Full Transcript for Austin Wine Week

sure you get out there and visit Johnson City for the Texas Wine Jam on October 17th. 00:05:40.049 --> 00:05:47.409 Also, the weekend after that, we're talking about the great Fredericksburg Food and Wine Festival for 2026. 00:05:47.730 --> 00:05:56.930 Now, I came to you live from this festival last year, giving you great interviews with a lot of the different people that were hosting, both chefs and winemakers. 00:05:57.169 --> 00:06:01.409 And this year, though, I'm not gonna put my mic up to anyone's face. 00:06:01.569 --> 00:06:06.610 I'm gonna actually go and enjoy the day myself as a consumer, just like you guys. 00:06:06.850 --> 00:06:13.490 So I'm gonna be walking around the grand tasting event on October 24th, and I'm gonna be looking out for you guys. 00:06:13.569 --> 00:06:16.289 So if you see me there, make sure to say hello. 00:06:16.370 --> 00:06:20.850 And I should have a fun Texas Undervine sticker that I can give to you if you're interested. 00:06:21.090 --> 00:06:26.289 But the whole event goes from October 22nd to October the 25th. 00:06:26.449 --> 00:06:29.730 And the grand tasting event is that day, October 24th. 00:06:30.049 --> 00:06:38.930 I think that it may be the only thing they have tickets for left of all the events that are going on for this festival, but it's an amazing event to check out. 00:06:39.090 --> 00:06:43.169 So get your tickets now while you can and make sure to look for me there while you're there. 00:06:43.329 --> 00:06:44.850 Let's raise a glass together. 00:06:45.329 --> 00:06:50.850 Also, I want to call out to any Austin area industry people that may listen to this podcast. 00:06:50.930 --> 00:06:57.969 So we're talking about hospitality, culinary, beverage, and wine professionals here in the city of Austin. 00:06:58.129 --> 00:07:07.730 The Texas wine growers are hosting a really cool professional event targeted at wine industry professionals to help elevate your Texas wine IQ. 00:07:07.889 --> 00:07:17.730 Now, this event's gonna be led by the Texas Hill Country Wine Academy's Kelsey Kramer, who's been on this podcast for the Texas Hill Country Wine Academy as well. 00:07:17.969 --> 00:07:28.129 And this interactive session is gonna feature tastings of 100% Texas wines from nine different member wineries in the Texas Wine Growers. 00:07:28.209 --> 00:07:30.529 And they're gonna be pairing those with some light bites as well. 00:07:30.689 --> 00:07:38.610 Now, this fun event is gonna be taking place on Monday, November the 9th at the Han Agency in Austin, Texas. 00:07:38.930 --> 00:07:42.930 If you are an ATX Psalms member, the cost to get in is just$10. 00:07:43.569 --> 00:07:47.810 If you are not an ATX Psalms member, then the cost is$20 to get in. 00:07:48.290 --> 00:07:54.610 So head on over to the Texas Wine Growers event page for November 9th to get all of the details and to register. 00:07:55.009 --> 00:07:57.409 If you're an industry pro, you don't want to miss this. 00:07:57.810 --> 00:07:58.209 All right. 00:07:58.370 --> 00:08:06.209 As I said, this particular episode is focused in on this amazing event that took place back in April called Austin Wine Week. 00:08:06.290 --> 00:08:09.250 And we're gonna get to interview the founder, Amanda Leighton. 00:08:09.649 --> 00:08:20.930 We met over the summer to talk a little bit about the success of the event, her thoughts leading up to it, how the event played out, and then what her dreams are for the future of this event. 00:08:21.170 --> 00:08:40.769 Now, Amanda has a pretty storied history in the wine world that actually goes back to when she was in grad school in Washington, DC, and a Kendall Jackson representative actually praised her palette for wine, and it started her on this career lifelong path that she's loved of the wine industry, along with other things she's done. 00:08:41.170 --> 00:08:54.370 She went on to pursue formal wine education with WSET based in London and gained further industry experience working for story brands like Mo at Hennessy and several other French champagne houses. 00:08:55.009 --> 00:09:04.289 And before launching her venture here in Texas, Amanda built further industry knowledge by forming and running her own wine distribution business. 00:09:04.769 --> 00:09:20.370 Now, after moving to Austin, she began to notice this strange disconnect where she would go to restaurants here that were proud to feature Texas beef, Texas produce, things like that, but had no Texas wines listed anywhere on the menu. 00:09:20.450 --> 00:09:24.450 And she knew that we were right here in the heart of Texas wine country. 00:09:24.769 --> 00:09:31.889 And so one night she went to bed and woke up from a dream with the words Austin Wine Week right in her head. 00:09:32.049 --> 00:09:32.930 What did she do? 00:09:33.170 --> 00:09:36.210 She got up, looked it up, and bought the URL right then. 00:09:36.529 --> 00:09:39.569 Now she began to brainstorm this idea for this event. 00:09:39.730 --> 00:09:50.210 It really gained crucial momentum and industry credibility when legendary Texas winemaker Ray Wilson began to encourage her to pursue this dream and this idea. 00:09:50.450 --> 00:09:53.730 Matter of fact, Ray became the first producer to actually commit to it. 00:09:53.970 --> 00:10:09.730 And the core mission of this wine week festival was to target a younger age demographic to help secure the future of the Texas wine industry, as the traditional age demographic for wine club members is on an upward trend. 00:10:09.970 --> 00:10:36.210 The inaugural weeklong celebration brought the local scene together through great events such as the opening Texas event held there at Wanderlust at Shady Lane, a hosted happy hour at the famous Die Duai restaurant in Austin, and wrapping up with a Texas Tastemakers finale that featured five different women winemakers from around the state that was held at House Wine. 00:10:36.370 --> 00:10:44.289 Now, to get all the secrets about how

