When you get invited to attend a wine and food festival, you go. There really isn’t a down side, right? So when my friend Lauren asked me if I’d like to go to the Wine & Food Week in The Woodlands, TX, I was so excited to go! I love trying new foods, but let’s face it, I’m cheap too, so buying an expensive bottle of wine that I don’t know I already like, probably isn’t going to happen. I want to know that I’m going to like something before I spend my hard-earned money on it. That’s why food and drink festivals are so fun – they allow you taste things you may not have already had and do it in mass quantities.
The Event
The Wine & Food Week event consists of 5 days of different themed events and tastings. Here’s the lineup from this year:
Tuesday: It’s A guy Thing. This event is brimming with testosterone. There’s Texas’ First Master Sommelier, Guy Stout, poker tables, a cigar lounge, craft beer, chair massages, shoe shines, and man grub.
Wednesday: A Girls Night Out. Wine, shopping, and fashion; need I say more?
Thursday: Wine Walk at Market Street. This is a full-on outdoor party. Attendees receive a keepsake glass at registration and walk along Market Street; where wine industry experts are sharing their signature vinos.
Friday: Sips, Suds, & Tacos. This is the event I’ll be highlighting in the rest of this post. Read below to see more.
Saturday: Wine Rendezvous Grand Tasting & Chef Showcase. This event is the crown jewel of the week. It highlights more than 60 of the nation’s top restaurants competing for the Chef of Chefs Awards, oh, and of course there’s loads of wine and bubbly too.
The Wine
At registration, you receive a tasting glass and a punch card. The punch card allows you to taste 5 different wines. Additional punch cards can be bought for a super reasonable fee. I have never seen so many wine companies in one place in my life. We wandered from table to table – mostly trying the moscatos (since that’s the majority of what I’ll drink in the way of wine). They also had a bunch of Texas breweries there for those who prefer beer (which is definitely not me).
The Tacos
I have an obsession with tacos. Which, if you’ve seen my instagram, you already know. Haha! This was truly the fun part! Note: there was no punch card for the tacos…so we might have tried….well….a few. The chefs were all competing for the best taco of the night and a local Houston restaurant won the title of best taco! (winner shown below)
Extra Goodies.
In addition to the food and drink tastings, there were also some other vendors there that didn’t quite fit into a wine or taco category, but they had some great products, nonetheless.
