The Wine School of Philadelphia’s latest installment of Sommelier Smackdown – a monthly culinary competition that pits two wine professionals in a palate v. palate battle of food and wine pairing ability – will feature Christian Garces of Peruvian-Cantonese fusion restaurant Chifa.

The Chicago-native started his Philadelphia food career in 2005, joining his brother (and Iron Chef) Jose Garces at Spanish tapas restaurant Amada. As beverage manager at Chifa since 2009, Christian Garces has worked to match cocktails, wine, and beer with the restaurant’s combo Latin-Asian cuisine.

The menu for the smackdown will be designed and put together by chefs at Chifa, giving Garces a leg up on the competition: Frank Cipparone, the school’s senior sommelier-instructor.

Sommelier Smackdown will take place on Wednesday June 23, 2010 from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. in the Bacchus Classroom. Guests choose the winner after trying each of the food and wine pairings. Tickets for this month’s event have already sold out, but tickets for future smackdowns can be purchased here.