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November 16, 2009
Austin company lets you design own wine label
At least once a week, someone proposes on the label of a bottle of wine, says Alex Andrawes, founder of Austin-based PersonalWine.com, a site that allows people to order customized wine labels.
If it’s not a proposal, it’s a birthday wish, congratulations or thank-you note sent on a bottle of wine shipped from Andrawes’ East Austin office. (He even recalls a label with a picture of someone flashing the middle finger that was sent to a former boss. That bottle spawned a slew of bottles sent to ex-bosses from people who had been fired.)
But Andrawes, who above is standing in front of a wall with every label they’ve printed this year, isn’t just selling any wines he can get his hands on. Ever since the 33-year-old started the company in 2001, he’s been buying from winemakers around the world directly, using his palate to find sophisticated, yet accessible wines that no one would be embarrassed to give their boss, fiancee or mother-in-law.
Bottles start at about $20, which includes a label that you can either upload, design on the Web site or have one of Andrawes’ in-house artists create for you. Etching is also available on any bottle in stock. Andrawes also runs Wines.com, a discount retail site with a discussion forum.
Last week, I was a guest on the first of Andrawes’ twice-weekly “winecast” on Ustream, which also featured John Antonelli, a local cheese expert who is in the middle of opening Antonelli’s Cheese Shop in Hyde Park. (The store isn’t open yet, but when it is, Antonelli and his wife plan to showcase some of the finest cheeses in town.)
Tune in at 2 p.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays on Personal Wine’s Ustream channel to see who else Andrawes brings to the table.
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October 22, 2009
Gary Vaynerchuk is crushing everything but grapes
Wine might be the subject of Gary Vaynerchuk’s video blog and first book, but business — and helping other people be better at it — is what is driving him on a book tour zig-zagging across the country. Sandwiched between events in Seattle and Los Angeles, Gaynerchuk was in Austin on Wednesday for four events (yes, four) in a 12-hour period.
You can’t say the 33-year-old isn’t practicing what he preaches.
Hustle and passion have always been at the heart of Gary Vee’s mission, and his new book, “Crush It,” is a 142-page bible of how to do it. He admits he’s not a great writer, and the book isn’t as infectious as hearing him speak in person, but it’s a good starting point if you own a business, write a blog or are trying to build an audience or consumer base in any way.
Whether he’s talking to a group of several dozen, like at yesterday’s book signing at Cost Plus World Market in Sunset Valley, or several hundred, like at this year’s South by Southwest Interactive Conference, Vaynerchuk’s sermon is the same: Find something you’re passionate about, embrace new technologies, connect directly with your audience and, above all, work harder than you’ve ever worked before.
It’s been interesting to watch Vaynerchuk evolve in the 18 months since I first met him. (I drove him to Houston for an event, which turned into a bonafide road trip with Arby’s, New Kids on the Block and all.)
At first blush, Vaynerchuk seemed poised to become the Robert Parker of wine on the Web, which was why I was so interested in writing about him. He’s still doing Wine Library TV and challenging the status quo that Parker long ago established, but he seems to be drifting from wine even further into the role of a social media and business guru.
He has nine more books to write to fulfill a contract with Harper Studio, and the preview he gave at Wednesday’s World Market event indicated they will be about business and not wine.
So why am I still writing about him on a food blog? As much as I like writing about chefs, recipes, farmers’ markets and gardening, when I’m out and about in the community, so many of you are trying to find ways to be better at whatever you’re doing. The conversations almost always come back to the Internet and how to use all the online tools that are out there to reach our goals.
Look at all the restaurants, grocery stores, liquor stores, home cooks and food producers who have joined Twitter in recent months. It’s like business owners are watching the Web 2.0 train pull away from the station, and they know that if they don’t jump on, they’ll be left behind.
The Internet as we know it has only been around for 14 years. Just imagine what things will be like in another 14 years. Everything from how we buy wine to how we find recipes to how we cook will have evolved.
