Premier Lots for the 27th Annual Rare & Fine Wine Auction Announced!

After months of scouring the globe for rare, fine, and desirable wines, The 27th Annual Rare & Fine Wine Auction is nearly upon us, and we've got our hands on some really great lots this year that you won't want to miss.  Among them are large format bottles, collector's wine sets, lavish wine trips, and exclusive wine dinners.  Don't be the last to scout out the details on these premier lots!

Have we piqued your interest?  The night begins with a champagne reception in which all the lots are on display for your perusal.  Following, you'll be treated to a decadent array of salads, entrees and desserts on the buffet, presented by the Four Season's Executive Chef Elmar Prambs.  And we've only just begun!  Then the real fun begins with the boisterous and fast-paced live auction, showcasing nearly 100 auction lots.  Feeling lucky?  Give it a go at the silent auction tables where 50 lots featuring wine, gift cards, experiences and other goodies abound.  And the best part?  It's not too late to reserve your seats for this always fun evening!  Just visit our registration page to join in on the fun!

Members Only Syrah Happy Hour

We went out on a limb and hosted our first-ever members only wine tasting last night at Marquee Rents. Well, I guess it wasn’t too risky; who doesn’t like wine tastings?! We were greeted with a beautiful set-up in Marquee’s design center, where colorful linens painted the walls and sparkling stemware awaited our wine. We ended up with about 15 different Syrah/Shiraz to taste along with an abundance of yummy bites from our members and Dagar’s Catering. It was interesting to find that some wines were robustly fruit-forward while others were lighter bodied with a softer finish. Everyone had their own favorites but I personally liked the 2005 Tintara Shiraz McLaren Vale, bursting with blue and black fruit and some layers of mushroom and tabacco.

 I’m already looking forward to our next members only wine tasting, wherever it may take us!

2011 Scholarship Winner, Renee Morgan Using Talents in a New Way

A lot of folks have been asking what I’m up to since graduation. Well, I have an exciting new project to tell you all about. I’m thrilled to introduce Chefalicious Hospitality, Inc., a 503(c) non-profit foundation. You see, as a mother, grandmother and culinarian, I feel very strongly about children’s nutrition and it’s effect on their health and development. In Williamson county, Texas, over 60,000 people are food insecure at any one time. Of those, over 32,000 are children under the age of 18. (These statistics are according to the U.S Federal Census Bureau and the Texas Health and Human Services Commission.) As a long time resident of Williamson county, I know that much of the county is rural, which means many times it is exceptionally difficult for these people to obtain assistance. Even if a family receives assistance in the form of SNAP (food stamps), a family of four generally receives around $150 or less per month. If the children of such a family receives free or reduced breakfast and lunch at school, they many times still go hungry nights, weekends, summers. That’s where Chefalicious Hospitality comes in.

Our mission is to use our culinary talents and resources to provide for the nutritional welfare of the economically disadvantaged children of Williamson County, Texas, the surrounding area and the world. We aim to do this through providing nutritious food, education, partnerships with area schools and daycare, cooking lessons, installation of home gardens and scholarships for the study of culinary arts to deserving students.

What does that mean exactly? Well, here’s the way it works. Chefalicious Hospitality offers catering, personal and private chef services, meal delivery for those know don’t have the time or inclination to cook, cooking lessons and classes and summer cooking camps for kids. Let’s say you need one of these services. If you chose to hire Chefalcious Hospitality (CH) as you would any other caterer or private chef, you also get the added benefit and peace of mind in knowing that your money is helping to feed hungry kids. You see, all of our proceeds are used to provide nutritional services to food insecure children in Williamson county.

We seek to assist children and their families in several ways:

-  CH will partner with No Kid Hungry™ to provide grocery store tours to economically disadvantaged parents to teach them how to read nutritional labels, menu plan, avoid unhealthy foods, and shop on a limited budget.

-  CH will provide a hot and healthy meal to any child under the age of 18 in need. We seek to partner with the USDA to provide lunch for children in the summer and this grow this service to include all other meals.

-  CH will provide cooking lessons to parents and children in food insecure families. Our intent is to teach children to prepare simple healthy snacks and give parents the tools they need to prepare delicious, quick and healthy meals for their families.

-  CH will gift a home garden to food insecure families, teach them how to grow and maintain their garden, and how to preserve their harvest for long term consumption.

