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Articles about North Texas Wine

Sigel’s Celebrates Texas With Spirits, Beer and Wine

In celebration of our recent Texas Independence Day, Texas Flag Day and Sam Houston Day (all of which occurred last Friday, March 2) Sigel’s is holding a TexasFest with a Lone Star sized celebration of all things Texas including some of the state’s best beer, wine and spirits.  This Saturday from 1pm-4pm at the Sigel’s-Elite on Fitzhugh 24 Texas beers, 20 Texas spirits and 8 Texas wines will be poured including beer from Deep Ellum Brewery, Rahr and Sons, St. Arnold, Real Ale and more, with spirits from Deep Eddy Sweet Tea Vodka, Tito’s Vodka, Dripping Springs Vodka, Pecan Street Rum, Waterloo Gin, Rebecca Creek Whiskey, Balcones and more, and wine from Lone Oak including their San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition winning Viognier.  What could be better than celebrating our Texas heritage with a few sips from some of Texas’ finest.  Reserve your tasting passport giving you twelve sips of any of the above here.

posted by Hayley Hamilton | March 7th, 2012 1:32pm | filed under North Texas Wine, Silly Reasons to Celebrate, Wine & Spirits, beer |

FUQUA Winery Wins Best of Class for FUQUA Cavalier Tawny Port

Hip, hip, hooray for Lee Fuqua and his brewing buddy Courtney Elizabeth Key. Together they took the top award in its category at the prestigious 2012 San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition. “We beat all the other Double Gold Medal winners to win the Best of Class award for our port, meaning that our FUQUA Cavalier Tawny Port was judged to be the best port made anywhere in the United States,” Lee Fuqua says. “And with over 5,500 entries this year, we think that this is some kind of accomplishment.” At the moment it’s in stock at FUQUA Wines ($59.95).

posted by Nancy Nichols | January 13th, 2012 11:29am | filed under AgriBusiness, Awards, Local/Slow Food, North Texas Wine, Wine & Spirits | 1 Comment »

The New Boundary of Chardonnay Growing – Dallas County

One of the two vineyards that provided the fruit for the 2010 Inwood Estates Chardonnay, Dallas County

Nancy Nichols showcased  local food items as holiday presents.  I’m here to recommend some local wine that is not just made in town, it is grown here. I’m delighted to announce that a successful Dallas County Chardonnay growing has just emerged. The 2010 Inwood Estates Chardonnay, Dallas County is grown in the vineyards on Inwood Road and on Bear Creek Rd.  Winemaker Dan Gatlin says in a press release:

“The historical significance of this release is obvious.  This may be one of the most unique and surprising accomplishments of the wine and food community in the Dallas area ever.  It is a watershed event for many reasons. As one of America’s large cities, it represents an achievement in urban wine-growing and urban farmingIt gives new meaning to the idea of “locally grown” with a type of crop never thought possible. It is a symbol of civic pride and something uniquely meaningful to our residents”

Jump for more. (more…)

posted by Andrew Chalk | December 17th, 2011 12:23pm | filed under Andrew Chalk, North Texas Wine, Texas Wine, Uncategorized, Wine & Spirits | 2 Comments »

Grand Opening Party: Two Corks and a Bottle in Uptown

We sent D Magazine intern Suzanne Asfar to check out Two Corks and a Bottle, a new custom winery and wine bar in Uptown.

As luck would have it, my first event to cover as an intern at D Magazine was the grand opening of Two Corks and a Bottle, a wine bar and make-your-own wine shop. The scene was a festive. The room opened into a small, intimate seating area with bistro tables occupied by happy party goers. Behind them, in the center of the hubbub, co-owner Elwyn Hull stood behind a u-shaped granite bar and poured wine into glasses. We shuffled closer and deeper into the 40-odd scatter of middle-aged nondescript folks (we were easily the youngest couple in the joint) and were greeted by Barb, the marketing and PR contact.

Jump for more.

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posted by Nancy Nichols | October 3rd, 2011 12:35pm | filed under North Texas Wine, Openings, Wine & Spirits | 13 Comments »

Two Corks And A Bottle Opens in Uptown

John Ley (left) and Elwyn Hull (right) of Two Corks and a Bottle.