did she wrangle all of these winemakers together to make this incredible dream become a reality? 00:10:44.450 --> 00:10:46.370 Well, we're gonna find that out in the interview. 00:10:46.450 --> 00:10:48.769 So let's go hear from Amanda right now. 00:10:56.529 --> 00:10:58.129 Howdy, Vine Trippers. 00:10:58.210 --> 00:11:03.089 I'm here actually at Wanderlust in Austin at their Shady Lane location. 00:11:03.250 --> 00:11:05.089 And I'm here with a bonus episode. 00:11:05.329 --> 00:11:09.409 I'm really excited today to get to share with you a little bit about an event. 00:11:09.490 --> 00:11:16.609 If you were paying attention to my YouTube channel and some of my socials, uh, a while back, about a couple of months ago now, ooh, time flies. 00:11:16.849 --> 00:11:21.490 We had the initial or the inaugural Austin Wine Week here in Austin. 00:11:21.650 --> 00:11:23.569 And it was headed up by Amanda Layden. 00:11:23.730 --> 00:11:26.129 It was her brainchild, and she put this all together. 00:11:26.289 --> 00:11:28.129 It was a huge roaring success. 00:11:28.369 --> 00:11:31.490 There's maybe even some plans for next year that we'll talk about. 00:11:31.650 --> 00:11:37.650 And so I got her here with me, and we're gonna talk a little bit about how did Austin Wine Week come about? 00:11:37.890 --> 00:11:40.129 What were some of the things that went into year one? 00:11:40.210 --> 00:11:42.450 What are some of the events and the things that occurred there? 00:11:42.609 --> 00:11:45.650 And then we'll talk about what are maybe some of the future plans for year two. 00:11:45.970 --> 00:11:50.369 So get excited to hear a little bit about Austin Wine Week here from Amanda. 00:11:50.529 --> 00:11:53.970 So without further ado, Amanda, tell me a little bit about yourself. 00:11:54.129 --> 00:11:58.930 So for my viewers and listeners, how did you get into the crazy world of the wine industry? 00:12:00.210 --> 00:12:02.369 It started many, many years ago. 00:12:02.529 --> 00:12:07.809 So I was actually in grad school and I was the social chair for our class. 00:12:08.049 --> 00:12:13.089 And I thought, huh, you know, we're business students, we're probably all going to be consultants, bankers. 00:12:13.250 --> 00:12:13.730 I don't know. 00:12:13.890 --> 00:12:15.410 I didn't know what I was going to do. 00:12:15.569 --> 00:12:21.329 And I thought we really probably should learn how to buy wine off of a wine list because I thought we'd be wining and dining folks. 00:12:21.490 --> 00:12:21.650 Right. 00:12:21.809 --> 00:12:26.450 And so I called the only winery I knew because I really knew nothing about the industry. 00:12:26.529 --> 00:12:27.890 And I called Kendall Jackson. 00:12:27.970 --> 00:12:28.129 Okay. 00:12:28.450 --> 00:12:32.450 And I said, Do you happen to have somebody who can come out and teach business students about wine? 00:12:32.529 --> 00:12:34.049 And they said, Well, as a matter of fact, we do. 00:12:34.289 --> 00:12:34.369 Cool. 00:12:34.609 --> 00:12:37.809 So they sent somebody somebody out to Washington, D.C., I'll never forget her name. 00:12:37.970 --> 00:12:40.129 She was really pivotal in my career. 00:12:40.369 --> 00:12:45.730 And we had this tasting, and she came up to me and she said, You know, Amanda, you have a really good palate. 00:12:45.970 --> 00:12:48.609 And I didn't know the definition of that word. 00:12:48.769 --> 00:12:51.970 I thought she meant like I'm becoming Picasso. 00:12:52.369 --> 00:12:55.730 Um and she said, You know, you should really consider coming into this industry. 00:12:55.890 --> 00:12:57.650 Now it wasn't an industry on my radar. 00:12:57.730 --> 00:12:58.930 I'm from Des Moines, Iowa. 00:12:59.170 --> 00:13:06.210 I didn't grow up with wine on my table, um, except for Carlo Rossi white Zinfandel or milk. 00:13:06.289 --> 00:13:08.210 You know, those are the things that got paired on my dinner table. 00:13:08.609 --> 00:13:10.930 Those big jugs of ram wine that costs$7. 00:13:11.809 --> 00:13:12.450 You got it. 00:13:12.690 --> 00:13:15.009 Um, that was the extent of what we had. 00:13:15.250 --> 00:13:17.650 And I thought, huh, tell me more. 00:13:17.809 --> 00:13:19.329 And so she really piqued my interest. 00:13:19.410 --> 00:13:24.210 She started sending me articles, uh, pre-releases of KJ wines. 00:13:24.450 --> 00:13:25.890 I got to meet the winemakers. 00:13:25.970 --> 00:13:30.529 That's another story, but I I got to interact with Jess Jackson when he was still alive. 00:13:30.690 --> 00:13:40.369 He came out to DC to lobby for um changes with wine laws, and they did a whole blending session with Congresspeople, and I got to be our student representative and do that. 00:13:40.450 --> 00:13:40.849 Yeah. 00:13:41.009 --> 00:13:41.890 It was incredible. 00:13:41.970 --> 00:13:43.410 And so she really piqued my interest. 