-  CH hopes to offer training and culinary scholarships to promising high school students who demonstrate talent and financial need.   

Why now? I suppose my own story impacted my decision to start this foundation. Prior to attending culinary school, I had been a successful realtor and business owner. My husband owned a prosperous delivery company. We enjoyed a comfortable lifestyle. When the recession hit our country in 2009, we found ourselves to be casualties. Along with so many others in this country, we lost everything. After trying to find work for over a year, I decided it was time to reinvent myself by going to culinary school. It was very difficult but it was something I had always wanted to do. Sometimes we didn’t have enough food, heat or even utilities. But I had a goal and nothing was going to stop me. I am grateful and blessed to say that I was able to finish culinary school with no debt because of winning the Stephan Pyles Cook-Off Scholarship, along with several others. I am forever indebted to the The Wine & Food Foundation of Texas and Chef Stephan Pyles.

This experience forever changed me and highlighted the plight of so many in my community.  While I was in Boston completing my culinary internship with America’s Test Kitchen, I saw a billboard that advertised a place where any child under 18 could get a meal in the summer. It was sponsored by the USDA. I started thinking about how I could start something like that at home. Once back home in Texas, I started talking to people about my idea. Pretty soon, I had a professional kitchen, a dining room and office space with utilities donated by a local church in Leander. Next a farmer began donating organic vegetables. Then a certified master gardener offered to help with the gardens. A retired grant writer offered to help raise funds. We were on our way!

Currently, we are working on putting together our board of directors and infrastructure of the foundation and expect to be fully operational early in 2012. We hope to have a grand opening and a gala fundraiser in upcoming days. I would love to invite all of you to consider being a part of this important work, either by volunteering time, donating, or hiring CH for your events and culinary needs. We look forward to serving you and the children of Williamson county.

Please contact me regarding opportunities or to contract CH for events and services at renee.morgan1@gmail.com, 512-300-6128 or PO Box 1058, Liberty Hill, TX 78642.

Stephan Pyles Celebrity Chef Dinner Recap

Now in its twelfth year, the Annual Stephan Pyles Celebrity Chef Dinner & Live Wine Auction held in Dallas this past weekend at Stephan Pyles Restaurant was anything but repetitive.  With different chefs cooking each year, the event always offers new surprises and inventive culinary creations to keep guests coming back for more.  This year’s line-up included David Garrido of Austin, Joel Harrington of Dallas, Nick Badovinus of Dallas, Jason Dady of San Antonio, and Rebecca Rather of Fredericksburg cooking alongside Stephan Pyles himself.  To get the night started, this year’s Stephan Pyles Culinary Scholarship winner Reneé Morgan prepared three passed hors d’oeuvres for the crowd of 100 that were so good, people were amazed to hear they had been prepared by a recent culinary school grad, rather than a chef with a pedigree such as that of Stephan Pyles.  Morgan’s samplings, paired with a Nicolas Feuillatte Champagne, made for a happy crowd right from the get-go.  After four courses of scallops, salmon, quail, and lamb, each perfectly paired with wine, the lively and exciting auction portion of the evening began as doughnuts, ice cream, and bacon (!) were served for dessert. I don’t know about everyone else, but I practically rolled out of there, happy as a pig in mud.

All in all, a truly wonderful night to support a wonderful cause – this year’s dinner raised over $20,000 to support next year’s Stephan Pyles Culinary Scholarship awarded by The Wine & Food Foundation of Texas.  Many thanks to our headlining sponsor Central Market, without whom this dinner would be impossible, all the chefs for donating their time and effort, and the wine sponsors (Ste. Michelle Wine Estates, Evening Land Vineyards, Sokol Blosser Winery, Pedernales Cellars, Palm Bay International, and Esprit du Vin) who were extremely generous to donate all wine for the evening.  We’re already looking forward to the 2012 Scholarship competition which will take place in San Antonio March 17-18th.  If the next winner cooks anything like 2011’s winner Reneé Morgan, we’re in for a treat!

Beautiful Night at Big Reds & Bubbles

The 9th Annual Big Reds & Bubbles was a beautiful evening, filled with festive spirits! Selling out early this year, guests who purchased their tickets in time were treated to delicious tasty bites from over 20 Austin chefs and wine samples galore.

As guests entered the event, they were greeted by a glamourous Champagne girl, sponsored by LaMarca prosecco, encouraged to grab a glass of bubbly from her skirt. Throughout the evening, our host, Chef Brad Sorenson who was featured on season 6 of The Next Food Network star, provided light-hearted commentary.

