Image from the Wine and Food Foundation Website The Wine and Food Foundation of Texas Presents - Taste Washington – Austin!January 22, 2008One World Theatre (7701 Bee Caves Road)(6-9pm, $50 members, $60 non-menbers)[info] | [tickets]According to our trustworthy friends at the Wine and Food Foundation of Texas, Washington State has become a premium wine producing region. Even though the Washington Wine industry is relatively young, it is now the nation's second largest wine producer and......

5th Annual Big Reds and BubblesTuesday, November 27Driskill Hotel (604 Brazos St.)6:30-9pm; $75 general admission, $60 for members[info] | [tickets]With Thanksgiving a mere two days away and the holiday season right around the corner, this time of year brings fine wine to all foodie minds. Wine lovers traditionally splurge in December on fancy bottles for both holiday toasts and New Year's Eve celebrations. To welcome this time of year and the wines that complement......

Rebecca Robinson won't sit still. In addition to her day job, Robinson is also an award-winning actor, garnering recognition as the Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama for the 2006-2007 B. Iden Payne Awards. Austinist asked Robinson some questions about The Wine and Food Foundation of Texas and her role as Executive Director of the Austin-based organization whose membership reads like a a who's who of heavy-hitters in the growing Texas culinary scene. How did......

Fall is here, the weather is cooling, and the prospect of an outdoor food and wine tasting has mentally moved from "it's too hot!" to "that sounds perfect." One of the marquee wine events of the fall, Tour De Vin pairs eleven chefs and over 100 wines in a "sip and stroll" format tasting on Thursday, October 4th. This is the fifth anniversary of the event, and the wine lineup looks to be the......

Drink up! Austinite-by-way-of-Houston Mark Sayre has been named Texas’ Best Sommelier for 2007 by The Wine & Food Foundation of Texas along with The Texas Sommelier Association. A recent hire of the Four Seasons Hotel in Austin, Sayre received his award last night at the Grand Tasting sponsored by Whole Foods Market at the third annual Texas Sommelier Conference. The winner of the statewide competition (which was limited to 25 candidates) was determined through......

As summer draws to a close, it's frustrating at times to realize what you never got around to during the season. Whether you meant to rent a boat, go to the beach, or visit the ballpark, sometimes the time just flies right by. Thankfully, the Wine and Food Foundation of Texas have given all foodies an excuse to drive up to Round Rock and check out the Dell Diamond before summer's end (though there......

When summer arrives, most food and wine events disappear into the hot summer air, not to be seen again until fall. Thankfully, this year seems to be an exception to that rule. On Sunday the 15th, the Wine & Food Foundation is partnering with Mirabelle and Chef Michael Vilum to create a special summer foodie event. The Mirabelle dining room will host a 'sip and stroll' dinner featuring seven different dishes (three appetizers, three......

*The views expressed in Foodie Friday are those of the author and do not represent Austinist (and quite often our readership) as a whole. Ahh, the subjective nature of tastebuds.* -The Editors Growing up in Williamson County, culinary choice was abundant. If you wanted homestyle cooking, you could drive west on 620 to Pass the Bis'kits, Please, where you might be presented with a chicken fried steak and a - you guessed it -......

Talk about getting a bad reputation for no reason! Zinfandel is the quintessential American grape: author Mark Oldman calls it the "great American wine" and describes it as "a varietal with mouth-filling heft and massive alcohol...which offers a lovable, jammy excursion built for immediate gratification." Unfortunately, many casual wine drinkers only associate the word Zinfandel with the horrible pink blush wine that comes out of a Franzia box. To help combat this misguided idea,......

Paula Disbrowe has been a food and travel writer in Manhattan and the cowgirl chef at Hart & Hind Fitness Ranch in Rio Frio, Texas. Her work has been featured in publications including the New York Times, Food & Wine, Cooking Light, and Saveur. She recently launched one of our favorite websites, Dishola, and her new book, Cowgirl Cuisine: Rustic Recipes and Cowgirl Adventures from a Texas Ranch, showcases her love for Texas food. Catch......

Things we learned at the 2006 Wine and Food Foundation of Texas Tour de Vin at Whole Foods Market: When it comes to great Austin chefs, we love it when we get the chance to eat: • Warm Gorgonzola, Pancetta & Roasted Garlic Dip with Amuse Bouche Croutes from Amuse Bouche Catering Company • Posole Blanco from Castle Hill Cafe • Crab Cakes from Eddie V's Edgewater Grille • Mini Tuna Tartare Tacos with Wasabi......

THURSDAY [5] music • Ghostland Observatory, Mellowdrone, Pompeii at Emo's ® music • Bobby Bare Jr, Grand Champeen, Chalk Outlines at Emo's music • Ozomatli, Ghandaia at Stubb's music • Voodoo Organist, The Devil Drums, Ralph White at Beerland music • She, Sir, Bello Ragazzo, Cartright at The Mohawk music • Bonnie Raitt, Keb Mo at The Backyard music • Proteus, Starcastic Pheromone, TBA at Trophy's benefit/music • Rock 'n Roll Garage Sale for......

At the top of the Austinist don't-miss list for people who eat and/or drink is The Wine & Food Foundation of Texas' fourth annual Tour de Vin on the downtown Whole Foods Market terrace next Thursday, October 5, from 6:30 – 9:00 p.m. Participating chefs and restaurants include Austin culinary heavyweights; Amuse Bouche – A Catering Company, Aquarelle, Bistro 88, Castle Hill Café, Cibo (Will Packwood, a Food & Wine’s 2001 Best New Chef......

The New York Times suddenly has a hankering for Texas food. Over the past ten days, three separate articles have praised the virtues of everything from Salt Lick BBQ sauce to Whataburger. You foodies may not consider these items haute cuisine, but it's exotic enough to get attention, we suppose. Other objects of the Times' devotion include Blue Bell Ice Cream and Shiner Bock. We take all of these items for granted, so it's......

We were a little bored just the other evening so we put in our monocles, threw on our spats, had a spoonful of Grey Poupon, hopped in the Bentley, and drove on down to the Triangle where Joe Bedard at Mandola’s Market helped us pick a split of Prosecco and a fine Montepulciano while we waited for our Margherita Pizza and our Bruschetta. Their wine selection is good, and we recommend an extra loaf......

M O N D A Y [ 2 8 ] film · End of an Ear hosts a free screening of Lee Ranaldo and Leah Singer's "Drift" at the Alamo South Lamar (Free, 10pm) [link] music · The Kingsbury Manx, The Standard and The Heavenly States at Emo's film · KOOP Radio's Monthly Film Benefit at MonkeyWrench Books - Gillo Pontecorvo's “The Battle of Algiers”, about the French occupation of 1950s Algeria. (Inc. Beer and......

It's well known around here that Austin loves our wine. And yesterday, wine loved Austin back! While you're scratching your head over that awkward anthropomorphism, allow us to clarify: the Texas Wine and Food Foundation yesterday donated $100,000 to local PBS station KLRU. The funds were raised during April's Saveur Food and Wine Festival at the Rare and Fine Wine Auction, which in total raised over a quarter million dollars for various charities. Austinist......