00:13:43.490 --> 00:13:44.529 That's how I got in. 00:13:44.849 --> 00:13:45.089 Yeah. 00:13:45.490 --> 00:13:50.210 That's fascinating to have that inside look into some huge producer. 00:13:50.289 --> 00:13:51.970 Say what you will about Kendall Jackson. 00:13:52.129 --> 00:13:57.650 They have their niche and they're there's their what they're doing, and they know exactly what they're, and it's a huge success. 00:13:57.890 --> 00:13:58.529 Huge success. 00:13:58.690 --> 00:13:59.970 And you know, I think people too. 00:14:00.129 --> 00:14:02.210 Jess Jackson was a big personality. 00:14:02.369 --> 00:14:08.289 If you ever got to meet him, if you were around him, he was kind of one of those people that commanded a room. 00:14:08.450 --> 00:14:21.730 And, you know, people, he was divisive in the industry, but he really did some amazing things for the wine industry, especially California, and especially with lobbying to change some laws to favor uh wineries and winemakers. 00:14:21.970 --> 00:14:23.089 Yeah, it's interesting. 00:14:23.250 --> 00:14:27.329 Usually those visionary type people can be very

polarizing in one way or the other. 00:14:27.410 --> 00:14:28.129 I mean, for sure. 00:14:28.450 --> 00:14:40.769 Steve Jobs, places like that, people who are really bring out that initiative and are innovators and who really push the boundaries forward, can sometimes throw people the wrong way, but they're making progress and opening up a new world for the whole industry. 00:14:40.930 --> 00:14:42.049 So all right. 00:14:42.129 --> 00:14:43.970 Well, so how did you progress from now? 00:14:44.129 --> 00:14:47.490 You're enjoying these Kindle Jackson wines, you're exploring your palette. 00:14:47.569 --> 00:14:48.690 Where do we go from there? 00:14:49.009 --> 00:14:57.410 Um, so I did a lot of travel when I was younger, in terms of kind of one of my first jobs out of grad school was working for a French company. 00:14:57.650 --> 00:15:02.690 So I was living outside of New York City, traveling in between Paris and New York frequently. 00:15:02.930 --> 00:15:14.690 And this is gonna date me, but I happened to be on a flight where um a gentleman during dinner service pulled out a bottle of wine, uncorked it for himself because he didn't want what was being served. 00:15:14.769 --> 00:15:16.210 Like you couldn't do that now, right? 00:15:16.769 --> 00:15:25.009 Um so uh anyway, I looked over at him, I was on the aisle, he was on the aisle, and he looked at me looking at him, and I said, What are you what are you drinking over there? 00:15:25.410 --> 00:15:30.849 And so he pulls it out and he's like, Oh, you know, he tells me I'm drinking this burgundy. 00:15:31.009 --> 00:15:32.289 And I was like, what? 00:15:32.529 --> 00:15:42.129 And he ends up telling me that he lives in New York City, he works for private clients, he goes around the world, sources, um, and provides for their private sellers. 00:15:42.369 --> 00:15:42.529 Okay. 00:15:42.690 --> 00:15:46.529 So he goes, he's like looking at me, he rolls his eyes, he said, Well, do you want a glass? 00:15:46.690 --> 00:15:47.890 And I'm like, duh. 00:15:48.210 --> 00:15:49.089 Um, of course. 00:15:49.250 --> 00:15:51.250 Do you think I want to drink what they're serving on the plane? 00:15:51.410 --> 00:15:52.289 Like, no, I want this. 00:15:52.609 --> 00:15:53.650 Can I get the whole can, please? 00:15:53.890 --> 00:15:54.210 Or bottle? 00:15:54.529 --> 00:15:56.129 Yeah, I'm like, uh, a little bit more. 00:15:56.369 --> 00:15:59.170 So um, anyway, it was a Nuit Saint-Georges. 00:15:59.569 --> 00:16:01.490 Again, no clue what that was. 00:16:01.730 --> 00:16:06.450 I started doing a little bit more research and I stayed in touch with him fast forward. 00:16:06.609 --> 00:16:13.970 I ended up leaving my role, and I knew somebody that lived in London and said, why don't you come over, make London your base, and go to wine school? 00:16:14.049 --> 00:16:15.410 You're super passionate about it. 00:16:15.569 --> 00:16:35.329 And so I went to school at the Wine School Education Trust, started working for an Italian importer, um, worked around the industry, and um ended up working for some champagne houses, a South African company, ended up sourcing around, mainly around um Spain, France, Italy, uh, South America, South Africa. 00:16:35.490 --> 00:16:44.690 Um, and then got transferred back to my state, to the States for my old position and um ended up working for Moet Hennessy and then started my important distribution business. 00:16:45.009 --> 00:16:45.410 Wow. 00:16:45.569 --> 00:16:45.730 Yeah. 00:16:45.970 --> 00:16:49.089 You talk about really explosion into the world of wine. 00:16:49.890 --> 00:16:55.569 Um and I've always kind of straddled one foot in, one foot out because I've also worked in corporate. 00:16:55.730 --> 00:16:59.809 And so sometimes I like leave the industry and I'm still dabbling over here. 00:16:59.890 --> 00:17:06.769 Um, that folks know, like, unless you know, you come from a lot of money and come into the wine industry, it's really a labor of love. 00:17:06.849 --> 00:17:07.809 It's a passion. 00:17:08.049 --> 00:17:12.049 You're not necessarily gonna earn a ton of money out of it, you know, most of the time. 00:17:12.129 --> 00:17:12.369 Yeah. 00:17:12.690 --> 00:17:17.650 Yeah, you're doing it because that's where your heart is and it's fun and the passion project there. 