And even if you don’t own a business, I guarantee that his advice is reflective of how you consume content. If you watch Hulu.com, use your iPhone to find a bar, become a fan of your favorite chef on Facebook or make a restaurant reservation online, you are engaging in this cultural shift.
Vaynerchuk is on a tireless mission to help willing businesses and consumers get on that train before it’s long gone.
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October 19, 2009
Book tour brings Gary Vaynerchuk back to Austin
Maybe it was the million-dollar, 10-book deal that wine and marketing guru Gary Vaynerchuk made with Harper Studio.
Or perhaps the high-profile story by Eric Asimov in The New York Times last month.
Or maybe that he’s recorded more than 700 videos for Wine Library TV, the video blog that spurred millions of fans to think differently about wine.
But it seems the in-your-face wine renegade, a South by Southwest regular, is finally hitting the mainstream. His new book, “Crush It,” which focuses not on wine but on his style of social media marketing and personal branding, came out earlier this month, and he’s got a handful of appearances slated on Wednesday:
- noon at Cost Plus World Market (5601 Brodie Lane)
- 3:30 p.m. at Texas State University at San Marcos
- 7 p.m. book signing at BookPeople (603 N. Lamar Blvd.)
- 9 p.m. at Omni Hotel downtown for Cork’d Keeps Austin Weird event with Other Inbox
The free tickets to event at the Omni are gone, but I’ve got a couple to give away. Leave a comment about why you’d like to go to a wine tasting Gary Veek, and I’ll contact the winners via e-mail on Tuesday (so leave a valid e-mail address!).
If you miss him during this stop in Austin, rest assured that he’ll be back. Here’s the video we did at this year’s SXSW, and he’s scheduled to speak at next year’s interactive conference as well.
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September 16, 2009
Texas' first whiskey hits the shelves
It’s hard to be a first in a state like Texas, but Chip Tate, founder of Balcones Distilling in Waco, has released Texas’ first whiskey, Baby Blue.
Tate says the whiskey, which is distilled twice and aged in new oak barrels, is also likely the only whiskey made from blue corn, which gives the spirit hints of buttery masa corn meal, toasted almonds and dark chocolate. “It’s not just any blue corn, but Hopi blue corn,” says Tate. A full-flavored midnight black blue corn is ground and toasted before distilling, according to Tate, who is a longtime beer brewer. Legally, it could be labeled as a bourbon, but it is not essentially bourbon-like in character, he says.
Also now in distribution from Balcones is Rumble, a rum-like spirit made with Texas wildflower honey, mission figs and turbinado sugar that tastes similar to a single-malt whiskey, aged mescal and even a young cognac, Tate says.
You can find the new products at Bess Bistro, Ranch 616, Grapevine Market, Spec’s and Austin Wine Merchant.
Photos by Jerry Larson for the Waco Tribune Herald.
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September 9, 2009
What's brewing for Addie's Eat-Ups this fall...
It’s been a busy, ridiculously hot summer for all of us, so you’ll forgive me for not hosting a eat-up in August.
I’ve been putting together monthly food meet-ups for more than a year through the Addie’s Eat-Ups group on Facebook, and I’m thrilled to announce a series of beer-related events this fall.
The Fall o’ Beer came about from some guilt I’ve been feeling about abandoning beer in the past few months as I’ve explored cocktails and wine. Fall is the perfect excuse to revisit my long lost love and learn a little more about beer while I’m at it.
We’ll tour some local breweries, learn about brewing beer at home and try some of the finest craft beer we can get our hands on.
To kick things off, let’s catch up over a pint and some of the best Indian food in Austin at the Whip-In on Sept. 22, which also happens to be the Health Alliance for Austin Musician’s annual fundraiser day, when 5 percent of the sales at restaurants all over town go to support local musicians. Check out the event invite on Facebook for more details and to RSVP.
