Write Off the Vine – Texas Wine News: January 21, 2011

Write Off the Vine – Texas Wine News: January 21, 2011

Texas Wine of the Month: Val Verde Winery, Don Luis Tawny Port

by Jessica Dupuy (Texas Monthly – Eat My Words)

If I were a betting gal, I’d wager few of you could guess the oldest continuously running vineyard in Texas… or where it’s located. Most Texas wine fans know the High Plains and the Hill Country are the main winemaking hubs for wine, but you may be surprised to find that the oldest winery is Val Verde Winery in Del Rio… Yes, Del Rio—that tiny little border town directly west of San Antonio.

If you take a look at the winery’s history, you’ll find it was established in 1883 by Italian immigrants who found Lenoir (Black Spanish) grapes thriving in the hot Texas sun. Three generations later, Val Verde Winery is still in operation and it makes one of the best tawny ports in the state.

This month’s Texas Wine of the Month is the Val Verde Winery Don Luis Tawny Port (non-vintage). It was selected with the help of Bryan Cromwell of Soleil. (It’s one of Austin’s newest dining hot spots brought to the Capital City by the talented Schiller-Del Grande group of RDG + Café Annie and the Grove fame in Houston—and it has one of the best sunset views of Lake Travis.

More: http://www.texasmonthly.com/blogs/eatmywords/?p=1805

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5 Reasons to Love Texas Wines

By James Tidwell (on The Daily Meal)

Think Texas and food and your mind almost inevitably goes to fajitas and barbecue. Think Texas and wine and you might assume it’s just a place that just drinks California Chardonnay and Cabernet. Right? Wrong. To help put misconceptions to rest, Master Sommelier and Texas wine enthusiast James Tidwell shares five reasons why the Lone Star State is making wines worth paying attention to. — Maryse Chevriere

1. Dynamic. Texas wines have actually been around a long time; if you’ve read the Grape Man of Texas about the life of T.V. Munson, it explains that the state’s vines deserve credit for saving the French wine industry during the phylloxera epidemic. But while people are now starting to acknowledge that Texas wine has been around for a while, modern Texas wine is not that old. It hasn’t really been established outside of the borders. I equate it to Switzerland, which also makes some very good wines. You don’t ever see Texas wines outside of the state because they can sell almost everything within. And Texans are very patriotic, and buy a lot of Texas wines, so it doesn’t have a chance to go out of state. They’re dynamic and on the move in terms of profile.

More: http://www.thedailymeal.com/5-reasons-love-texas-wines#ixzz1Bg3QJC7l

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Mar 3-5, 2011- Texas Wine and Grape Growers Association Annual Conference – San Marcos, TX

Event Type: Trade Show,Seminars and Classes

Description: The 35th Annual Conference of the Texas Wine and Grape Grower’s Association is a excellent opportunity to develop new business through networking and one-on-one interaction with the southwest wine and grape industry.

The conference will be held at the Embassy Suites, Spa & Conference Center in San Marcos, TX on March 3, 4, & 5. Exhibitor Forms are now available online and attendee registration along with hotel reservation information will be online soon!

• Event Organizer: Texas Wine and Grape Growers Association

• Venue: Embassy Suites, Spa & Conference Center

• Location: San Marcos, TX

• Website: www.txwines.org/conference

• Available languages: English

More: http://www.winebusiness.com/industryEvents/?go=eventDetails&event_id=10100

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Texas Food & Wine Events on LocalWineEvents.com

The Texas Wine School Offering their Level 1 Foundation Course

January 22, 2011 (Sat), 9:00 AM – 1:30 PM

Houston | The Texas Wine School

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“Winter Escape” San Gabriel Wine Trail

January 29, 2011 (Sat), 12:00 PM – 6:00 PM

Georgetown | Williamson and Bell County

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More: http://www.localwineevents.com/events/listing/tx/30/Texas-wine

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Edible Texas Wine and Food Pairing Competition – Call for Entries!

Rev up your creative culinary skills for the Central Texas regional segment of the Edible Texas Wine and Food Pairing Competition, produced by Edible Austin and The Texas Food and Wine Gourmet.com and hosted by the AT&T Executive Education and Conference Center in Austin.

This is the first of four annual regional competitions planned whose mission is to encourage the use of Texas wine and food products, raise the bar for excellence in Texas winemaking and provide a platform for Texas wine and winemakers to receive recognition and reach a broader audience. The competition is open to any Central Texas restaurant or catering company, but you may use any Texas appellation wines. Five finalists will be selected to prepare their menus at a stellar event on Friday, June 3, 2011, hosted by the AT&T Center’s Carillon Restaurant (Tejas Room) on the UT campus.

This event, open to 125 guests, is an official Optional Event during the 2011 International Association of Culinary Professionals (IACP) Annual Conference and will benefit the Texas Wine and Grape Grower’s Association. For details and to download entry form and competition rules, click here. Deadline for entries is February 15. For questions, please contact Marla Camp by email or phone: 512-441-3971.

More: http://www.edibleaustin.com/content/

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Texas Wines take Gold in USA Competition

By Kris Myers, Houston Weekend Warrior Examiner

Texas wines took two gold medals – along with a slew of silvers and bronzes  –  in last week’s 2011 San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition.  It’s the world’s largest competition of American wines.

Brennan Vineyards, Comanche, TX.

Gold:  ’09 Voignier

McPherson Cellars, Lubbock, TX.

Gold:  ’09 Rose’ of Syrah

More information on Silver and Bronze Medals at: http://www.examiner.com/weekend-warrior-in-houston/texas-wines-take-gold-usa-competition?render=print#ixzz1Bg4OlP7l

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2011 Texas Hill Country Wineries Road Show Tastings: First Stop… Fort Worth

It’s High Time to Get Some Mighty Fine Texas Wine!

In celebration of the 20th Anniversary of the Texas Hill Country AVA and 20 years of winemaking in the Hill Country, Texas Hill Country Wineries are hitting the road and bringing the wines to you for our first ever Road Show in 2011.  We will be visiting four great cities Texas starting with Fort Worth, Houston, San Antonio and ending in Austin.  We invite you to join us in your city for winemaker dinners, seminars and Twitter-tastings for everyone from sommeliers to the discerning consumer.  You will meet owners, producers and winemakers from at least 15 of our member wineries, 30 wines available for tasting and learn about the 400 year old wine industry in Texas.

The 2011 Road Show is currently in the development stages, all venues and exact details are not ready for publication.  Members of the wine buying trade or wine media are invited to attend special tastings and seminars exclusive to the trade and media only.  All wine enthusiasts are encouraged to attend the ticketed events or experience a winemaker dinner at a local hotspot.  Please fill out the ‘Save the Date’ waiting list form and indicate which city you are interested in and then watch your inbox for details as they become available.  Tickets for these events will be extremely limited so please get on the waiting list and get dates, details and ticket availability as soon as it is released.

Fort Worth, Texas- February 23 and 24, 2011….

More: https://vintagetexas.com/?p=3082