00:17:17.890 --> 00:17:21.490 Okay, so you have been exposed to the world of wine now. 00:17:21.650 --> 00:17:26.210 I mean, from champagne to Italian wines to French wines to all of that. 00:17:26.369 --> 00:17:29.089 And we're sitting here in Austin, Texas. 00:17:29.410 --> 00:17:29.970 We sure are. 00:17:30.289 --> 00:17:32.450 An incredibly growing wine region. 00:17:33.089 --> 00:17:41.730 But tell me about that transition from this international position dealing with amazing international wines to now here in Austin, Texas. 00:17:42.690 --> 00:17:50.129 So when I moved to Austin and I started going out to dinner, and I was going to places where we have Texas beef on the menu. 00:17:50.210 --> 00:17:53.009 We might have pork reared, you know, just up the road. 00:17:53.170 --> 00:17:54.049 Maybe there's a garden. 00:17:54.129 --> 00:17:56.049 Some of our restaurants now have gardens. 00:17:56.289 --> 00:17:58.529 And I started to notice, like, well, hang on. 00:17:58.609 --> 00:18:02.769 Like, I know Texas wine country is not too far afield from where we are. 00:18:03.009 --> 00:18:06.369 Why aren't we seeing more Texas wines on the menu? 00:18:06.609 --> 00:18:10.930 And so I started to ask around a little bit about like, what's going on? 00:18:11.250 --> 00:18:13.809 You know, why is Austin not supporting Texas? 00:18:14.049 --> 00:18:17.730 Why can't I order a bottle of Texas wine at a fair price? 00:18:17.890 --> 00:18:19.490 You know, what is happening? 00:18:19.730 --> 00:18:33.490 And so I saw a gap in the market and I started to talk to winemakers and heard from them that, you know, it'd be great to get more support here in

Austin, uh, much like some of the other cities we in Texas where uh they're pouring more Texas wine, you see more Texas on the shelves. 00:18:33.730 --> 00:18:47.730 So Austin Wine Week was born out of that idea and me going to other cities, living in other cities, and seeing that there's a week where they support wine from those specific regions, but I didn't see it happening here in Austin. 00:18:48.049 --> 00:18:48.609 Sure. 00:18:48.849 --> 00:18:52.849 Yeah, and I found that to me frustrating to go into. 00:18:52.930 --> 00:19:01.730 And now, granted, this is a nationwide distributor, but to go into a place like Total Wine and you see these aisles for all this stuff, and you got all, and where's the Texas section? 00:19:01.970 --> 00:19:05.089 Way back in the corner, and you got a small little thing here. 00:19:05.250 --> 00:19:15.009 And I understand there's a whole issue with distribution of the three-tiered system, and I I get that there it's difficult for those boutique wineries and the direct-to-consumer to get into those places. 00:19:15.170 --> 00:19:26.609 But I think about if Total Wine was in France and there was a total wine in Bordeaux, can you imagine going into Total Wine and finding the Bordeaux section buried somewhere in the back corner, right? 00:19:26.849 --> 00:19:28.289 Oh, the French would be up in arms. 00:19:28.529 --> 00:19:32.849 I mean, it'd give them another reason to take to the streets to riot, you know. 00:19:33.730 --> 00:19:36.210 It just it's frustrating to me, but I get it. 00:19:36.289 --> 00:19:38.529 And so you saw this vision and this need. 00:19:38.930 --> 00:19:46.689 So that must have been kind of leading towards where we are today and why we're here today, which is Austin Wine Week. 00:19:46.769 --> 00:19:53.730 So, how did this idea for an Austin kind of wine festival start stirring up in your brain a little bit? 00:19:53.970 --> 00:20:01.009 It literally, this sounds kind of crazy, but I literally had a dream and woke up out of A real dream. 00:20:01.329 --> 00:20:02.129 A real dream. 00:20:02.289 --> 00:20:04.929 Um, woke up and I was like, Austin Wine Week, huh? 00:20:05.089 --> 00:20:09.009 I go on to GoDaddy, I go to see, like, does anybody have the URL? 00:20:09.569 --> 00:20:10.369 Nobody had it. 00:20:10.529 --> 00:20:14.129 So I grabbed it and I started to envision what this might look like. 00:20:14.289 --> 00:20:18.609 Now, mind you, at that time, I wasn't full-time living in Austin. 00:20:19.250 --> 00:20:23.809 I was staying at a friend's house up in Situate, Massachusetts, on the South Shore of Boston. 00:20:23.970 --> 00:20:24.129 Wow. 00:20:24.289 --> 00:20:25.169 And I had this idea. 00:20:25.329 --> 00:20:29.490 I knew I was coming back to Austin, but um I didn't know what form that would take. 00:20:29.569 --> 00:20:37.649 So it took me about a year to start networking a little bit, meeting the winemakers, getting them to kind of know and trust me and know that I do come from a wine background. 00:20:37.809 --> 00:20:45.889 You know, there's folks that come into this business that may not have um studied, which is totally fine, or may not have worked in the industry. 00:20:46.049 --> 00:20:51.409 Um, but I've worked on all sides of the industry from retail shops to owning my import and dis own import distance. 00:20:52.609 --> 00:20:52.769 Yeah. 00:20:52.849 --> 00:20:56.049 So they started to recognize, like, okay, maybe there's some legs here. 00:20:56.210 --> 00:21:15.009 Now, the first winemaker, when I was said, you know, I want a week to celebrate Texas wines here in Austin, and at least one big event where consumers can come, because the whole idea was, yes, let's get the industry involved, but let's get the consumer because at the end of the day, you know, the demographics of who buys wine is changing. 