This year’s event featured some stellar wines and none of the problems with lines that affected the Wine Stroll on Friday. My personal favorite red wine of the evening was the 2007 Beringer Cabernet Sauvignon Private Reserve, Napa Valley. It is Napa Cabernet Sauvignon personified with lush, soft tannins and intense dark fruit and vanillin in measurable amounts from careful use of new, French oak. You can drink it now with steak, lamb, of red game meat, or r keep it for a decade.

Jump for my tasting notes.

It was not a one-sided game for the Beringer however. Cabernet Blends were the strongest category. The 2006 Chateau St. Jean Cinq Cepages, 2005 Mount Veeder Reserve, 2006 Ramey ‘Larkmead’ (which somehow got dropped from the official program) and the 2008 Raymond were all close contenders (wine names have been shortened for clarity. See the web site for the full names).

Wrath 'San Saba Vineyard' Pinot Noir was good.

The Pinot Noir category had the second largest number of wines entered. In a strong domestic field, 2007 Archery Summit Premier Cuvee, Willamette Valley, Oregon, 2006 Wild Horse “Cheval Sauvage”, Santa Maria Valley, CA and 2008 Wrath “San Saba Vineyard”, Monterey, CA were all notable. You may not have heard of the name ‘Wrath’ outside of the Steinbeck grape context but Wrath Wines is a minuscule boutique producer making a big name for itself and has an ownership connection to Dallas (which explains their presence at Savor Dallas).

In the ‘other reds’ category I give pride of place to the 2007 Numanthia Termes, Toro, Spain.

There were fewer whites than reds but my favorite Chardonnay was the 2007 Ramey Hyde Vineyard Chardonnay, Napa Valley-Carneros and my favorite “other white” was the 2007 Robert Mondavi Winery To Kalon Vineyard Fumé Blanc Reserve, Napa Valley.

Overall, the 2011 Savor Dallas Reserve Tasting was a virtually unqualified success and one hopes it continues in the same vein next year.

And wine…and spirits…but mainly the evening showcased a stunning assortment of flavors created by 60+ of the best chefs in the city.  Though there was a bit of a line to get into the venue, once in guests comfortably strolled throughout the two large ball rooms at The Sheraton Dallas downtown sipping, tasting and enjoying everything Savor Dallas had to offer. 

This year included an impressive selection of silent auction items, including a signed magnum and jeroboam of Cakebread Cabernet Sauvignon, a signed jeroboam of King Estate  Pinot Noir, a signed magnum of The Doctor from Krupp Brothers, and a great selection of Caribbean vacations from Elite Island Resorts, all with proceeds going to The North Texas Food Bank.  D Magazine had a fun booth as well, where guests could get their pictures taken and made into a cover shot for D.

Hundreds of selections of wine and spirits were poured.  Some favorites included a crisp Sauvignon Blanc from Wrath, made by Michael Thomas…originally a Texan who is now making wine in San Saba, CA; silky Merlot from Cakebread Cellars filled with subtle plum and blackberry flavors; Ramey Wine Cellars bold Cabernet Sauvignon; a spicy red blend from Chile called Primus; an earthy, cherry filled Spanish Crianza from Valdubon; excellent single malt scotch from Balvenie; and, as I am always on the look out for a great bubbly, Gloria Ferrer Carneros Cuvee delivered with toasted almond and baked apple flavors. 

Crawfish Etouffee from One to One, Wrath Wines

Favorite bites came from Janice Provost of Parigi,who created her signature pink dish, this time in the form of pork belly risotto; nettle soup fromBolsa  filled with fresh tomato and lots of garlic; Dave Holben of Del Frisco’s created a succulent grilled shrimp with a pineapple run sauce on crisp cabbage and red pepper Asian slaw; mac and cheese with mushrooms and bacon from The Grill on The Alley ; sticky bun bread pudding French toast from Tom Flemming of Crossroads Diner; heavenly roasted pistachio ice cream from Dunia Borga of La Duni and her new adventure, MiCrema – Bespoken Frozen Desserts made with all natural ingredients.   Perhaps my best bite of the night was a luscious piece of meaty lump crab with Tahitian vanilla from Bodhi Durant of Kenichi. 

Chef Dunia Borga of La Duni with her Roasted Pistachio Ice Cream; Chef Randall Copeland of restaurant Ava making cavatelli pasta on site; Chef Daniel Winans of The Grill on the Alley

With an event like last night, we can all look forward to Savor Dallas 2012 with anticipation.