Old friends John Ley and Elwyn Hull left their full-time jobs in search of more satisfying work.  They  knew they loved working with people and wanted to find a way to help nonprofit organizations. So, naturally, they opened Two Corks and a Bottle—a custom winery and wine bar (where the serve as the wine makers) as part of the Wine Not, International Winery System.

All wines have been crafted on the premises using grapes sourced from quality vineyards from around the world, including France, Italy, Australia, South America, and California. The list contains over 25 red, white, and fruit wines by the glass and the bottle. During their daily wine tastings, five tastes run non-members $5, and are free for all Wine Club Members.

Jump for other highlights: (more…)

posted by Sarah Reiss | August 10th, 2011 1:04pm | filed under Copy/Paste Press Release, North Texas Wine, Texas Wine, Wine & Spirits, Wine Pairing, youthful spontaneous restaurants | 5 Comments »

Dallas Winery Happenings Around Town

A few announcements hit my inbox today for events thrown by our local Dallas wineries to put on the calendar.

Next Thursday, June 30th Fuqua Winery will host a Double Blind seated tasting of 10 different Rose wines, the perfect wine for summer, with prices and brands revealed after the tasting is complete.  Rose can be made from so many different varietals from Pinot Noir to Merlot to Malbec, in fact pretty much any traditional red varietals has probably been made into a Rose.  This is a great opportunity to try several and find one that fits your palate.  Reservations required -214 769-117.   (more…)

posted by Hayley Hamilton | June 24th, 2011 1:11pm | filed under Events, North Texas Wine, Wine & Spirits | 1 Comment »

What to Drink Now: Oak Cliff Cellars

Dallas resident Jim Richardson has been a wine lover for years, specifically California.  After traveling from his Oak Cliff home of 20 years to Napa and Sonoma Valleys for annual wine trips with family and friends, he began Oak Cliff Cellars in 2006 as both an avenue to create approachable wine with distinct flavors, but also as a means to promote his true philanthropic passions.

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posted by Hayley Hamilton | May 30th, 2011 9:19am | filed under North Texas Wine | 1 Comment »

Tickets on Sale for Dallas Wine Trail

This event sells out fast so click here for tickets. The date for the next Dallas Wine Trail is set for July 23 from 11AM-5PM. The four participating Dallas wineries are Inwood Estates Vineyard, Calais Winery, Times Ten Cellars, and Fuqua Winery. (Map below the jump. The $55 ticket includes a 19.5-oz Special Edition tasting glass, a bottle of wine from one of the 4 wineries, 3 wines to taste at each of the wineries, light food pairings from local restaurants/caterers. And the event will benefit the Greyhound Adoption League of Texas.

Map below. (more…)

posted by Nancy Nichols | May 26th, 2011 11:49am | filed under North Texas Wine, Wine & Spirits | 3 Comments »

Here Is A Great Reason To Head To Austin

Not that we need a reason to head to one of the best places in our great state, but if you are looking for something to do over the first weekend in June an event notice came a across that would make me take the drive down I35 featuring our own Paula Lambert, sitting beside some of the best culinary names in the business, to judge the first Edible Texas Wine Food Match where chefs will compete using local Texas ingredients paired with Texas wine.  See details below or click here:

Edible Texas Wine Food Match, presented by Edible Austin and The Texas Food and Wine Gourmet. This first-ever culinary competition challenges chefs from Central Texas to create regional food to pair with appellation wines of Texas to bring out the best in both. Held on Friday, June 3, 7 to10 p.m. at the AT&T Conference Center in Austin, the competition is an official event of the 2011 International Association of Culinary Professionals’ national conference.

