Austinist Gets Sideways at Texas Hill Country Wine & Food Festival
Every now and then Austinist likes to go a little high-brow. Hence, we spent this past weekend indulging ourselves in the decadence that was the The Texas Hill Country Wine & Food Festival .
Produced by Capital Sports Entertainment , and in conjunction with Saveur Magazine, the festival offered a variety of events, from demonstrations and samples by world-renowned chefs such as Wolfgang Puck and Todd English, to boat cruises which offered tapas and sangria to an entire area dedicated to the cooking stylings of the Texas cowboy.
Austinist found the undeniable highlight of both days to be The Big Taste. Picture, if you will, a massive tented area designed in an L-shape featuring wine from more than 100 wineries and delectable food samplings from more than 50 restaurants, specialty food companies and local grocers. There is something quite combustible about shoving 500 seemingly well-heeled patrons under a tent and having a food and wine free-for-all. Trust us when we say, there is almost nothing as entertaining as sitting back and watching sophisticates push and shove one another in an effort to get free samples of roasted quail like they were Nepalese street urchins fighting with wild dogs over scraps. All of a sudden, the etiquette flies out the window, and French manicures are being chipped faster than you can say beluga. But after watching with bemusement for all of two minutes, we found ourselves right in the mix. The combination of “free” and “Epicureanism” is indeed intoxicating.
More intoxicating, however, was the delicious array of wines, and while we wanted to savor the aromas and flavors of each individual wine tasted, we approached said samplings with a bit of reticence, as we did not want to go all “sideways” on the vendors and come off like that latest of creations “Johnny Wine-Enthusiast Come Most Recent Oscar Season.” After having a few dozen wines, though, any pretense or self-consciousness flew out the window. Soon we were arm-in-arm with our partners in crime, bouncing from one port to pinot noir to chardonnay like the children in Willy Wonka’s beloved chocolate factory. By the end of the 1 ½ hours of the Big Tatse (it ran twice daily), new friends were made, sordid stories of drunken wine evenings and cell phone numbers exchanged. People were shouting recommendations to one another. The pull of manchega cheese would hold one in rapture, until a friend would swing in pulling arms and gesticulating wildly about how the Geyser Peak Savuignon Blanc boasts hints of grapefruit and that the scuttlebutt is Sterling Vineyards is the must-try. After gorging ourselves shamelessly, we stumbled en masse from the tent into the beautiful sunshine, looking like some strange fraternity party sponsored by Ravenswood as opposed to say Miller Lite and Jagermeister.
Overall, Austinist could only consider the weekend a smashing success. We tolerated the lines easily and enjoyed the company of friends and strangers alike, despite the fact that at one point we made the observation that, “I knew there were a lot of plastic surgeons in Austin, I just didn’t know who their clients were.” And of course, no wine fest would be complete without seeing a silver fox in a Gulfstream hat asking an unassuming volunteer, who may have been all of 19 years old, if she had ever spent much time in Sonoma. Somehow, we found the cliches and stereotypes of high society all the more palatable when enjoyed with a nice cabernet and some fondued chocolate.
The folks at Capital Sports Entertainment have carved a fine niche for themselves, putting together some of the best fests in the region. The ample signage, gregarious volunteers and helpful brochures all worked together to make the experience a wildly enjoyable one. Our tip for next year is simple: pace yourself and enjoy.
See y’all next year.
