Kerrville Wine and Music Festival 2011

Eight things I learned while speaking at the 2011 Kerrville Wine and Music Festival:

1. The Saturday panel was introduced by Rod Kennedy to mark the festival's 20th anniversary. Being on a panel introduced by Rod Kennedy is a very, very big deal

2. Gascon wine (in this case, a pleasant $10 retail bottle from a producer called Bidalere) keeps showing up in the oddest places, even at a wine bar in Kerrville. A wine bar, by the way, where the owner sells Texas beer, but makes a point of not selling Texas wine.

More, after the jump:

3. A tip o' the Curmdgeon's fedora to the staff at the Y.O. Ranch Hotel, who went out of their way this year to lend a hand.

4. More terrrific live music, of course. Michael Camp had a little Steve Goodman going on; Andy Gullahorn's song about writing the perfect country song was practically Nick Lowe-ish; and Colin Brooks may have been the best of an impressive lot.

5. I finally figured out how to drive 5 miles an hour.

6. Best Texas wines of the two seminars: McPherson Cellars' La Herencia ($14), a tempranillo blend with lots of Spanish funk on the nose; Brennan's syrah ($17), always one of my favorites; and the Haak estate reserve blanc du bois ($22).

7. Calais Winery's Ben Calais was quite a hit with the female members of the audience on Saturday.

8. Yes, I realize tattos are hip and with it, but the Wine Curmudgeon would look more than odd with one.

And, finally, this, from a member of the Sunday seminar. He told us he was eating dinner on Saturday night when two people came over to join him. "Did you go the wine seminars?" he asked them. "No," one said. "They were about Texas wine, weren't they? Did they tell you how terrible Texas wine is?" "No," said the audience member. "But they did tell us how to spot wine snobs."

That's my kind of audience.

Comments

[bburnsey]

Always enjoyed Steve Goodman's style, somewhat Django-ish swing with some incredible lyrics. Nick Lowe has also written some gems. What's so Funny bout Peace Love and Understanding has probably paid the bills for a number of years. John Hiatt comes to mind with the mention of these guys.

[Jeff Siegel]

Ah, Steve Goodman. You know how to make a Chicago native wax poetic, Brian. Is it time for Goodman's A Dying Cubs Fan's Last Request?