Guest judges include Jacques Pépin, world-renowned chef, television celebrity, author and culinary educator; Francois Dionot, founder and director of L’Academie de Cuisine; John Besh, chef, restaurateur, author and television personality; Michael Bauer, executive food and wine editor for the San Francisco Chronicle; and Paula Lambert, cookbook author and founder of the Mozzarella Company. Five Central Texas chefs, chosen by a panel of preliminary judges, will vie for the perfect pairing that reflects the soil, grapes, wine and food of Texas in three courses for 150 guests. Proceeds from the event will benefit the newly launched nonprofitTexas Center for Wine and Culinary Arts in Fredericksburg, Texas.
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posted by Hayley Hamilton | April 27th, 2011 3:15pm | filed under Celebrity Chefs, Cooking, GO TEXAN, Local/Slow Food, North Texas Wine, Texas Wine, Travel, Wine & Spirits |

Final Report: Buffalo Gap Food & Wine Summit 2011

Last night’s dine around dinner and wine tasting took place on the grounds of Perini Ranch. Chefs and wineries cooked and poured for over three hours. I was a bad reporter. I didn’t take notes or shoot many pictures because I wanted to just experience the evening. However, I ended up with a few videos and pictures that paint a picture of some of my fondest memories. (Earlier reports here and here.)

I was most impressed by chef Marco J. Martinez of Matt’s Rancho Martinez. Marco is the youngest son of the late, great Matt Martinez, Jr. Marco created a “Southern plus prairie plus Texan” dish which consisted of a thick waffle covered with smoked rabbit and jalapeno cole slaw. I’d give second place to Chef Tim Byres of Smoke. He served melt-in-your-mouth ribs with a sassy chimichurri sauce and blue cheese spiked grits. As always, Jacques Pepin floated around the crowd chatting and sampling the food by Texas chefs. He is perhaps the kindest man in the business.

Go below for video and pictures. And make plans to attend next year (April 20-22). It’s an intimate event and the proceeds go to supporting graduate fellowships to students studying vititculture and/or enology at Texas Tech.

On with the show. Watch Jacques Pepin drink red wine. Katherine Clapner spin sugar. Greg Bruni make my favorite new wine!

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posted by Nancy Nichols | April 18th, 2011 8:30am | filed under Celebrity Chefs, Celebrity Diners, Chocolate, Festivals, Foodie Video, GO TEXAN, North Texas Wine, Texas Wine, Travel, party | 2 Comments »

Savor Dallas International Grand Tasting Was All About The Food

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. (more…)

posted by Hayley Hamilton | March 20th, 2011 1:44pm | filed under Celebrity Chefs, Festivals, North Texas Wine, Savor Dallas 2011, Wine & Spirits |

Thanksgiving Wine Deals…Buy Now to Save

There are a handful of wine deals I have run across to save for holiday stocking up.  Buy now and save a few bucks.  If you have more, please comment.

Central Market  has Veuve Clicquot this week for $37.99….one of the lowest prices I have seen in a while! And, buy 6 bottles or more of any wine and get 10% off.

Our friends at Siduri in Sonoma have a few great packages for the holidays all of which include free shipping, more available via their website:

RUSSIAN HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS
2009 Novy Russian River Valley Gewurztraminer
2009 Siduri Russian River Valley Pinot Noir
2007 Novy Russian River Valley Syrah
 Gift Pack for only $60 including shipping.

 SINGLY UNIQUE, COLLECTIVELY EXTRAORDINARY
2008 Siduri Sonatera Vineyard Pinot Noir
2008 Siduri Keefer Ranch Vineyard Pinot Noir
2008 Siduri Rosella’s Vineyard Pinot Noir
Gift Pack for only $99 including shipping. (more…)

posted by Hayley Hamilton | November 11th, 2010 11:12am | filed under Holidays, North Texas Wine, Thanksgiving, Wine & Spirits |

Texas Trounces New York in Monday Night’s Grape & Gridiron Face Off

We sent intern Meredith Stein to the 2010 Grape and Gridiron Classic for a play-by-play account of last night’s face-off between Texas and New York most able-bodied wines. Here’s her report from the sidelines:

20 wines and the guests who faced the challenge of deciding the best. photography by Meredith Stein

Though the Cowboys suffered a devastating blow Monday night from the New York Giants (poor Romo), Texas wines plowed their competition – New York wines – at the 2010 Grape & Gridiron Classic. During the blind-tasting event, hosted by the Texas Department of Agriculture and held at the El Centro College Food & Hospitality Institute, 22 distinct state wines went glass-to-glass in celebration of the game. The final score: Texas: 8; New York: 3. Home field advantage? I think not!