I’m still working out the details for the rest of the events this year, so if you have ideas or want to help (I’m looking at you, Austin beer and homebrew freaks), shoot me an e-mail at abroyles@statesman.com.
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July 7, 2009
A boozy send-off for Tales of the Cocktail
The Austin cocktail scene, like many in the United States, has spiffed itself up in recent years, with the garden-to-glass and handcrafted, classic cocktail movements hitting places including FINO, Peche and now Annie’s Cafe and Bar. Bar staff with an interest in the craft of cocktails are banding together to elevate the drinking scene, despite the prevalence of neon drink mixes, margarita machines and the much-loathed “bottle service,” where patrons mix their own spirits and juice.
Christa Haxthausen of Annie’s Cafe
Mindy Kucan shares her secret ingredient she’ll be using on Friday with Eat This Lens blogger Marshall Wright and Edible Austin publisher Marla Camp.
So it’s a good thing Tales of the Cocktail, one of the world’s largest cocktail conventions, is so close. The SXSW of the cocktail world takes place every year in New Orleans, where all facets of the drink industry come together for seminars, contests and any opportunity they can find to show off their drink-making skills.
A cadre of Austin bar specialists, spirit companies and even a chef or two are headed to The Big Easy today for the five-day convention.
To send the dozens of attendees on their way, Annie’s Cafe and Bar hosted a send-off party on Monday night, with everyone who’s anyone in the cocktail scene enjoying New Orleans cocktails and jazz.
The highlight of the night was when everyone who could shake lined up for a shaker salute to the Ramos Gin Fizz. The drink, which contains egg whites and cream, has to be shaken for several minutes to attain the desired froth and thick consistency, says Annie’s bar manager and Tipsy Texan blogger David Alan.
Annie’s Cafe bar manager David Alan and Edible Austin associate publisher Jenna Noel
Lara Nixon of Boxcar Bar, Darren Makowsky and Mindy Kucan of the Hilton Hotel
Russell Davis of Peche and Bill Norris of FINO
Beth Bellanti-Walker of Tito’s Vodka, who will be speaking on a panel on Friday about building brands through word-of-mouth, Tito’s owner Tito Beveridge and Ranch 616 chef Kevin Williamson are loading up vans for a party on Wednesday celebrating Ranch 616’s “Ring of Fire” drink that won the city of Austin’s official drink contest last year.
Mindy Kucan of the Hilton Hotel downtown and Bill Norris of FINO will be throwing down caipirinhas on Friday night.
Want to follow their adventures from the road? Check out the #totc09 hashtag on Twitter.
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June 10, 2009
Mangoes aren't just for margaritas
If the only thing that comes to mind when you think mangoes and cocktails is a sugary sweet margarita, you’re really missing out.
Bill Norris, the acclaimed bar manager at FINO, created this cocktail just for my article on mangoes in Wednesday’s paper. (Word on Twitter is that he’ll be making these Mangada Coolers at FINO tonight to celebrate its birth in print.)
Norris says this cocktail is inspired by the classic Mexican street food combination of mango, chile and lime. The guajillo pepper syrup imparts a mild smoky heat to the finish, he says.
Mangada Cooler
1 1/2 oz. Treaty Oak or other quality light rum
1/2 oz. Ron Zacapa Centenario Solera Grand Reserve 23 or other quality dark rum
1/2 oz. fresh lime juice
1/2 oz. guajillo pepper syrup (you can buy these at stores including Central Market or Fiesta)
4 pieces 1/2-inch diced mango
Topo Chico sparkling mineral water
Lime wheel for garnish
To make guajillo syrup: To two cups of water, add two cups sugar and four guajillo peppers, slit lengthwise. Bring to boil, reduce heat to a simmer, stir to dissolve sugar, cover and simmer for ten minutes. Remove from heat and allow to cool to room temperature. Pass through fine mesh strainer to filter out solids. Stored in refrigerator, the syrup will last for 10-14 days.