00:21:15.329 --> 00:21:25.809 And um, you know, these winemakers who have been very successful with their wine clubs, those people are starting to kind of disappear because they're aging out, really, truly. 00:21:26.049 --> 00:21:34.689 And so part of it was how do we get the consumer, the a younger consumer, to come be interested in Texas, start learning more about wine again, start drinking again. 00:21:34.769 --> 00:21:47.809 But yeah, back to as the idea was starting to formulate, I um ended up going out for bubbles and some nibbles with Ray Wilson, who is, you know, wine for the people, La Valencia. 00:21:48.450 --> 00:21:51.009 And um, I ran this idea by her. 00:21:51.169 --> 00:21:53.970 Like I know she's kind of an OG in terms of this space and people. 00:21:54.529 --> 00:21:55.009 Very respected. 00:21:55.250 --> 00:21:57.649 Very well respected, amazing winemaker. 00:21:57.889 --> 00:22:01.490 And I ran the idea past her, and she said, Yeah, I think it's a great idea. 00:22:01.569 --> 00:22:02.289 I'm in. 00:22:02.689 --> 00:22:04.450 So she was the first one. 00:22:04.689 --> 00:22:06.289 Um, I'm not ready to commit yet. 00:22:06.369 --> 00:22:07.009 Oh, I guess I'm committed. 00:22:08.609 --> 00:22:20.929 Um, and so, you know, we talked about dates and when it would work, and this was like in July of uh last year, and um, so yeah, maybe roughly this time last year, or you know, ish. 00:22:21.169 --> 00:22:23.649 And she's like, Do you think you could pull it off by October? 00:22:23.730 --> 00:22:25.009 Because that's Texas Wine Month. 00:22:25.089 --> 00:22:26.609 And I was like, uh, I don't think so. 00:22:26.769 --> 00:22:32.289 Like, I need to get sponsors involved, I need to get other wineries involved, I need food purveyors. 00:22:32.529 --> 00:22:34.849 So, you know, we launched it at the end of April. 00:22:35.169 --> 00:22:35.490 Okay. 00:22:36.129 --> 00:22:36.529 Wow. 00:22:36.689 --> 00:22:38.369 And so that's great. 00:22:38.450 --> 00:22:40.450 I love Ray, just got you started there. 00:22:40.529 --> 00:22:42.210 You're like, I'm kind of thinking about this. 00:22:42.289 --> 00:22:44.049

I mean, oh, well, I guess I'm doing it. 00:22:44.369 --> 00:22:45.169 Guess I'm doing it. 00:22:45.329 --> 00:22:47.649 And then other winemakers started to hear about it. 00:22:48.129 --> 00:22:49.889 I started to reach out to some of them. 00:22:49.970 --> 00:22:52.609 Some of them were like, nope, not for us, not this year. 00:22:53.089 --> 00:22:53.409 Yeah. 00:22:53.809 --> 00:22:55.009 Everybody's in different places. 00:22:55.250 --> 00:22:55.730 Fair. 00:22:55.889 --> 00:22:59.889 Um, or no, we have too much going on, or uh, let's see, proof of concept. 00:22:59.970 --> 00:23:02.049 They wanted to know it could be successful. 00:23:02.289 --> 00:23:11.730 Um, and then it was, you know, it was really funny because towards the run-up, the sprint to the event, there were still a few spaces available for wineries. 00:23:12.129 --> 00:23:15.009 And I think a FOMO effect started to happen. 00:23:15.889 --> 00:23:20.689 So I started to get calls from other wineries and winemakers like, hey, do you still have spaces? 00:23:20.849 --> 00:23:22.129 And I'm like, I do. 00:23:22.289 --> 00:23:24.289 Uh so you know, we ended up filling the room. 00:23:24.369 --> 00:23:25.490 You were here, so you saw it. 00:23:25.569 --> 00:23:25.649 Yeah. 00:23:25.889 --> 00:23:31.169 So it started really, it kind of started slow, but then it started really at the end tumbling and gaining a lot of momentum. 00:23:31.730 --> 00:23:32.049 Yeah. 00:23:33.169 --> 00:23:35.730 It's uh it's interesting here in Austin. 00:23:35.809 --> 00:23:38.609 Uh we kind of getting back to that first, just a second. 00:23:38.929 --> 00:23:43.569 You know, I was born and raised here in Austin and been to a lot of different things here. 00:23:43.649 --> 00:23:45.089 And it still amazes me to this day. 00:23:45.250 --> 00:23:48.049 Maybe being part of the industry, I take it for granted. 00:23:48.369 --> 00:23:49.490 But it still amazes me. 00:23:49.809 --> 00:23:54.849 Almost every day I'm coming across people and I talk, say something about I have this wine podcast about Texas wine. 00:23:54.929 --> 00:23:56.049 They're like, Texas wine? 00:23:56.129 --> 00:23:56.609 I'm like, huh? 00:23:56.769 --> 00:23:57.329 Texas, what? 00:23:57.490 --> 00:24:02.929 You know, and I just assume that like everybody knows, it's just such an educational thing. 00:24:03.169 --> 00:24:17.409 And um, and I have seen things like the the Austin rodeo here, which I think maybe they're starting to change things a little bit there, but at the food wine festivals here in Austin, and it's all no Texas wine represented at any of those things. 00:24:17.569 --> 00:24:31.730 And you think, like you said, Austin a place that values the heart of Texas and Texas local and keep Austin weird and really be this local kind of thing, but that was a missing component that was just completely ignored. 00:24:31.970 --> 00:24:35.329 Why do you think that it just we just missed the boat on that? 00:24:35.970 --> 00:24:37.490 That's a really good question. 00:24:37.649 --> 00:24:39.009 I don't know if I have a great answer for it. 00:24:39.089 --> 00:24:46.450 I would I wonder if part of it is um people kind of, you know, I think wine can be scary for folks, right? 