The Dylan Jones trio provided background music and guests bid for unique items at the silent auction. One guest took home a bottle of 1955 port with their winning big!

Thank you to everyone that joined us for this wonderful evening and to our sponsors for helping us make it happen. Next year we'll celebrate our 10th Anniversary, so be sure to buy your tickets nice and early again.

Chef's Under Fire Finals

We were very excited about the opportunity to volunteer at Chefs Under Fire 2011 Finals, that occurred this past weekend at the AT&T Executive Education and Conference Center. Created by Diane Dixon of the Keeper Collection, this event has quickly become a foodie favorite in Austin. We welcomed guests to this great event, helped register them and sent them on their way into the pre-tasting. There, they could watch the chefs prepare dishes, try various wines, and sample some outstanding lobster bisque and pork belly created by Executive Chef Josh Watkins of The Carillon. Yum! 

Chefs had a limited time to prepare a dish including potatoes, beets, green onion, and Longhorn beef. Each chef introduced his dish to the celebrity judges, who included Chef David Bull, Chef Tyson Cole, and Chef Kent Rathbun. Also in attendance to talk about the wines was Devon Broglie, Master Sommelier and Global Buyer at Whole Foods Market.

Guests were seated in the large ballroom after the testing, and were presented with the three different dishes. The event was incredibly interactive as guests were able to vote for their Fan Favorite via Twitter, and appear on a live Twitter feed. The Judge’s pick was Chef Harold Wong, but Chef Daniel Valenzuela pleased our palettes with his dish, and won Fan Favorite. Between the cook-off, the delectable dishes, and various wines and cheeses, the event was fun for all!

The Wine & Food Foundation team were very excited to see the chef-off between Shawn Cirkiel of Parkside and Paul Peterson of Vivo Lake Creek, hosted by Top Chef judge Gail Simmons! Sponsored by Target on a parking lot at 4th and Congress streets, the event was a fun way to enjoy the weather and see some great cooking with fresh ingredients.

Chef Cirkiel cooked up a halibut with a carrot sauce that smelled fabulous, while Chef Peterson made pork accompanied by a guacamole with tomato and pineapple. With the help of an audience member, the chefs had 20 minutes to create their dishes. Meanwhile, Simmons talked about some of her foodie faves. In the end, Simmons appreciated Chef Peterson’s Tex-Mex flare, and announced him winner of the chef-off.

After the event, our Community Relations Director Becka Brown took a photo with Simmons and spoke about the Foundation. Hopefully we will be seeing her at an event soon! It was wonderful to watch both chefs compete, create incredible food, and we can’t wait to see more of these types of creations at Big Reds & Bubbles on November 17, 2011.

Written by Lauren Brandewie, Foundation Intern

Out and About? You Bet We Are!

Congrats to many of our Board Members, Partners and Foundation Members for being listed on Michael Barnes prestigious Out & About 500 list.
Food: David Garrido, Susan and Ed Auler, David Bull, Paula Biehler, Shawn Cirkiel, Quincy Erickson, Bryce Gilmore, Jennifer and Marshall Jones (Our Executive Director!!), Cameron Lockley, Rob Moshein, plus Deborah and Larry Peel (Our Chairman!).
Business: Eddie Safady, Wendy Casey Sooch and Nav Sooch
Interactive: David Wyatt
Media: Dave Shaw, George Elliman, Deborah Hamilton-Lynn,
Nightlife: Chad Auler, Becky and Damon Holditch, Sylvia and David Jabour, Kara and Matt Swinney
Style: Rachel Elsberry
Thank you to everyone for their continued support of The Wine & Food Foundation of Texas!

Tour de Vin Recap

Around the world in one night!

Food was plated, wine was being poured, and Japanese Taiko drummers were performing as guests arrived at the W Hotel on Thursday night for our internationally-inspired wine and food pairing event, Tour de Vin. Featuring 15 Austin restaurants and over 85 wines to taste, the night was sure to please… and that it did!

Guests sampled food inspired by many regions of the world including North America, South America, Spain, France, Italy, Greece, Japan, and Australia, and were able to pair wines (or sakes!) with each tasty bite. But don’t forget the bubbly! A step out on to the second floor terrace on this comfortable summer night revealed champagnes and sparkling wines galore.