Texas wine bloggers Jeff Siegel of the Wine Curmudgeon/ DrinkLocalWine.com, Russ Kane of VintageTexas, and Jim Trezise, president of the New York Wine and Grape Association led the tastings.

jump here for the final outcome… (more…)

posted by Sarah Reiss | October 26th, 2010 2:09pm | filed under Contests, Events, North Texas Wine, Texas Wine, Wine & Spirits | 7 Comments »

Best Wine of the 2010 Dallas Wine Trail

It was fun, although too many wines were from California in ambiguously-labeled bottles at this weekend’s Dallas Wine Trail. The highlight for me was:

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posted by Andrew Chalk | September 13th, 2010 9:12am | filed under Andrew Chalk, North Texas Wine, Texas Wine, Uncategorized, Wine & Spirits, best of big d | 1 Comment »

Dallas Wine Trail Boot Camp

This Saturday is the Dallas Wine Trail. It’s a great chance for Dallas consumers to visit and taste wine at the  four bonded wineries in the city limits. You check in at either Times Ten Cellars or FUQUA Winery anytime between 11am and 5pm. You receive a crystal Dallas Wine Trail tasting glass and your ticket which entitles you to taste three wines at each location. After tasting at your starting point, you drive to each of the other wineries . The other two wineries taking part are Calais Winery and Inwood Estates Vineyards. The wineries are about 15 minutes apart so if you spend 30 minutes at each winery the whole tour will take you about a leisurely three hours. Please note:  no tickets are sold at the door. You have to order them in advance through the Dallas Wine Trail web site.

This event has always sold out in the past so order quickly to avoid disappointment. Also, start early to avoid the afternoon crowds. There is food at each location and plenty of opportunity to talk to the winemakers.

Jump for the juicy details.

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posted by Andrew Chalk | September 9th, 2010 11:41am | filed under Andrew Chalk, Events, GO TEXAN, North Texas Wine, Texas Wine, Uncategorized | 3 Comments »

Texas Wineries Fight for the Right to Export

Over on FrontBurner, Wick is calling attention to Congress’ efforts to pass a federal law (Comprehensive Alcohol Regulatory Effectiveness Act of 2010 (CARE Act) that would prohibit Texas wine makers from expanding to markets outside of Texas. Alcohol wholesalers in Texas have launched a huge lobbying campaign to pass the bill that would allow them maintain their position between producers and residents of other states. Little guys? You’re screwed.

Here are someTexas wine industry facts:
Winery Sales – Distributors $30,778,000
Winery Sales – Direct $24,611,000
Full-time Equivalent Jobs 8,971
Wages Paid $298 million
Winery Revenue $55 million
Cases Produced 1 million
Retail Value of Texas Wine $98.5 million
Vineyard Revenue $4.8 million
Number of Wineries 162
Number of Commercial Growers 280
Grape-Bearing Acres 2,900
Wine-Related Tourism Expenditures $296.6 million
Number of Wine-Related Tourists 958,000
Taxes Paid: State and Local/Federal $63.3 million/$78.9 million

posted by Nancy Nichols | August 18th, 2010 12:02pm | filed under North Texas Wine, Nutjobs, Politics of Food, Wine & Spirits |

Chalk Talk: So You Want to Own a Winery?

