ticket (for the food and wine festival) is a bit out of the budget this month — wine lovers can take heart.

The Olive Garden at 5021 West U.S. Highway 192, Kissimmee, is celebrating its new remodel with free wine tastings Oct. 12-13.

It is the second week the restaurant has served up wine and cheese, olives and some of their mini-desserts.

The restaurant recently completed its Tuscan farmhouse-inspired redesign, Heidi Schauer, media and communication manager for Oliver Garden said. The Kissimmee restaurant is just one of more than 400 restaurants in the popular restaurant chain that will undergo an interior design refresh, inspired by the farmhouses in Tuscany, Italy. The redesigns should be completed chain-wide by 2013. There are more than 700 Olive Garden restaurants.

All of the new Olive Garden restaurants are built to reflect the Tuscan farmhouse look, Schauer said.

Inside the remodeled restaurant, guests will find updated décor including new tables, chairs and booths that emanate the warm, rustic tones of a Tuscan farmhouse. Other updates include modernized window treatments and updated decor, which together create a cleaner, more polished design.  In addition, the refreshed bar area reflects a true, Tuscan-inspired space, with a more modern and sophisticated feel.

“We believe the farmhouse design reinforces our vision by creating a warm and welcoming atmosphere that enhances the overall experience at Olive Garden,” said Valerie Insignares, executive vice president of operations for Olive Garden.  “Within the next few years guests will enjoy the same genuine Tuscan look and feel inside every one of our family of local restaurants across North America.”

The remodel at the Kissimmee restaurant began in January, restaurant general manager Lair Barnes said, and continued through the summer.

Olive Garden chefs, general managers and restaurant team members travel to Olive Garden’s Culinary Institute of Tuscany to learn Italian cooking techniques and to draw inspiration for menu items, promotional entrees and restaurant décor.

“Each year, our Olive Garden development chefs travel throughout Italy to gain inspiration from the latest Italian culinary trends and traditions so they can bring the taste of Italy home to our guests,” said Terry Stanley, executive vice president of marketing for Olive Garden.  “The Tuscan Farmhouse remodel is an essential element in completing the genuine Italian dining experience at Olive Garden.”

The complimentary wine tasting events are from 6 p.m. – 8 p.m. Oct. 12-13. Led by Olive Garden wine specialists, the interactive events will educate guests on Italian wines including their origin, body style, aroma, flavor/finish and food pairings.

Featured wines include a pinot grigio, Sartori; (Della Vemezie); nero d’avola, Arancio (Sicily); fiano, Mandra Rossa (Sicily); sangiovese-syrah, Sasyr (Tuscany); moscato (Piedmont) Castello del Poggio.

The tasting also includes samples of Olive Garden’s Dolcini, the restaurant’s little dessert treats, available in several varieties such as chocolate mousse with dark chocolate cookie crust and limoncello mousse with vanilla cookie crust.

To receive more information on the wine tasting event, visit www.Facebook.com/ OliveGarden, www.OliveGarden.com/remodel or sign up for the “Our Family Table” e-newsletter at www.OliveGarden.com.

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There is more Italian dining at the grand opening of Pazza Luna Italian Restaurant at 2932 Pleasant Hill Road, Kissimmee.

The restaurant, which originally had been located on U.S. Highway 192 in Kissimmee, will celebrate the opening at the new location Sunday, Oct. 24 with a grand opening $10 buffet.

The $10 cost includes soft drinks and all you can eat and live entertainment by the Sun Jammer, a ‘50s band. The event is from noon until 4 p.m.

For more information phone 407 847-9938.

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The first Wine Down Dinner of the fall season at downtown Kissimmee’s Signature by the Lake is planned for Friday, Oct. 29. The Wine Down dinners are popular multi-course meals with matched wines. Proprietor Roy Oddo brings in a guest chef from one of the hotels or theme parks and the chef has complete freedom of menu. Oddo matches the wines to the appropriate course. It is by reservation only and seating is limited. The October menu is themed German in line with  Ocktoberfest celebrations. The menu will be posted on signaturebythelake.com. For reservations or information call 407-931-1303.