A few of the lucky event-goers were also able to sign up for sommelier tours on the terrace led by Gusto Tastings throughout the night. And of course, we couldn’t forget the cigars that were graciously passed out by Heroes & Legacies.

But that’s not all! Surprise entertainment throughout the night included salsa dancing by Dance International and belly dancing from Viviane Bressan. And for those who wanted a souvenir by which to remember their world tour, the silent auction offered dinners, jewelry, gift certificates and of course, wine. A great time was had by all!

Now it’s on to our holiday kickoff, Big Reds & Bubbles. Let the planning begin!



Bill Elsey Named Texas' Best Sommelier

We had an amazing time at TEXSOM 2011! Three jam packed days of registration, wine education and networking with the best in the wine business. Huge kuddos to James Tidwell MS, CWE, Sommelier at the Four Seasons Resort and Club in La Colinas and Drew Hendricks MS, CWE, Director of Beverage Education for Pappas Restaurants in Houston for leading this outstanding conference filled with a new media symposium and two days of wine seminars. Plus, did you know there was a competition going on as well? 20 individuals were competiting in a rigorous three-part wine examination involving service, blind tasting and theory with the winner, Bill Elsey of  Duchman Family Wines announced during Grand Tasting event on Monday evening. It was a fantastic conference and we can't wait for 2012!

TexSom Around the Corner!

We are gearing up for the 7th Annual Texas Sommelier Conference on August 13-15 at the Four Seasons Resort and Club in Las Colinas, Dallas. Be prepared for two full days of wine seminars led by the world's top experts, followed by a grand tasting of more than 150 world-class wines and small bites by Executive Chef Christof Syre.

Behind the scenes of the conference, the annual Texas' Best Sommelier competition will be taking place, with the winner announced at the Grand Tasting on Monday evening. Each year the winner of the competition is awarded scholarships for professional certification courses.

If you haven't registered for this one-of-a-kind conference be sure to do so soon - tickets are selling fast. http://www.texsom.com/

Susan Tran Named Winner of the 4th Annual Pastry Competition

Congratulations to Susan Tran of Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts in Austin for taking home the top prize of $5,000 in the 4th Annual Pastry Competition. The two runners-up, Andrea Morgan and Lauren Ortiz took home $1,000 each. Choosing the winner was a tough decision for our three judges led by Chef Mark Paul of Wink Restaurant, Pat Sharpe of Texas Monthly Magazine and Chef Almar Alcocer of El Chile Restaurant as all three contestants showed off amazing skill and talent!  

4th Annual Pastry Competition

Three students will battle it out this weekend competing in the 4th Annual Pastry Competition at Le Cordon Bleu Austin! Each finalist will be creating a compossed dessert, traditional Texas dessert (this year Tres Leches), a standard technique dessert, mignardises plate and basic yeast bread to showcase their skills.

Swing on by Le Cordon Bleu this Sunday from 11:30am - 2:30pm to watch the competition and see who gets crowned the winner!

26th Annual Rare & Fine Wine Auction Raises Over $300,000

The 26th Annual Rare & Fine Wine Auction held at the Four Seasons Hotel Austin was an exciting and fun-filled evening! We raised over $300,000!
Special thanks to Twin Liquors, Republic National Distributing Company, Retour Wines and Sokol Blosser. Some great looking lots that were up for auction and the crowd was eager to start bidding! Thanks to our Auctioneers Harvey Kronberg, Doyle Fellers and Kevin Patterson.

Huge thanks to our models for working the runway and helping us out all night!

High bidders were treated with champagne at their table.

Thank you to everyone that attended and made this event another success for The Wine & Food Foundation of Texas!

New Lots Announced for the 26th Annual Rare & Fine Wine Auction!

The excitement is building as we ramp up to the 26th Annual Rare & Fine Wine Auction!  We're happy to announce some more exceptional items that will be up for auction at this always-outstanding event!

• “A Seat at The Table” - 16 of the rarest wines from 8 Auction Committee Members’ personal collections, Chef Mark Paul of Wink, and a beautiful Lady Bird Lake view. Only 8 seats will be on the auction block for this incredible wine experience.
• Chuck Wagner’s Caymus Special Selection has been the benchmark California cabernet for over 3 decades, and we have a Salmanazar (9 liters) of the 2008 Caymus SS Cabernet Sauvignon! That’s a case of Caymus in 1 bottle!  $3,500 Estimated Value
• 2 Nights for 2 people in Siena, Italy at the San Felice Holiday House Le Bonce with a tour of the winery and a personal tasting. This wonderful package comes with a 5 liter of 2006 San Felice Chianti Classico to get in the spirit!