Our resident wino, Andrew Chalk, wishes he could make this deal. Cap Rock Winery, near Lubbock and one of the better known wineries in Texas, is up for auction on July 12 at 1:00 PM CST. The opening bid is “only” $100,000 and includes the wine inventory. Yow. Zah. That sounds like a bargain.

posted by Nancy Nichols | June 9th, 2010 11:11am | filed under AgriBusiness, Andrew Chalk, North Texas Wine, Wine & Spirits |

Next Dallas Wine Trail Set

Lee Fuqua of Fuqua Winery sent a note today about the upcoming Dallas Wine Trail set for Memorial Day Weekend featuring our four Dallas based wineries, Times Ten Cellars  in Lakewood, Calias Winery in Deep Ellum, Inwood Estates in the Design District and, of course, Fuqua Winery, located off Lemmon Ave “behind the Home Depot” as Lee likes to note.  Details are:

Second Annual – Memorial Day Weekend – Grand Tasting
Saturday, May 29th, 2010 at all 4 Dallas wineries
only $39 per person 

The ticket price includes:

  • a free bottle of wine from one of the four wineries
  • a souvenir 19.5 ounce Bordeaux crystal Dallas Wine Trail wine glass
  • taste 3 wines at each of the 4 wineries
  • food pairings at each winery
  • Dallas Wine Trail map

The wine and food tasting starts at 11:00 a.m. and is over promptly at 5:00 p.m.  This tasting will visit all four wineries at their respective locations.  There are 2 starting points for the tasting.  You must start at either Inwood Estates Vineyards or at Times Ten Cellars.  It is your choice where to start.  This is where you will receive your ticket, your crystal “Dallas Wine Trail” wine glass and your bottle of premium wine to keep.

After you finish tasting the wines, the food and visiting with the staff at either Inwood Estates Vineyards or at Times Ten Cellars, you will then go to the next winery of your choice and then do it all over again until you have been to all 4 wineries.  Tickets here.

posted by Hayley Hamilton | May 18th, 2010 10:27am | filed under North Texas Wine |

Andrea Immer Robinson at Macy’s in Dallas

Master Sommelier Andrea Immer Robinson was in Dallas on Saturday for a cookbook signing and a meet-and-greet. Andrea is a spunky wine authority with an amazing palate. She lived in Dallas for awhile and achieved a degree in economics from SMU. In her spare time she learned about wine from hanging out  at The Grape.

After a couple of years in the real world, she picked her passion for wine over Wall Street and she’s never looked back. She’s one of only 17 women in the world who are Master Sommeliers. (Of course, Dallas is home to another, Barbara Werley at Pappas Bros. Steakhouse.) Andrea is also a one-woman wine corporation—she teaches cooking and wine classes, she’s written eight books, done two TV programs, and several online video wine courses. Recently she designed a line of stemware called “The One” and was in Dallas to show them off at Macy’s in the Galleria.

Andrew Chalk was happy to meet and greet Andrea and do a couple of videos. The first  is a “get to know Andrea” primer. The second shows a tiny trick we played on Andrea.  I asked Andrea in advance to do a wine tasting for SideDish and she agreed as long as it wasn’t an advertorial for a wine.

Andrew slipped in the media room with a bottle of the Viognier I made last year at Vintner’s Cellar in Plano with the help of owner Larry McDowell.

In Andrew’s second video, Andrea critiques my wine. Many thanks to Andrea for being such a good sport and to Andrew for working on a Saturday afternoon.

My “zippy”  wine–Bluebirds of Happiness Viognier– is now available exclusively here on SideDish for $250 a bottle. KIDDING. (And Larry, you can’t use this post as a promotion!) Okay, enjoy the show.

Take two:

posted by Nancy Nichols | May 10th, 2010 8:26am | filed under Andrew Chalk, Celebrity Chefs, North Texas Wine, Silly Reasons to Celebrate | 1 Comment »

GO TEXAN: It’s Time to Tour the Wine Trails of Texas

Ever just want to rent an Airstream and cruise around Texas drinking wine? It sounds like the perfect job for Andrew Chalk, but he already has a job.
Anywhoo, if you don’t have a job or just have a lot of money and an Airstream (Hi, RP!), then you might want to check out the GO TEXAN WineCasts, a new series of web videos produced by the Texas Department of Agriculture about Texas Wine Trails. You can check out all of the wine trails here and apply for your passport here.

posted by Nancy Nichols | May 6th, 2010 9:51am | filed under AgriBusiness, GO TEXAN, Local/Slow Food, North Texas Wine, Texas Wine | 5 Comments »

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