Woodlands Wine & Food Week 2016: The Recap

Woodlands Wine & Food Week took place last week with more than 11,000 participants and a gastronomic grandeur of events highlighting with more than 500 wines, 75 restaurants, legendary wine producers and culinary personalities.

Last year’s events were awesome, but after spending a FULL week enjoying decadent bites from the city’s top chefs and wines from around the world, I’ve finally come up for air to share with you what you missed!

Chef Tristen Epps, Marcus Samuelson Group in New York City

My Wine and Food filled week kicked off with “It’s a Guy Thing,” the quintessential “it’s a man’s world” experience. My hubby and I enjoy bold wines and and craft beers with samples of food followed by a cigars from Great Discovery’s Inc. We’d play a little poker and enjoyed bold bites from featured restaurants, but the highlight of my evening was meeting with Chef Tristen Epps of the Marcus Samuelsson Group of New York City. Chef Epps delicious Oysters were the fan favorite and I inhaled at least two!

In addition to meeting the “man of the week” I also enjoyed a variety of delicious wines and other finger foods from Morton’s Grille – Woodlands, BRIO and the Woodlands Country Club.

The second event I attended was sort of “spur of the moment” but was one of the best!  A private, Bulgarian Wine tasting at Masraff’s. I met some of the most knowledgeable Bulgarian wine ambassadors who are passionate about their wine and homeland.

Evgeniq Georgieva, Militza Zikatanova of Villa Melink, Velizar Chatalbashev of Assenovgrad and Slav Tsenov of Four Friends Winery & Vineyard

The New Wines of Ancient Thrace tasting provided a peek into 6,000 years of ancient wine making. Ancient Thracians are believed to be the best ancient wine makers in the world. As these wines have yet to be released in the states, we were unable to take photos, as a matter of fact the wines were wrapped at each Woodlands Wine & Food Week event. We savored seven of the most popular vines of which are believed to date back to First century AD.

I can honestly say these wines have not only changed my life but have altered the way I view wine. You can taste the history and the age of the grapes. These aren’t some “baby grapes”, these are great great great…grandma and grandma grapes. Without a shadow of a doubt the Mavrud varietal  is my favorite. “Mavrud” means dark or black and in wine it’s normally used for making dark wines with deep color. It’s huge in your mouth and touches every taste bud on your tongue. The Melnik vine red grape variety from the Struma Valley region, was another favorite. It’s texture what reminiscent of silk.

Sip, Suds and Tacos

Sips, Suds and Tacos is always a hit. It’s a Texas-size party, second to none. I crunched and munched the night away on gourmet tacos galore.  Sips, Suds and Tacos is  presented by Mexico and featured wine tasting, craft beers and a “Taco Takedown” competition in search of the tastiest taco. This event was jam packed and always provides me the perfect opportunity to let my hair down and enjoy some time with friends.

Although Vertskebap won the Taco Takedown Champion, my favorite taco came from the Woodlands Country Club. Their Duck Confit Taco wrapped in a Nopal (cactus) tortilla topped with pico, avocado foam and white chocolate tomatillo salsa took my breath away. You had me at “avocado foam.”

The grand finale to Woodlands Wine and Food week is by far my favorite. The Wine Rendezvous Grand Tasting & Chef Showcase  is the ultimate adult evening during Wine & Food Week. Guests sampled delectable cuisine and hundreds of wines from chefs representing more than 60 of the nation’s top restaurants compete for the “Wine & Food Week’s Waterford Crystal Chef of Chefs Award” and a $5,000 cash and prize package.

Purple Corn Delight – Latin Bites

To complete the evening, the epicurean experience culminated with the “Just Desserts” contest, a confectionery competition to crown the night’s dessert extraordinaire. As a legit dessert “junkie” it’s only right that I highlight a few of my personal favorites from  Latin Bites,  KUU and Bob’s Steak and Chop House. 

Latin Bites took home the trophy for the Just Desserts competition with their “Purple Corn Delight.” A no-bake cheesecake made with corn syrup, reduced purple corn juice on a bed of cinnamon oatmeal crumbs , served with a Cuzco corn sweet tamale cake, cooked and wrapped in a corn leaf  topped with dehydrated lime meringues and powdered  Andean corn kernel brittle.

Pizza Cheesecake – KUU Restaurant

KUU Restaurant offered a play on the classic pizza with their “Pizza Cheesecake“. A crunchy graham cracker crust topped with whipped mozzarella, fresh basil and a sweet/savory tomato jam.

Bourbon & Bacon S’Mores – Bob’s Steak and Chop House

Last but certainly not least, Bob’s Steak & Chop House served up a simple yet classic sweet treat that had us all rushing back to their table for more. Bob’s “Bourbon & Bacon S’Mores” were all the rave, especially because they were served smoking hot. The coolest part is that the business card for the restaurant has the recipe on the back, so guests can make them at home!

The savory side of  The Wine Rendezvous Grand Tasting & Chef Showcase wasn’t so bad either. There were a lot of new places that I didn’t get a chance to try out last year that were quite delightful. Robard’s Steak House, Strawberry Lonzino Scallops were perfectly seared and quite succulent. I was drawn in by the fun display…I love a messy table.

Strawberry Lonzino Scallops

Well folks, that’s a wrap for G&G’s Woodlands Wine and Food Week Coverage. Special shout out to Wine & Food Week’s “Wizard Gourmet, Chef Tristen Epps and the  newest recipient of the Chef of Chefs Hall of Fame, Mr. Tony Vallone of Houston’s most iconic fine dining restaurateur in Houston for 50 years since opening Tony’s in 1965.

Make sure you stay tuned to the Wine & Food Week  website for more details on next year’s week long extravaganza.