A TEXAS SIZE WEEK AHEAD

the last few days of September have finally arrived after a horribly hot summer in Texas. All year long those of us in the wine-trade speak of OND (October, November, December). OND usually represents half of the wine sales for the year - yes 3 months of wine bottles and cases flying off the shelves and double if not triple reorder business from our restaurants. I don't know anyone in the business this year that doesn't have all their fingers and toes crossed for a strong end to 2009. There is plenty of wine to buy folks, take advantage of a few bargains on old favorites and keep supporting those special small production bottles too.

So - this week is HUGE. Matt Licklider (the LI in LIOCO) is here all week, Matt's hitting the streets with Avante Beverages in Austin, Fort Worth, Dallas (with Centennial Fine Wines) and Houston. Our LIOCO focus is on their new releases from the best vineyards scattered across the California wine country. Check out Who, When & Where for our LIOCO events.

On top of having the best new California winery in town, I've got the best from Argentina coming into Austin tomorrow to visit. The teams behind Luca, Tikal, La Posta and Mendel Wineries are here to educate the Austin area wine trade for a night at the Alamo drafthouse with Malbec tomorrow night. It's an important stop, Austin is the biggest region in Texas for these brands and I'm so glad to have these guys in to show some appreciation to all of those who have worked so hard over the years to build these brands. BTW - I've seen a few bottles of the 2007 Luca Malbec on a few shelves around town, this was a Top 100 wine of the Wine Spectator last season ...for under $50 too!

Off to the races this week, another 1000 miles + on the road driving the TexaCali Wine Trail. Cheers - Ali