Epicurean Palette
by EveryMenu.com on 09/27/2011 - 03:32 pm |
Tag: Submit A Restaurant Listing to Google
Sunday, September 25th 2011Epicurean Palette
Time: 1 – 4pm. Rain or shine!The premier food and wine event of the region! Join us for the 11th annual Epicurean Palette, a gala celebration of food and wine to benefit Grounds For Sculpture.
This is the most amazing event in a gorgeous setting. I have been every year for the last 7 years and I love it. Tons of different upscale restaurants preparing their one special dish....many wineries represented. I can't say enought about this event. It is a pleasure to walk the grounds and appreciate the sculptures. I wish they would have it a couple of times a year!
Fredericksburg Food & Wine Fest 2010
by EveryMenu.com on 09/27/2011 - 01:44 pm |
Tag: Submit A Restaurant Listing to Google
Over the last ten years wineries have sprouted like bluebonnets all across the Hill Country. There are close to 40 of the 200 wineries in Texas along the roads of this picturesque area. Are all the wines good? No. But as a whole they improve each year and some Voiginers and Tempranillos, in my opinion, have made it to “Damn, that’s Tasty!” status.There are an ever increasing number of acres in the region dedicated to grapes but most of the Hill Country wineries import grapes from other parts of Texas more conducive to predictable grape farming. Some wineries even import “foreign” grapes from the left coast. For the record, the sales of wine made from non-Texas grapes are restricted and labeled “For Sale in Texas Only.
Out in the festival there were plenty of tents with wonderful Texas goodies like hot sauce, glassware painted with Bluebonnets, wine barrel furniture and kitchen accessories and candies. One interesting addition is the increasing number of Texas olive oil producers. It seems that olive trees do very well in central Texas. Cooking demonstrations sent wonderful flavors across the event and live music filled the air.
As with any Texas festival there were school and charity fundraisers going on as well as a live auction. The auctioneer was as Texas as it gets, complete with cowboy hat, jeans, boots and a knee slapping sense of humor. The highlight was the auctioning of the original painting used in the festival poster; a red cardinal perched upon a Texas grapevine, pregnant with purple grapes. The auctioneer had the lubricated crowd very energized. As the price exceeded $1,000 he began to strut his Texas stuff to Wild Thing blasting on the sound system. This really got the crowd hootin’ and hollerin’ and the painting went for $1,800.
After sampling from the unfamiliar vintners, we found that the overall quality of Texas wine was good but not many really had a “Wow” factor. Our favorite from this group came from Sister Creek Vineyards. This 2007 red blend of Cabernet, Merlot, Sagiovese and Malbec was nicely balanced and smooth with some decent tannin structure. While we were assured by a winery representative that the wine was 100% Texas grapes, it did carry the “For Sale in Texas Only” label.
As the sun grew low in the Texas sky we settled in on a picnic table with some new friends for a little country music. By then our glasses were filled with our tried and true Texas winners like Becker Voiginer, Fall Creek Granite Cabernet, Pedernales Cellars Tempranillo and McPherson Tre Colores. It was a good day.
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