Prepare the mango by removing skin and roughly chopping fruit into 1/2-inch cubes. In a mixing glass, muddle lime, mango and guajillo syrup. Add Treaty Oak and Ron Zacapa rums. Shake with ice and double-strain (use a tea strainer over the glass to catch any stringy mango bits) into iced Collins glass. Top with Topo Chico and garnish with lime wheel.
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May 21, 2009
Wine, sushi and laser tag meet at Austin Wine Festival
If the buzz from the Texas Hill Country Wine and Food Festival has worn off, it might be time to hit up the Austin Wine Festival, an event at the Domain in North Austin in its third year that features three dozen Texas wineries. The three-day festival that starts on Saturday is the first event of its kind in Texas where you can buy bottles of wine on site.
Enjoy live music on Saturday night by Micky and the Motorcars. Restaurants from the Domain will be serving food, including sushi, pizza, sliders, cheese plates and chocolate. There’s also a kids’ area with an outdoor laser tag and mobile video game theater.
Tickets, which include 10 wine tastings, are $20 per day if purchased in advance online. The cost is $10 per day for designated drivers and 16-to-20-year-olds, free for kids 15 and younger. Tickets available online.
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February 27, 2009
Chili and claret = peas and carrots
(I profiled Yates, a 29-year-old who also co-owns a music label, last fall about taking over the winery from longtime owners Ed and Madeleine Manigold.)
Judges, including winemaker Jeff Ivy and myself, will pick an official winner, but you can sample from 25 chili entries and judge for yourself which goes the best with Yates’ claret, which is one of the Spicewood’s most popular wines. $10 for glass of wine, which gets you a tasting cup, and $4 per refill.
If you can’t make it to the cook-off tomorrow, keep your eyes on the Web site for more info about the second annual pig roast on April 4.
(Photos by Ralph Barrera)
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February 23, 2009
Cheap eats, drinks with top winemaker
Rob Moshein, the Austin blogger behind Austin Wine Guy, clued me in to two opportunities to sip and sweet talk the winemaker in charge of what Wine Business Monthly named the “Hottest Small Label Winery” of 2008.
Greg Graziano, whose Graziano Winery in Mendocino, Calif. caught WBM’s eye and is featured in this month’s issue, will be on hand for a free tasting from 4 to 6 p.m. on Wednesday at the North Lamar Central Market, but the real deal is a $55 dinner with five courses specifically paired with Graziano’s wines at Bess Bistro on West Sixth. The dinner starts at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday. Reserve a seat by calling Bess at 477-2377.
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February 12, 2009
Saint Arnold launches Austin scavenger hunt
Ready for a beer scavenger hunt? Saint Arnold is hosting one in Austin through Sunday, Feb. 22.
In the video below, you’ll find six clues to six items in six bars. Over the next week, take a photo of yourself with each of the items. Upload your photos to flickr, photobucket, etc. and e-mail the link to Lennie Ambrose. If you’re still shooting on film or otherwise stuck in 1994, you can mail your photos to the brewery.
Everyone who correctly completes the contest will get an invite to a give-away party in a few weeks, where the winner will get a kegerator from the Austin-based Kegerators.com.
Now that I’ve run my box of wine dry, I’m craving some beer straight from the tap. Maybe I’ll see you around at some of these watering holes.
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December 1, 2008
Martinis and massages for a cause
On Mondays, Oilcan Harry’s has been hosting “Martinis and Massages” nights, where if you buy a martini, you get a free chair massage.
Tonight, in support of World AIDS Day today, the club is offering the same deal, but with a cause in mind. The (wonderful and very talented) massage therapist, Scot Maitland, is donating his tips to the Wright House Wellness Center, and 42 Below Vodka, the sponsoring spirit, will match the donation. So, grab a Red Ribbon Martini from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. tonight, have Scot massage away that holiday stress and help local AIDS/HIV support programs.
