Taste of Fort Worth

Big thanks to Wade Sanders of Pioneer Wine Company for leading the Vine Connections tasting at Ridglea CC in Fort Worth Sunday night. The wines of Susana Balbo and her beloved BenMarco were the hit of the night! I uploaded new pics on www.texacaliwine.com

I'm traveling all with week Jesse Lange of Oregon's Lange Estate - check out the calendar on www.texacaliwine.com for events this week - Friday night's dinner in Austin is SOLD OUT! Yeah Baby! More from the road this week - Ali

Wine events galore...

So I know this time of year was going to be a busy one, but whew...get a load of this calendar on www.texacaliwine.com Sorry about zero new posts over the last week. Takes A LOT of planning ahead to create such a tight calendar of winemaker events.

Have I had some great wine lately? YES! Teira Sauv Blanc and Handley Cellars Pinot Gris are rockin' right now. Probably the best couple of meals I've had were within the same 24 hours - I had a nice day off last weekend (no travel, no meetings!). I went to Asti in Austin for dinner - had their Housemade Potato-Ricotta Gnocchi - ASTImade Spicy Sausage, Fennel & Tomato. For brunch the next day, I hit Woodland - possibly my favorite neighborhood joint of all time. Service is awesome, wine lists rocks, atmosphere is groovy and the food is always fresh and delicious. Nothing like sitting with your man, reading over the NYTimes, sipping great coffee, listening to great music while eating yummy food. I stuck with a simple scramble eggs with a side of grits and fresh fruit, but had the pleasure of staring at the biggest and most wonderful plate of homemake biscuits and gravy. DANG! Yeah - I might have snagged a bite or two - but what a guilty pleasure...

So anyways, I'm off again today to Dallas - the next few weeks are full of winemakers visiting Texas - literally dozens of meetings, winemaker tastings and dinner events. I've managed to line-up cool shows along the way - John Butler Trio, Wilco, Rogue Wave and Death Cab for Cutie tickets are bought and I can't wait to see all this live music in May! More soon - Cheers - Ali

Wine Spectator Insider Today

James Molesworth published a handful of goodies online today in the Insider. Read the complete review on Luca, Susana Balbo and BenMarco wines here...http://www.texacaliwine.com/winespectatorinsider.cfm

Hang on...

Oh, I'm buried - stay tuned for a complete update on the Eric Solomon Portfolio Tasting and Sake Brewer Tour soon. WHEW!!!!!!!!! What a week of killer tastings in Texas...

For those of you in the Dallas area - please stop into Corner Wines this Thursday evening (located in Plano off of Preston Rd. and Parker - same shopping center as Mi Cocina and Bread Winners). I'm leading a tasting of Handley Cellars and Teira wines from California. Cheers - Ali

THE WINE EVENT OF THE YEAR!!

Open to all Wine Trade and Texas Press & Media!

(Click on image to enlarge) See ya Monday! Cheers - Ali

The "TexaCali Wine Co. " Sitcom

What a fun week - can you imagine traveling through Texas for days with a carload of Japanese Sake Brewers? Nothing more hilarious than driving through the middle of Texas with the Brewers belting out "On the Road Again", Willy would be so proud! Seinfeld comes to mind often, makes me laugh my ass off.

It's been a great week of Ginjo Sake education so far in Houston, The Woodlands and Dallas. We are off to Austin today for another day of talking sake! A big thanks to "Cork" in the West Village and Kenichi Dallas for hosting three wonderful events for our Sake Brewer visit yesterday. I quickly posted some new pics of the past few days on www.texacaliwine.com More details and pictures to come... Cheers - Ali

This Wednesday in Dallas

Here’s one for the ages folks. This Wednesday night at Kenichi (Dallas) the Japanese Sake Brewers from Divine Droplets, Bride of the Fox, Wandering Poet and Dreamy Clouds will lead a delicious dinner. $75 per person and please call Beth Tracy at Kenichi (214) 871-8883 to save your seat. This will be a very private and informative event for you to enjoy the best of the East meets West at Kenichi. Look at this amazing line-up….

April 9^th, 2008

We Would Like To Welcome Our Friends From Kanbara, Rihaku and Takasago

Special Thanks to Vine Connections and TexaCali Wine Co.

1^st Course

Sashimi Salad

Kona Kanpachi and Toro with Heirloom Tomatoes,

Organic Baby Lettuces and Ginger Dressing

Paired with Wandering Poet

2^nd Course

Tasmanian Salmon

Glazed with Miso and Ginger; Served with wok wilted Asian greens

and a Japanese Mustard Emulsion

Paired with Bride of The Fox

3^rd Course

Grilled Prime Strip Steak

Fire Roasted Shishito Peppers, Smoky Miso and Matsutake Nimono Sauce

Paired with Divine Droplets

Desert Course

Nashi Bread Pudding

Ginger Ice Cream, Sesame Tuile and Chantilly Cream

Paired with Dreamy Clouds

Nice!

Ahhh Yeah - It's been a great week George was all over the late night talk shows... Oh - I mean it's been a great week - selling a lot of wine and sake out there! HA.

Speaking of - Stop into the GrapeVine Market Round Rock Store today - they are featuring the Argentine wines of Vine Connections and Oregon's Lange Estate. 12p-6p. Very Cool. Happy Weekend! Hurray! - Ali

Click to enlarge...