Skip to main content

Sugar Land Wine and Food Affair


The Sugar Land Wine & Food Affair took place at various venues throughout Sugar Land last week. While I did not attend the On the Rocks Bartender Challenge, the Scotch Whisky tasting, the Churrasco Chef dinner or the Sommelier Secrets Lecture, I did have the opportunity to attend all three of the big weekend events.

Friday night, The Grand Tasting took place in the Town Square Marriot Ballroom. The room was packed with party-goers tasting the many special Chefs' creations while sampling the wide assortment of wines from around the world. One of my favorite tastes of the night was the elk carpaccio created by Vail, Colorado Chef Kelly Liken which I washed down with some Malbec made by Ryan Levy pictured at right, the winemaker for Nice Winery.

The festivities continued on Saturday afternoon at the more casual Sip & Stroll held on the Imperial Sugar property. The Houston Blues Brothers performed outside on the patio while guests strolled through the historic buildings where food and wine options were abundant. For best bite of the day, I was torn between the shrimp salad roll by Houston's own Randy Evans of Haven and the lobster roll by Shanna and Brian O'Hea from the Kennebunk Inn in Maine, both of which I personally enjoyed with a glass of Cava. In addition to the many wine selections, the iced tea was flowing freely and the Mint Juleps from Maker's Mark were a crowd favorite.

The final event was the International Bistro Brunch held in Sugar Land Town Square with food and wine pairings from around the world. People were lining up well before the 11:00 am start time in anticipation of what was to come. Salsa music was being played on the steps of City Hall as guests strolled in to try the many offerings. The line was long at both the Bloody Mary booth and the Paella stand. Lots of sparkling wine and cold beer were on hand to cool you down but the weather was absolutely beautiful and everyone seemed to enjoy the day.
As the saying goes, Life is certainly sweet in Sugar Land!








Cremant de Limoux

Paella & Albarino




Local Salsa & Bloody Mary Mix

Kingfisher Indian Beer

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Lust Zinfandel 2007

     My husband loves this wine so he purchased quite a few bottles at a recent Michael~David  dinner that we had attended. Last night, I decided to open a bottle to serve with dinner. I was making a roasted southwestern pork tenderloin, sweet potato fries (w/ chipolte ketchup) and a salad consisting of baby lettuce (fresh from my garden) with strawberries, red bell peppers, red onions and walnuts tossed with a white balsamic-raspberry vinaigrette.      This turned out to be a great pairing. It is a bold wine that really stood up to the strong chipolte seasoning while complementing the fruit flavors. I opened the bottle a 1/2 hour before I served it as I have found this wine to be more enjoyable when I do so.      The Lust Zinfandel by Michael~David 2007  was a dark purple color with a ruby rim. It has intense aromas of very ripe mixed berries and baking spices-both allspice and ginger with hints of cedar. It has flavors of creme de cassis, milk chocolate and also more of the baking

An Immersive Introduction into the World of Asolo Prosecco

Dinner Views at Osteria Alla Baracca. I was very excited to visit the Asolo DOCG Prosecco region at the end of May on a press trip as it is an Italian area that I have not previously traveled through. Asolo is located in the Province of Treviso at the foot of Monte Grappa in the high hills to the west of the Piave River with views of the Dolomites. The grapes are grown in 17 communes surrounding the town of Asolo. The days were very warm while I was there but I needed a sweater or light jacket on most evenings due to the diurnal swing that makes it a great area for grape growing. Wines from the Master Class Tasting. Asolo was elevated to the DOCG level in 2009. The majority of the Prosecco that I have found in Houston is Prosecco DOC which is mostly from very large producers. Asolo was separated from this category and the region was given this higher status because there are terroir elements that make it distinctive in the world of Prosecco. The Sant'Anna Vineyard. Many of the vin

Nocera - A Native Grape from Sicily

Nocera is a native grape from Sicily. It comes from the Messina province which is located in the northeast. Nocera is a quality red wine grape that is most known as a blender in the red wines of the Faro DOC. I had the opportunity to taste some pure versions (which according to Wine Searcher are rare) this week at a trade tasting held at Roma Restaurant in Houston. Wine production in the region dates back to the 14th Century BC, however, phylloxera decimated the vineyard area in 1881 leaving it at a fraction of its original size. The area boasts a Mediterranean climate with sunny days and coastal breezes, moderate rainfall, and mild winters, all ideal for grape growing. The Nocera grape is a bluish/black color and has a thick skin which allows for the production of structured wines with prominent tannins which are balanced by good acidity. High alcohol is common. Red wines produced from the grapes are an intense ruby color with purple highlights and aromas and flavors of dark fruits a