00:24:46.609 --> 00:24:56.849 And unless you're well versed, like, you know, you and me or other people out there, when you start to talk in wine terms, like people look at a label and sometimes they don't even know Chardonnay is the grape. 00:24:57.009 --> 00:24:57.169 Yeah. 00:24:57.409 --> 00:24:59.889 You know, they might think it's I don't know the name of the colour. 00:25:01.009 --> 00:25:02.849 Cadillac, a brand name kind of thing. 00:25:03.250 --> 00:25:04.210 So they're not really sure. 00:25:04.289 --> 00:25:10.609 Or maybe they've had a wine before with that name on it that didn't suit their palate, or maybe there was a fault in it. 00:25:10.689 --> 00:25:15.329 And I think part of it is that fear, and so people start to get stuck in their ways, right? 00:25:15.409 --> 00:25:19.889 So people go, Well, I know I like this Pinot Noir from Oregon, and so I'm gonna stay there. 00:25:20.129 --> 00:25:21.569 And maybe that's part of it. 00:25:21.730 --> 00:25:33.490 Yeah, um, or just, you know, you look at a price on a wine list now, and you know, there's a lot of factors that go into pricing, even though we are local, you know, growing grapes is not a cheap endeavor. 00:25:33.649 --> 00:25:38.769 Um, glass is uh expensive, you know, being a farmer, there's a lot that goes into it. 00:25:38.849 --> 00:25:46.289 And maybe people go, okay, I'm seeing a$60 of Texas wine and a$60 of Meteorcore Bordeaux. 00:25:46.450 --> 00:25:46.529 Right. 00:25:46.769 --> 00:25:48.689 I'm gonna go with that name because I know it. 00:25:49.009 --> 00:25:49.250 Right. 00:25:49.490 --> 00:25:59.089 So I think part of it is, and what I'd hope to accomplish too with Austin Winemake and continue with some of the things we have going on is get more people really out here trying it. 00:25:59.250 --> 00:26:04.129 Because what I've explained to folks too is you know, it's like anything else. 00:26:04.289 --> 00:26:10.929 You may have gone and tasted Napa and you've gone to 10 different wineries, you're not gonna like every single wine at every single winery. 00:26:11.009 --> 00:26:20.369 But if you start to know who the winemakers are, you know, at my event uh here, the big Sip Texas event, a lot of winemakers were represented here. 00:26:20.609 --> 00:26:26.609 So um they were all here talking to the consumer about their wines and they're proud and they should be. 00:26:26.769 --> 00:26:33.009 And so I think once people understand there's a person behind the label and that Ray Wilson is a real person. 00:26:33.409 --> 00:26:37.730 Um, you know, Jaclyn Renee, Jackie over at Jacqueline Renee, she's a real person. 00:26:37.970 --> 00:26:41.169 Andy over at Adega Vino, you know, he's a real person. 00:26:41.250 --> 00:26:43.809 It's

his family, his last name is on the vineyards. 00:26:44.049 --> 00:26:53.409 Once people start to understand that and they're like, oh, I can see the story behind it, and now I know Texas is really, really good, then I think that's starting to bridge the gap. 00:26:53.649 --> 00:26:53.970 Okay. 00:26:54.450 --> 00:27:04.929 Thinking about how to bridge that gap between tasting, like I I think of people maybe coming here for the Sip Texas event and tasting these great wines and going, Oh, that was, oh, this is better than I thought. 00:27:05.009 --> 00:27:05.889 Oh, this is really good. 00:27:06.049 --> 00:27:11.649 But then walking out and not really having any kind of tie-in or connection to okay, now how can I go get those wines? 00:27:11.730 --> 00:27:19.649 Yeah, because it's gonna take some research or some, you know, it's gonna take some effort on their part, and they're gonna go home and think, I had this really good wine, but I can't remember what it was or can. 00:27:20.049 --> 00:27:35.250 And I was thinking, I it would be kind of cool to when people came in, and it's a again, I know that there was so much last-minute additions and all that, but if there was almost like a paper or a card that had the different wineries with the different things they were pouring where they could kind of circle, man, I really like this one. 00:27:35.409 --> 00:27:40.210 Oh, at this winery, I really like this one, and maybe even some information like where can you get those wines? 00:27:40.289 --> 00:27:41.649 Like you, they're all DTC only. 00:27:41.730 --> 00:27:48.049 You got to go to their website, or they're an HEB, or they're in, you know, that way they could take something home with them and go, What was that one? 00:27:48.369 --> 00:27:49.569 Oh, yeah, I really like this. 00:27:49.649 --> 00:27:50.689 Oh, I can get the H E B. 00:27:50.769 --> 00:27:51.569 Let me go look for that. 00:27:51.649 --> 00:27:54.849 You know, I wonder if there's a way to kind of that's just a I think for sure. 00:27:54.929 --> 00:27:56.369 I think a way to bridge something. 00:27:56.609 --> 00:28:11.169 That you know, we being year one, sure, we missed some tricks, you know, and I think that's one for sure because one of the things we really wanted was to get pull-through for the winemakers, like you know, that they're starting to see a surge in people asking for Texas wines. 00:28:11.329 --> 00:28:13.569 We also encouraged people at the various events. 