Don't miss out on the opportunity to place the winning bid on these impressive lots.  Reserve your seat today to be part of an evening full of festivities, food, and of course, wine!

Featured Lots for the 26th Annual Rare & Fine Wine Auction

The 26th Annual Rare & Fine Wine Auction is really living up to its reputation this year! The Foundation is proud to present three bottles of the 2007 Screaming Eagle Cabernet Savignon. Screaming Eagle is the finest & rarest collectible collectible Cult Cabernet in the world. Only a few precious bottles exist and are selling as high as $3,500 in some parts of the country. Robert Parker rated it 100 points and calls it "the most profound Screaming Eagle since the 2002 and 1997". A bottle of the 2007 Screaming Eagle is a must-have for the wine collector.

Also on the Auction block is a Private Wine Tasting for 6 at Joseph Phelps Vineyards. Six guests will enjoy a unique visit to the Joselph Phelps Vineyards for a private, high-end tasting (typically reserved for Phelps preferred members). The tasting will feature a selection of their current releases including their flagship wine, Insignia. Since the release of the 1990 vintage, Insignia has been produced estate-grown grapes from two of the most desirable sources for Cabernet Savignon, Rutherford Bench and the Stags Leap District.

Join us on Saturday, April 16th to see these items (and many other greats) up for Auction!

The Wine & Food Foundation of Texas is thrilled to be selected as the 2011 beneficiary of Sip & Savor Austin - a city-wide food and drink celebration with one goal – to get the most “people in the door” of participating restaurants and bars, surpassing any food and drink event in the city.

Sip & Savor Austin is a 2-week event from January 16-30, 2011 featuring a variety of venues including Max's Wine Dive (Foundation Community Partner!), Whole Foods Market, Urban at The Westin, The Carillon, Paggi House, La Sombra, III Forks and many, many more!

To see all special, menus and events - visit http://www.sipandsavoraustin.com/. Let us know where you'll be Sipping and Savoring - we'd love to join you!

Top 10 Wine Stories of 2010 (according to Wine Enthusiast Magazine)

It has been an exciting year here at The Wine & Food Foundation of Texas. We've thrown some great wine and food events, enjoyed delicious food, plus continued our mission of supporting education by awarding outstanding Chefs and Sommeliers with scholarships.

The staff found the article below  featured in Wine Enthusiast Magazine (article shortened) interesting and made us wonder - what does 2011 hold? Let us know what you think.

Top 10 Wine Stories of 2010:
1) The “new normal.” Continuing to scramble the game board in the face of ongoing economic uncertainty, fewer consumers are willing to pay luxury prices, with predictable results on sales at every tier. In the U.S. market, the “sweet spot” of $12 to $15 slipped to $9 to $12 in 2009, and has remained. Anything over $20 is a tough sell.

2) Changing of the guard. Winery executives and owners are trying to figure out if they’re going to stay in the game or sell out, especially family businesses wondering if the next generation is going to take things on.

3) European wine flexes its marketing muscle. The European Union followed up the market reforms it instituted in 2008 with the promised funding: over a four-year period, well over 828 million euros ($1.16 billion) to support the marketing of European wine.

4) Continued export growth for Argentina and Chile. Argentinean Malbec has been the hot wine of the year. 

5) Climate change. France is dry, Portugal is hot and California is cold: six consecutive years of chilly vintages with 2010 being the coldest ever or nearly so.

6) Green wines.

7) Exchange rate fluctuations.

8) Oversupply. Wine in oversupply in various parts of the world and price segments are making this a buyer’s market, but at a time when consumers struggle for a sense of economic security.

9) Château Lafite-Rothschild in Asia. Vintages of this iconic winery have become an outsized status symbol above and beyond the other first growths in Asia, the most visible symbol of the way the bottomless pockets of Asia’s elites have vaulted the prices for Bordeaux 2009 top growths into the stratosphere.

10) State sales of alcoholic beverages. At least four states are considering an end to their state-run liquor stores, but if Washington State is typical, no change will happen soon.

To read the full article, please click here.

Happy Holidays to you and your family!