Texas Hill Country Wine + Food Festival Preview: Dinner, Celebrities and Bears! Oh, My!

Wine enthusiasts and meat connoisseurs alike will delight at Star Power, a celebrity-powered event under the stars at the AT&T Conference Center Courtyard on Saturday, April 2nd. Actor Kyle MacLachlan (of Desperate Housewives, Sex in the City, Twin Peaks and Blue Velvet) will be serving up his fantastically fruity small-production Cabernet Sauvignon blend, whimsically named Pursued by Bear, in coordination with a five course dinner presented by an all-star cast of celebrity chefs. MacLachlan released his first vintage of Pursued by Bear with long-time friend and highly acclaimed wine-maker Eric Dunham, in Walla Walla, Washington in 2005. The delicately complex creation (named after a famously silly stage direction in Shakespeare’s “The Winter’s Tale”) bursts of cherries, plums and mountain berries, and has been greeted with high praise by wine critics across the board.

MacLachlan’s wines will be paired with delectable carnivorous creations presented by Jon Shook and Vinny Dotolo of L.A.’s appropriately named Animal, which has been labeled one of the Best New Restaurants in 2010 by James Beard and has become a destination for celebrity chefs visiting L.A.. These two hip, fun-loving chefs met attending culinary school at the Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale and have advanced in their careers together side-by-side ever since. Their achievements also include their own Food Network show, Two Dudes Catering, their own cookbook, Two Dudes: One Pan, and their brand spanking new seafood endeavor, Son of a Gun, which opened its doors only a month ago. Shook and Dotolo will be joining forces with Austin’s own Josh Watkins of The Carillon and David Bull of Second and Congress for a night of farm fresh, sustainable, traditional cuisine with an upscale flare.

The evening commences at 8 pm with a reception featuring sparkling wine, charcuterie and local Texas wines. It will unravel into an intimate, five-course, meat-centric dining experience which, with these dynamic hosts, is sure to be a night to remember.