2019 was a great year for writing about Texas wine. My freelance writing gig provided many opportunities to attend special events, taste Texas wines, and even judge an international wine competition. Many thanks to Jeff Cope, my editor at Texas Wine Lover, for publishing 16 articles and not giving me a word limit.
Here’s a look back at some highlights:
The inaugural Wonder Women of Wine conference in Austin was a thrill. I’m excited to be going back for the second annual conference next month. All year long, I’ve run into women I met at that conference. It’s like we exchanged a secret handshake that bonded us immediately.
Skin Contact Natural Wine Pop-Up in May brought natural wine onto the patio of the Wild Detectives book store and brought wine-loving Dallasites out in mass. I was so glad to meet the organizers of the food and wine operations that day. I’m cheering them on and hoping for an encore in 2020.
June brought the good fortune to judge my first wine competition. I’ve tasted and evaluated a lot of wine over the years, but never in an official judging capacity. The hard thing about wine judging (aside from stained teeth) is that there is a lot of wine to taste in one day. I prefer a more meandering pace to tasting, but that’s just not possible. I had to step it up! I am excited to have been asked to return to judge the Lone Star International Wine Competition for a second year.
Texas wines are put on display each year at the August TEXSOM sommelier conference. This year there was a special energy around the wine selections, sommelier education, and conference seminars. Surely I’m not the only Texan who gets a little nervous when Texas wines are poured on a stage that large. I was thrilled when Texas Tempranillos from Fall Creek Vineyard and Pedernales Cellars were so well received. Kudos to Jessica Dupuy for selecting the wines and presenting them well.
Along the way, I met great Texans who are involved in the Texas wine industry. There are too many to name, but they make the events and the interviews fun. Readers, thank you for reading! If you haven’t already, go to www.txwinelover.com and subscribe to the weekly emails. That way you won’t miss a single article.
I love it when people read and comment on these stories, either on the website or on Texas Wine Lover Facebook page. The more engagement and enthusiasm my articles generate, the better. Help me out by reading, liking, and commenting. And if you are inclined to visit the venue or buy the wine, that’s even better!
Here’s are the links to my 2019 articles for Texas Wine Lover:
Cheers!