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August 28, 2008
And Austin's Official Drink is...
The task was simple enough: Create a drink that represents Austin and includes Tito’s vodka.
Five drink finalists prepared their custom beverages for five judges, including yours truly, who scored them based on taste, presentation, creativity and viability.
To get things started, bartenders from the Alamo Drafthouse at the Ritz, who admitted being underdogs, wowed the judges with their superhero costumes and watermelon ginger “Summer Blockbuster Cocktail,” even though it was short on the ginger and strong on the Tito’s.
The Driskill Bar tapped into the legend of the Driskill ghost to create “Tito’s TomaTini,” which was made from tomatillo juice, lime and green Tabasco sauce. I was the unfortunate judge who had to tell them that although the idea was great, it just didn’t cut the mustard to be Austin’s Official Drink.
Eighteenth Over Austin, the bar at the Hilton Garden Inn, created the “Austinpolitan,” a delicious if slightly overpowering cocktail that combined basil-infused vodka and kumquat juice. I really wanted this one to work, but it just didn’t have the right ingredient proportions.
Using softened Amy’s ice cream, orange juice and (gasp!) orange food coloring, bartenders from Marker 10 at the Hyatt created the “Orange 10-tini” that tasted like a sweet, boozy orange push pop.
It was up to Ranch 616 to close the competition with a bang, and that they did. One bartender, dressed to evoke a young Johnny Cash, mixed drinks and bantered with a woman in a jalapeño costume before they presented “Fire in the Hole,” a shot made with Paula’s Orange Liquor, lime juice, cayenne and chili powder that was served in a jalapeño and with a Lone Star chaser.
I had my doubts about the jalapeño shot, but the quality of the drink pushed it to the top of my list. The other judges — The County Line’s Skeeter Miller, L Style G Style editor Chantal Outon, Tipsy Texan David Alan and Brilliant editor Lance Avery Morgan — must have agreed.
After a few minutes of vote-tallying and jokes from emcee Bryan Beck of KGSR, Tito Beveridge himself announced that the jalapeño shot was the winner and the Austinpolitan came in second. Much cheering and belly bumping commenced, and the Ranch 616 folks, including chef Kevin Williamson, let attendees have the first taste of this year’s official drink.
You can sample “Fire in the Hole” yourself at Ranch 616, but you might wait until September 12, when the new patio is complete.
Update: Check out the Austin360.com photo gallery!
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August 8, 2008
Austin named hardest-drinking city in U.S
Feeling tipsy?
You’re not alone, according to Forbes magazine, which this week said that Austin might be the hardest-drinking city in America.
Forbes, which releases similar rankings several times a year, used data from a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention survey to pinpoint Austin residents’ affinity for alcohol. The CDC’s Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System Survey last year found that 61.5 percent of residents said they had at least one drink in the past 30 days.
But it was the number of drinks per day that put Austin at the top of — or perhaps the bottom of — the bar. Nearly nine percent of people surveyed said they had at least one drink per day for women, two for men.
Milwaukee, Wis., came in at No. 2, followed by San Francisco, Providence, R.I., and Chicago.
The University of Texas, like most major universities in the U.S., has been battling the binge drinking image for decades. Forbes named it the No. 1 party school in 2006.
“I would hope that people would look at the methods of how these rankings are made,” said Sandi Cleveland, manager at the Health Promotion and Resource Center, which is part of the University Health Services. “It’s important for people to understand that UT students make up 5 percent of Austin’s population when they are all here.”
UT participates in a survey similar to the one conducted by the CDC in which students are asked about their drinking habits. About 72 percent said they had had an alcoholic drink in the past 30 days, Cleveland said. Thirty-four percent said they had participated in binge drinking, which means drinking more than five alcoholic drinks on one occasion, but the average number of drinks consumed was fewer than four. In the CDC survey, about 20 percent of adults in Austin said they have had five drinks on one occasion.