00:28:13.809 --> 00:28:22.849 If you don't see Texas wine on the menu, if you're out to dinner, it ask for the general manager, ask for the Somelier, tell them the name of your favorite Texas wine. 00:28:23.009 --> 00:28:30.369 Uh, and also, you're right, you know, being able to provide something that's a takeaway for them to go, oh, here's my notes, here's what I really like. 00:28:30.689 --> 00:28:37.169 For sure, there's a lot of things we're gonna change or upgrade for 2027 so that that happens. 00:28:37.250 --> 00:28:43.889 You know, one of the things that I'm proud of, it's it's sometimes hard to quantify the success of something like this. 00:28:44.210 --> 00:29:00.369 However, I've spoken to several of the winemakers or wineries since the event, and at least three of them have told me that they've had probably a dozen people come out to the winery mentioning Austin Winemake, and that's how they found out. 00:29:00.450 --> 00:29:06.689 So you do the math on that, and then I know from a few of them that they've then now subsequently joined their wine clubs. 00:29:06.929 --> 00:29:08.049 Oh, what a win, right? 00:29:08.450 --> 00:29:10.210 So that right there, like to me, that's a win. 00:29:10.450 --> 00:29:10.929 Yeah. 00:29:11.169 --> 00:29:11.889 That's interesting. 00:29:11.970 --> 00:29:18.369 Maybe even if it was like just a QR code they could scan to take you to a website, because that's something you'll be more of a living document that could be. 00:29:18.529 --> 00:29:21.649 We had that, um, and I think some people missed it. 00:29:21.889 --> 00:29:22.210 Yeah. 00:29:22.609 --> 00:29:23.009 Interesting. 00:29:23.569 --> 00:29:40.369 But, you know, it's a good point because we're gonna start updating the website now with the new dates for 2027 and even putting where folks can go and get that, or you know, featuring there's um something I'm about to do, and you know, featuring some of those wineries like weekly, so um, that we're participating in the events. 00:29:40.689 --> 00:29:41.169 Awesome. 00:29:41.730 --> 00:29:44.769 Well, let's let's go back, let's rewind now. 00:29:44.849 --> 00:29:49.329 So we've got a little bit of the how the idea started and kind of started to come to play. 00:29:49.490 --> 00:29:52.609 Let's actually recap a little bit about what the week looked like. 00:29:52.849 --> 00:29:57.009 So the very first event was where we're sitting here today, here at Wanderlust. 00:29:57.329 --> 00:30:01.970 How do you feel like Wanderlust really fit the vibe of how you wanted to kick this thing off? 00:30:02.369 --> 00:30:07.169 You know, I know Sammy Lamb, who is the founder and owner of Wanderlust. 00:30:07.809 --> 00:30:10.849 Um, he is a big supporter of anybody in the industry. 00:30:11.009 --> 00:30:16.689 So, first and foremost, I wanted to help support him and give back to him and his family as well. 00:30:16.849 --> 00:30:23.649 And just knew that, you know, Sammy is such a professional, as is his team, and knew that they'd be able to support. 00:30:23.809 --> 00:30:27.089 And, you know, even if there were issues on the day, nobody would notice. 00:30:27.169 --> 00:30:27.329 Right. 00:30:27.569 --> 00:30:32.129 Um, and I also wanted a place where people could walk in and feel like, okay, this is comfortable. 00:30:32.289 --> 00:30:33.970 This isn't pretentious. 00:30:34.129 --> 00:30:37.730 Uh, I'm not gonna feel like I have to know all the wine lingo. 00:30:37.970 --> 00:30:42.129 You know, coming in, I'm sure you

remember there's there was a DJ. 00:30:42.929 --> 00:30:52.049 So um it was more of a chill Sunday vibe atmosphere, um, and just I think very welcoming and unassuming. 00:30:52.210 --> 00:30:59.569 And so, you know, sometimes when people go to these tastings, we've all been there where you walk in, you're like, oh stuffy, stuffy, I can't speak. 00:30:59.730 --> 00:31:03.809 Uh, you can hear a penny drop, everybody's sniffing and swirling. 00:31:03.889 --> 00:31:14.609 And I didn't want people to feel like they had to know anything, um, but just come and have a good time and maybe at least walk away with one new favorite or something they're gonna buy again. 00:31:14.849 --> 00:31:15.250 Yeah. 00:31:15.490 --> 00:31:20.450 This wasn't an event at an upscale social, top of the mark penthouse thing. 00:31:20.689 --> 00:31:23.569 This is an Austin feel, a vibe. 00:31:23.730 --> 00:31:25.009 And that's one of the things I love about that. 00:31:25.169 --> 00:31:28.289 I mean, you see these fun little murals and stuff is all over this place. 00:31:28.450 --> 00:31:42.289 But to me, again, being a native Austinite, this place just has that funky, fun Austin quirky appeal to it that to me says screams Austin, and then you connecting the wine into that mentality. 00:31:42.689 --> 00:31:45.250 And it's you know, it's a unique vibe here, right? 00:31:45.329 --> 00:31:46.769 It is that keep Austin weird. 00:31:46.849 --> 00:31:49.569 Plus, they have the barrels out there, which are the tables. 00:31:49.730 --> 00:31:51.569 It's very wine-centric. 00:31:51.649 --> 00:31:51.970 Yes. 00:31:52.129 --> 00:31:55.409 Um, with again, without being stuffy and pretentious. 00:31:55.730 --> 00:31:56.529 Excellent. 00:31:56.769 --> 00:32:01.649 Well, let's talk about the the first event, SipTexis, was held here. 00:32:01.809 --> 00:32:06.609 So tell me about that event, why you wanted to kick off with that event, what it looked like, all that. 00:32:07.009 --> 00:32:11.490 I wanted to kick off because I wanted the week to start off with real energy. 