Wine Rendezvous Grand Tasting & Chef Showcase

The Wine Rendezvous Grand Tasting & Chef Showcase was held at the Woodlands Waterway Marriott Hotel and Convention Center last Saturday evening. This annual event is one of the best consumer wine and food events held in the greater Houston area every year.

This year more than 2,500 wine and food lovers tasted their way through imaginative dishes and hundreds of wines while chefs representing nearly 60 restaurants competed for Wine & Food Week's Waterford Crystal Chef of Chefs award. The competition was intense and the impressive culinary creations were not to be missed.

While guests sipped and tasted, Chef Robert Del Grande of RDG was inducted into the Wine & Food Week Chef of Chefs Hall of Fame. He was Houston's first James Beard Award winner in 1992. Kris Jakob, the executive chef of Culinary Institute LeNôtre, took top honors as the 2015 Waterford Crystal Chef of Chefs winning a $5,000 cash and prize package along with the highly sought after Waterford Crystal Trophy. The winning dish was a delectable Foie Gras Creme Brûlée with Ginger Snap Cookies. The first runner-up in the savory competition was Corner Table Executive Chef Ja'Nel Witt with her Summer Yellow Gazpacho, an heirloom tomato gazpacho with crab and cucumber salad finished with jalapeño honey. John Brazie, the Executive Chef at The Woodlands Resort & Conference Center representing Robard's, took the second runner-up position with his Candied Bacon French Toast with Champagne Pickled Cherry, Roquefort Ice Cream and Toasted Bourbon Syrup.

This year's event featured some of Texas' best wine along with California and European favorites, as well as a fantastic array of Champagne and other sparkling wines of the world. The impressive line up of wines features something for everyone and allows each guest the opportunity to try wines in a variety of styles from all over the globe and enjoy pairing experiences that they might not have ever discovered on their own. It is one of Houston's not to be missed wine and food events.

See My Photos of the Event Here

Comments

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 ...

Introducing Oltrepò Pavese - An Italian Sparkling Wine that You Should Know

Last year, I had the opportunity to travel to Italy to taste the wines of Oltrepò Pavese. I discovered that these sparkling wines are based on Pinot Noir, they are made in the traditional method, like Champagne, and most importantly, they are an Italian hidden gem that bubble lovers across the world need to put on their radar. In the August issue of Galveston Monthly magazine, I introduce these wines to my readers.

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