The Elegance of Wine
Wine has evolved with foods to be an elegant pairing. While beer and burgers is a common thread, the elegance of wines paired with multi-course meals is one of life’s elevated pleasures. A specialty has evolved in the pairings of wine and foods with those proficient in such pairings through education known as Sommeliers. It has become such a specialty that elevated positions of these wine gurus have become established with the Court of Master Sommeliers and the higher yet court of Masters of Wines. Texans are blessed to have two back-to back events, being “Ladies of the Vine” on Friday and the “Grand Tasting on Saturday during Wine and Food Week in The Woodlands. The Friday event is being held at the world-class Club of Carlton Woods starting at 11:30 with welcome tastings as participants enter. From there, the event transitions to a sit-down lunch of two hours to enjoy several courses of the best in foods and wines while a panel of wine experts lead you through this elite lunch. Although the event is meant for both men and women, there will be a panel of women who are prominent in the wine world providing their take of the wines in their world from a feminine side. Hence the event is named “ladies of the Vine.” I hear one wine that will be served is a Chardonnay made by Michael Grgrich who fashioned the winning white wine as the Judgement of Paris which catapulted American wines into the world of the best wines in the world.
The Wine Rendezvous Grand Tasting and Chef Showcase or Grand Tasting as I call it will kick off at 6:45 at The Woodlands Waterway Mariott Convention Center with a formal toast. This event is a dual event with an active food cooking competition from 42 famous chefs that have signed up, paired with a stable of almost 400 different wines to choose from. Whatever your taste in food or wine, expect to have a wide assortment of foods and wines to select from. This is your opportunity to be selective in what you feast on since the selections will be very diverse including wines made from grape varietals you might not have even heard of. The foods you feast on will be the same foods that the food judges will taste and evaluate. These Chefs are competing for the Waterford crystal Chef of Chef award which comes with a $5,000 payout and bragging rights which will be awarded at the Closing Ceremony at the end of the event. If you want to elevate your experiences further with wines, purchase your ticket to the Bayway Cadillac VIP Lounge for access to various “cult wines.”
Limited tickets are still available by purchasing them online at www.FoodandWineWeek.com. Both of these two events can be labeled in a variety of ways such as a foodie event, a wine lover’s paradise, or as an epicurean delight. Will I see you there? Whatever your expectations, just know that these two events will be the best of the year! Just wait for next year!