We sat down with Blank one morning at Hudson’s last week - sunlight filtering in through the wine glasses which stood at silent attention during these rare peaceful moments before the deliveries and phone calls begin, and long before the first customer touches lip to fork. Despite his multiple accolades, you will find no pretention here: Blank emerges from the kitchen, suntanned and smiling, to sit down and chat with Austinist in the midst of the Texas Hill Country Wine and Food Festival. ...

For the 3rd year, the Texas Hill Country Wine and Food Festival's Sunday Fair returns to Georgetown's San Gabriel Park for a day of artisanal foods, live cooking demonstrations, shade-tree discussions about Texas wine and spirits, and live music. ...

While the cultures may be somewhat divergent, the climate and landscape of the Texas Hill Country have been compared to the winemaking giants of central Italy, Spain or the South of France, and Mediterranean wines like Grenache, Syrah, Viognier, Tempranillo and Sangiovese are becoming more common (especially since they can better deal with Texas' extreme weather and the need to dig deep for nutrients.)...

If you've got a hankerin' to attend a Texas Hill Country Wine and Food Festival event this weekend but don't feel like ponying up the dough, enter below for a chance to win one of three pairs of tickets to the following events: Austin Uncorked and Acoustic Hot Latin Lunch The Sunday Fair in San Gabriel Park...

A new event in this year's quiver of festival firsts, Zen Nation will take place at Action Figure's East Austin Studios and will feature signature cocktails, celebrity sightings (ostensibly) and entertainment from Charanga Cakewalk. ...

As Elvis Costello once said: "Oh, I just don't know where to begin." How does one describe Austin's best food and wine event of the year? Let us simply say that if you're a foodie, and you don't plan to attend this...perhaps your credentials should be revoked. This is prom night, homecoming, and the big game all in one. The top wineries are pouring. The best restaurants in the state are competing to one up each other. And the sheer volume of it all is overwhelming. Stars Across Texas is the marquee event of the festival, an expensive but amazing feast for your palate featuring everything that's great about Texas food and international wine and spirits....