Celebrate the Fall with Wines
The Texas Harvest is winding down with the Texas High Plains still bringing in grapes. There are lots of opportunities to celebrate with wines. One of my favorite wine events is coming on Saturday, September 17th from 6 thru 9 pm called Around the World in 180 Minutes. This event features wines you don’t normally encounter from wine regions across the USA including Texas and in other parts of the world from France to Israel to New Zealand. When you enter the Port of Call, you will receive your wine glass, an identifying wrist band and your Passport to 14 Wine Regions where you will encounter Albarinos to Torrentes to the usuals like Chardonnay and Zinfandel wines. While visiting wine regions, your Passport will be stamped so that you can proudly show you have visited that wine region. Cost is $100 per Adult with tickets available online at www.BridgewoodFarms.org. The event is being hosted at Serena Rose Event Center on the east side of Conroe.
On October 6th, Market Street in The Woodlands, the 18th Annual Wine Walk will be held from 6 thru 9pm. This event was moved from the June heat to the Fall for nicer weather. Tickets are available online for this event at www.WineandFoodWeek.com.
October marks the official Texas Wine Month sponsored by the Texas Department of Agriculture. The seventeen Wine Trails throughout Texas will be hosting special wine events at most of Texas’ 900+ wineries. The Texas State Fair kicks off with daily celebrations of numerous Texas wines. Ninety-six wineries will be showcasing their wines with four different wineries for each of the 24 days of the Texas State Fair. In addition, judges will select twelve Blue Ribbon Texas Wines to also showcase for the Fair’s 24-days! Every Wednesday will see special wine events and lectures on Texas wines.
October is also the time for the October 16th Non-Commercial Wine Judging at the Austin County Fair. The Gulf Coast Winegrowers Association produces this event for the Austin County Fair as a way to promote Texas wines and blossoming Texas wine makers. Anyone residing in the State of Texas that makes non-commercial wines can participate in a variety of wine classification. Entries are very reasonable at $10 each. For more information, please contact Paul Darst at [email protected]. Several wine columnists including yours truly will be judging these wines on that Sunday afternoon with awards given to the top wines in each category. Look for more celebrations of Texas wines in the coming weeks.
Texas Restaurants Serving Texas Wines
The King Ranch Texas Kitchen is one of those restaurants that is “as big as Texas!” Their location in the Galleria area on the west side of Houston uphold Texas traditions and proudly serves a wide assortment of Texas bred wines. Their Texas wine list includes Come and Drink It Rose from the Texas High Plains, Haak Madiera, Hye Meadow Viognier, Llano Estacado Pinot Grigio, Messina Hof Moscato, The Federalist red blend from McPherson Cellars, Duchman Vermentino, and McPherson Cellars Rousanne. Enjoy the local Texas foods with these award-winning Texas wines!