“We work with freshmen at orientation to talk about how students can avoid dangers of alcohol abuse, how to recognize alcohol poisoning,” she said. Cleveland said that 35 percent of first-year students don’t drink any alcohol.
Photos: Forbes’ hardest-drinking cities
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July 15, 2008
Tequila time!
To get yourself ready for National Tequila Day (July 24, a week from Thursday) head over to Ranch 616 on Nueces Street in Austin for Tequila Tuesday tonight, where you can get an appetizer, entree, dessert and a tequila drink for $29.95.
I took some friends last week and had a fabulous time enjoying margaritas and some very delicious food, including a blueberry pudding cake that was to die for.
The items on the Tequila Tuesday menu change each week, but the live music is always the same: Lucas Hudgins and the First Cousins rock the Ranch with some awesome honky tonk. Pretty soon, there will be a big ol’ patio on which you can feast outside and enjoy your tequila under the stars.
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June 5, 2008
Juice cocktails at the Belmont
The man in the know, Matthew Odam, has a post over at the M.O. about the Daily Juice, the Barton Springs juicery, hooking up with the Belmont downtown for Daily Juice After Dark, where you can enjoy alcoholic drinks made with super fresh juice.
Starting tonight, the event will take place Thursdays from 8 p.m. to midnight. Check out the M.O. for more info.
Mmmm, can’t wait to check it out.
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June 4, 2008
Gary Vaynerchuk brings the thunder to Austin
Gary Vaynerchuk’s book signing and talk at Grape Vine Market yesterday was a great example of how inspiring and infectious his enthusiasm for both wine and people are. He talked for about an hour and 45 minutes about everything from his new book to how he’s capitalized on social networking tools to become one of the most influential people — not just wine bloggers — on the Web, period.
I’ll be writing a piece about our road trip to Houston for next week’s paper, but if you’ve got some video or a blog post to share about the event, put the link the comments below.
Tim Walker already has a blog post up over at Hoover’s that focuses on Gary’s take on marketing at yesterday’s event.
Digg Nation already has this video shot by Vayniac Dane Hurtubise of his impromptu Thunder Show at the North Austin market up online.
Gary’s going to be back in Houston in the next few days for the Food and Wine Week, where he’ll be mingling with Vayniacs and wine lovers from around the globe. (You should have seem him and winemaker extraordinaire Daniel Schuster last night at an event at America in the Woodlands. Talk about New World meets Old World.)
Fans are planning a Saturday night meetup with Gary at Cork Screw.
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June 2, 2008
Michelada, your chelada
Bored with beer? Like Bloody Marys? Enjoy a twist of lime with your Corona? Then you might want to check out micheladas, if you haven’t already.
The Mexican beer cocktail — or beertail, if you prefer — is going mainstream with the help of premade beverages from both Budweiser and Miller, but not even those companies or the numerous restaurants around town that serve the hand-mixed drinks can decide what exactly a michelada makes.
Some argue that any beer-and-tomato-juice mixture is a michelada, while others prefer a dash of clam juice and Worcestershire or soy sauce. Sometimes a splash of hot sauce is added to spice things up. Lime (not lemon) juice, salt, pepper and/or Maggi Seasoning are a must.
If you want to make it at home, you can use Bloody Mary mix in a pinch, but there’s a new, locally made michelada mix called Gitcho that’s for sale ($5.99 for a liter) at Twin Liquors, Reuben’s Wine & Spirits and Centennial that I would recommend.
The tomato-based mix is filled with dozens of spices, clam and lime juices and has a bit of a kick. The Creekside Lounge on Seventh and Red River streets is already using Gitcho, which is made in Austin and was just released last month.
Doc’s Motorworks, El Chile, Polvo’s, Ranch 616, Botanitas and Hotel San Jose are just a few of the other restaurants and bars in Austin that also serve micheladas.
Photo courtesy of texxy on flickr.
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