Lump Crab with Tahitian Vanilla from Kenichi (top left), Nettle Soup from Bolsa (top right), Risotto from Parigi (bottom left), Grilled Shrimp with Pineapple Run Sauce from Del Frisco's (bottom right)

Beat Kotoun of Kobrand pouring Cakebread Merlot, Chef Bodhi Durant of Kenichi

Rich Rogers of Scardello

Savor Dallas International Grand Tasting Patrons

The evening was perfect for a stroll through the Arts District, with this being the first time some patrons have visited the Winspear, Meyerson, Nasher or DMA. Patrons had a difficult time enjoying their surroundings as most of their evening consisted of standing in line, some of which were 40-50 people deep.  The stroll started at The Meyerson, where guests could pick up with passes enjoy their first glass.  Trying to weed through the crowd was unbearable so we moved on to The Nasher, thinking that the first venue was so crowded due to it being the hub of activity.  Things were not better there, and though the surroundings in their sculpture garden were beautiful and serene, who could tell when the focus was to stand in a line with dozens of other people waiting for a sip of wine. What was at the end of the line was unknown, the necessity was to be in a line to be able to try something.  Seventeen Seventeen at the DMA was one big circle of people going from one tasting station to the next, with patrons exclaiming “they are in line” to anyone trying to join the circle from outside.  The Winspear may have been the best, as they spread their tasting stations throughout the lobby, but long lines still prevailed.

Brian Luscher Prepares Pork Rillettes (Photo Courtesy of Andrew Chalk)

A few highlights for the evening included a Bertani Valpolicella and Saletein Malbec, both poured by Palm Bay Imports inside The Winspear; a blood orange cocktail with Dripping Springs Vodkafrom Dripping Springs, Texas that we managed to grab while the guest in line was distracted taking pictures; and an amazing bite of Pork Rillette from Brian Luscher of The Grape that we enjoyed in exchange for bringing the very busy Chef a Stella Artois and Pellegrino.

I agree with the report on the event Andrew Chalk posted this morning that perhaps a better way to manage the crowd is to offer a glass of something when a guest walks through the door, instead of an empty glass that they then take to a line to get a tasting.  I sympathize with the wineries in attendance.  By the time you got to the front of a line you just wanted to taste something, and they want to share the story of the wine and where it comes from.  Perhaps designating several people to pour at each station, with the winery representative standing to the side to answer questions and speak about the wine to interested guests would be a better way to manage the crowd.  And, in the end, just having more options available in each venue.

I am a big fan of Savor Dallas.  It is one of the most notable wine events in the country, with fantastic wineries coming to our city to celebrate the festivities and introduce patrons to their wine.  It is amazing to see how much it has grown in the past seven years due to the hard work of founders Jim White and Vicki Briley-White, and the crowd of guests last night showed that.  Unfortunately this crowd overshowded the joy in the evening.  Here is to hoping that tonight’s International Grand Tasting is better.

Concannon Poured America's First Petite Sirah at The Savor Dallas Stroll (Photo Courtesy of Andrew Chalk)

Making Ultimat vodka cocktails.

The problem: Luxury apartment building The Gables Park 17 that leases itself when people see it, but people are too busy to stop by.

The Solution: Throw it open to an after-party at Savor Dallas. Serve Gourmet hors d’oeuvres by Wynnwood Culinary Art Expressions. Mix Ultimat Vodka Cocktails, SavorTini and the Patrón Tequila Perfect Savorita. Add Beer by Stella Artois. Pour Premium wines from Louis M. Martini and Bridlewood. Have Bridlewood wine maker, and all around surfer dude, David Hopkins show up and chat for hours with patrons.

The Result: This was the first Savor Dallas event this year to sell out! “There was lots of interest,” says Gables leasing agent Christy Gomez the morning after the event. Time will tell whether that interest materializes into leases.

Jump for more.

In case you are interested: a 2-bedroom leases for about $2,500/month for 13 months under a current ‘one month free’ promotion. The Penthouse that we partied in is $10,000/month and another one is $7,000/month.

Check the web site for a slide show. Its quite a wow.

That was the story at Savor Dallas’ Friday Arts District Wine Stroll. Lines everywhere. It looked like the organizers sold more tickets this year but didn’t increase the number of food stations. Whatever happened, it made for a frustrating evening. What should have been a stroll through the Arts District turned into a rugby match to get a glass of wine and a plate of food. The shortest wait for wine was 15 minutes. Getting a bite to eat took at least that long and then only 3 minutes to finish it. For most people scoring became a not-so-fun game: they’d get a glass of wine and get straight back in line. It was such a pain that many people, including me, left early.

I think they should have already had the wine poured. Instead, they handed you a glass when you came in so you had to wait for each person to get it filled. I know the intent is for the wine folks to get to talk about their wine, but they didn’t have time to anything but fill, fill, fill, repeat. I’m sure this method would require more glasses but increase the ticket price and eliminate the long waits.

Get your picture on the cover of D Magazine. Saturday at Savor Dallas.

Good morning Dallas, Savor Dallas 2011 is underway. Our SideDish reporters are armed with pens, wine glasses, and cameras and ready to file observations of the craziness expected this weekend. Stay tuned to SideDish or Twitter (DSideDish) for up-to-the-Nano-second reports.

Be sure and visit us on Saturday. That’s right, SideDish will have our own space in the Grand Hall on the first floor of the conference center. We will be distributing limited edition SideDish canvas gift bags and free magazines!

If you stop by SideDish’s booth, we will put YOU on the cover of D Magazine. We have some lovely ladies (DUH!) who will snap your photo and upload it to a custom cover.

Our special grand prize (sponsor coming) will go to the first person to walk up to me at the Grand Tasting and say “Busted!”  On your mark, get set: read my Tweets and tweep!