Food + Drink: Tour De Vin Revamps + Goes Big At The W Tomorrow

While Tour de Vin has been a fall staple of Austin's wine calendar for years, the ninth edition might prove unrecognizable to attendees later this week. For starters, the longtime venue of Whole Foods Rooftop has been switched to the swanky confines of the W Hotel Austin - which will certainly have better air conditioning. The event's running time has also been extended to three hours.

Logistics aside, though, there's a lot more that's new. For starters, the wines and cuisines will be sorted in country-specific areas - meaning you'll have the right wines to pair with the cuisines in each thematic space. The participating restaurants are wildly diverse: Trace, Contigo, Boomerang's, Frank, Aquarelle, Max's Wine Dive, La Sombra, Malaga, Buenos Aires Cafe, urban, Sagra, and Kenichi are among the restaurants and kitchens who will be on hand. Some mystery entertainment is also on the docket, though event organizers are playing coy and won't reveal quite what they have planned. Expect the unexpected?

It would be remiss to omit the star attraction: there's also a copious quantity of wine. The global selections will include brands such as Hess Collection Winery, Artezin, Peter Lehmann, Ferrari-Carano, Terlato, Merryvale Vineyards, Starmont Winery, Rocland Wine Imports, Lion Nathan, Tommasi, Crawford Malone Fine Wine, Joto Sake, LLC., Ste Michelle Wine Estates, Huneeus Wines, Maison Joseph Drouhin, and Mionetto USA.

The foundation is not selling tickets at the door this year, so click the link at right for more information if you're interested in attending. Finally, don't forget to find a designated driver or a taxi for your journey home, and to hydrate with water breaks during your wine-tasting adventures.