The Austin Food + Wine Festival has a fantastic Valentine’s Day contest going on right now. The Food is For Lovers Giveaway will reward one winner each in Austin, Dallas, Houston and San Antonio with a foodcentric prize package for two. In Austin, the winner and his guest will make and bake pretzels at Easy Tiger, then enjoy them with that addictive beer cheese, cold brew and other yums in the beer garden out back. I’m more than a little envious of Houston’s prize — an oyster shucking class and sparkling wine. Dallasites will enjoy jamon on their “tour of Spain,” and well, San Antonio, your prize is off-the-chain! I’d love to sit down with Steve McHugh of Cured and talk charcuterie while gobbling up delicious cured meats. Enter the contest, and don’t forget to surprise your Valentine with tickets to the festival. Hint: “All In” is the way to go.
#AFWFest Food is For Lovers Giveaway
Somms Under Fire – Classic Competition!
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One annual event that I always look forward to is the Somms Under Fire Finals competition from Keeper Collection. This food and wine pairing pits sommeliers against each other in a fast paced evening of delectable bites and sips. At stake is an internship in Burgundy, France and $2K travel grant, to help the winner on his journey toward a higher level of wine knowledge, sponsored by Becky Wasserman & Co. It’s a fun way to spend an evening, with outstanding small bites paired with just the right complementary wine, and a crowd encouraging their chosen sommelier through tweets, applause and sometimes loudly voiced support. This is one wine pairing event that veers away from the old fashioned, staid, and somber and into vibrant discourse.
Full disclosure: I have been in the past, and will be this year, a guest of Keeper Collection at Somms Under Fire. I fully anticipate to enjoy every bit of the night.
Competition will be stiff between Advanced Sommelier Luke Boland of Del Posto in New York, Advanced Sommelier Blake Leja of Signature Luxury Wine & Spirits in Chicago, and Certified Sommelier Ryan Robinson of Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse, Boise Idaho.
The sommeliers have worked their way through a series of challenges to the finals, which features a choice of wines from around the world to pair with food from Chef Drew Curran (Arro, Easy Tiger, Italic). Master Sommelier June Rodil (McGuire Moorman Hospitality Group) will emcee the event, and as always, attendees can expect her warmth and wit to shine. Trivia: Rodil was the 2012 Somms Under Fire winner.
Somms Under Fire kickstarts the festivities in the late afternoon with a Wine Tasting & Education presentation by Napa Valley Vintners is VIP only, and is well worth the additional fee. Learn from some of the industry’s best, as Rosemary Cakebread, Michael Eddy, and Chris Hall lead a lively forum on Napa Valley wines. Napa Valley Vintners is sponsoring a prize package of an educational trip to Napa Valley, accomodations, airfare and meals for the Fan Favorite sommelier. It’s not a leap to conclude that the trip will have copious opportunities to sample Napa wine.
The evening opens with a Chopin Vodka Cocktail Challenge Competition (included in both General Admission and VIP tickets) for which contestants create a cocktail showcasing their personality and the artisinal spirit. From there, it’s on to the ballroom as the sommeliers go for the gold, and patrons sample the foods for the pairings, and enjoy a taste of many delightful wines. I always find my “new favorite bottle” at this competition, thanks to the efforts of Keeper Collection.
The audience chooses the fan favorite, but the sommeliers will be under intense scrutiny from the judges, one of which has sparked a #LambruscoRevolution in Austin. Master Sommelier Craig Collins (The Elm Group) has been spreading the gospel of lightly effervescent vino, and I’ve seen evidence of his influence appear on the wine menu of restaurants all over the city. Accompanying Collins are Peju Napa Valley winemaker Sara Fowler, Burgundy winemaker Nicolas Rossignol, and the always charming bon vivant, Peter Wasserman,
Somms Under Fire will be held at the AT&T Conference Center on Sunday, January 24, 2016. Both VIP ($130)and General Admission ($65) tickets are available. This competition encourages social media postings throughout the event. Keeper Collection may be found on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. The event’s hashtag is #SommsUF. Keeper Collection holds a weekly wine education forum on Twitter on Wednesdays, 12N-1pm EST that can be found using the hashtag #SommChat.
Appeteasers – A little bite of restaurant news
There’s so much going on in the Austin restaurant scene right now! Here’s a few bites of the good stuff to kick off your craving for more, more, more.
- Easy Tiger is baking up King Cakes for the Mardi Gras season. Their version, which features a tiny tiger inside instead of a baby, is a classic pain au lait dough, redolent with cinnamon and buttery goodness. The $18 cakes are special order only, through February 9, with 48 hours advance notice required. Call the bakery at (512) 614-4972 or email specialorders@easytigeraustin.com to order.
- Jo’s Coffee holds their annual Chili Cookoff on January 31st, from noon-3pm, where $20 gains you samples of chili from both professional and amateur cooks. The even, an Urban Roots fundraiser, will feature live music from Jeff Hughes and Chaparral, and the Jo’s House Band. Want to compete? Register here.
- Burn Pizza + Bar has started lunch service from 11am-4pm, Thursday through Sunday. The restaurant has switched to their winter menu and one seasonal item caught my eye. The penne pasta with a Tuscan ragu, Guanciale bacon and pecorino cheese sounds like a hearty, satisfying dish. Props to the chef for making their mozzarella and Njuda in house, and growing herbs and veggies in the restaurant’s garden.
- Hopdoddy is partnering with Girl Scouts of Central Texas, and will have scouts in house at their Round Rock location on January 18th, handing out cookies. The same location is holding a pitch party on January 23rd, and the two scouts whose marketing and business plan wows Hopdoddy will earn the position of cookie supplier for the season. Expect to see some delicious combinations of cookies and milkshakes, most certainly.
- Looking ahead to February, Austin Lamb Jam returns to wow us with bites from some of the city’s best chefs. Tickets go fast for this culinary fest, so get yours today.
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