00:32:11.649 --> 00:32:11.889 Yeah. 00:32:12.049 --> 00:32:17.970 You know, I think some people thought I was a little bit crazy with not doing it in reverse, like not ending with that event. 00:32:18.210 --> 00:32:19.649 Like the big blowout at the end. 00:32:19.809 --> 00:32:20.129 Yeah. 00:32:20.369 --> 00:32:24.689 And maybe I was because by Friday of that week I was exhausted. 00:32:24.849 --> 00:32:29.649 Um, but it was an event where we highlighted uh 31 wineries. 00:32:29.889 --> 00:32:39.169 Um, and uh either the winemakers were here, part, you know, part of the family of ownership, or people who just represented those wineries were here to talk about the wines. 00:32:39.329 --> 00:32:43.889 Um, people could come in, they could taste as much or as little as they wanted. 00:32:44.129 --> 00:32:46.129 Some tasted a little too much. 00:32:47.569 --> 00:32:51.490 Um and then there was a DJ setting the vibe. 00:32:51.730

--> 00:32:54.210 We also had some amazing food purveyors. 00:32:54.289 --> 00:32:56.129 We had Frank from Churroboro. 00:32:56.529 --> 00:33:01.490 Um, we also had uh Mickey's uh hot mustard, Mickey's mustard. 00:33:01.970 --> 00:33:02.210 So good. 00:33:02.529 --> 00:33:03.169 So good. 00:33:03.649 --> 00:33:10.929 Um we had um uh chocolate mouth uh chocolates, which are hand painted, really beautiful. 00:33:11.569 --> 00:33:12.289 Oh, so beautiful. 00:33:12.450 --> 00:33:15.569 We had Sloane from Sloane's Seasonings, a lot of fun there. 00:33:15.730 --> 00:33:18.049 Oh my gosh, I know I'm probably oh, how could I forget? 00:33:18.210 --> 00:33:19.089 Horndogs. 00:33:19.250 --> 00:33:19.490 Yeah. 00:33:19.730 --> 00:33:24.289 Horndogs, high-end uh hot dogs, which were the best. 00:33:24.529 --> 00:33:27.889 Um, I love there's a huge line out there and they kept selling out. 00:33:28.289 --> 00:33:30.689 Yeah, they sold, I mean, we weren't sure. 00:33:30.769 --> 00:33:35.409 I I ended up, you know, as part of our our deal being like, okay, I'm gonna purchase 50 dogs from you. 00:33:35.649 --> 00:33:41.649 And then Laura and Mike made, I don't even know how many above that, maybe another 50, and they were out. 00:33:41.889 --> 00:33:42.049 Yeah. 00:33:42.369 --> 00:33:45.730 Um, so the They were so elevated, they were just these really cool. 00:33:46.129 --> 00:33:50.689 One was called Girl Dinner, and the other was Chip Chip, which so so great. 00:33:50.769 --> 00:33:52.450 Like their marketing is so clever. 00:33:52.769 --> 00:33:58.769 Um, and then we had, yeah, we had Kathy from the The Hats who can make your custom hats. 00:33:59.169 --> 00:34:02.450 And I'm sure I'm probably missing somebody, and I apologize if I am. 00:34:02.609 --> 00:34:08.769 But yeah, it was just really like it wasn't we weren't showing five-star Michelin dining or James Beard. 00:34:08.849 --> 00:34:15.970 It was more of like, grab your dog, grab your glizzy, get your glass of wine, uh-huh, you know, get into the vibes and go talk to the winemakers. 00:34:16.130 --> 00:34:16.450 Yeah. 00:34:16.690 --> 00:34:19.570 Learn some of the story of what goes into your glass. 00:34:19.730 --> 00:34:20.050 Yeah. 00:34:20.210 --> 00:34:22.210 Because each bottle tells a story and of itself. 00:34:22.289 --> 00:34:27.329 And to hear then connect that to the owner, the winemaker, and all that, even makes the wine. 00:34:27.409 --> 00:34:31.250 You know, when I open a glass at home and I drink a glass of wine, okay, it's nice. 00:34:31.329 --> 00:34:32.610 I it's a good wine, I enjoy it. 00:34:32.769 --> 00:34:37.329 But when I'm there with the winemaker and I'm hearing their stories, it's like the wine tastes even better. 00:34:37.409 --> 00:34:40.690 It's just so fascinating the way it comes alive in your glass, you know. 00:34:40.849 --> 00:34:46.849 Yeah, there was a huge energy crowd here, uh a lot going on, a lot of people coming in and out. 00:34:47.090 --> 00:34:49.889 Did you feel like that was a good kickoff success event? 00:34:50.210 --> 00:34:51.170 I did. 00:34:51.329 --> 00:34:58.769 You know, I think like anybody who's producing an event, especially in a city like Austin, where there's something happening all day, every day. 00:34:58.929 --> 00:34:59.889 People have choices. 00:35:00.289 --> 00:35:03.570 You know, people could have done whatever that day. 00:35:03.730 --> 00:35:05.490 Um, and so I was sweating it. 00:35:05.570 --> 00:35:11.650 Like in the run up to that like week and a half, I was in full on panic mode, like, oh, are we gonna have enough people there? 00:35:11.730 --> 00:35:12.849 Are we gonna sell enough tickets? 00:35:13.090 --> 00:35:13.730 We've built it. 00:35:13.809 --> 00:35:14.289 Will they come? 00:35:14.450 --> 00:35:15.650 Yeah, will they come? 00:35:15.889 --> 00:35:28.050 And um, you know, we had just under 200 tickets sold uh for the event, which for an inaugural event I think is pretty good. 00:35:28.210 --> 00:35:28.450 Yeah. 00:35:28.690 --> 00:35:39.650 Um, and you know, I know we had a few people say, like, oh my gosh, the noise level at certain times, it's just because the amount of people that were in here and tasting and talking to the winemakers, um, yeah, you're right. 00:35:39.809 --> 00:35:40.929 It just created an energy. 00:35:41.090 --> 00:35:49.570 So, yes, uh, from all the winemakers I've spoken to, everybody that I've spoken to after the event, everyone is in for next year. 00:35:49.889 --> 00:35:52.769 So that is also a marker of success to me. 00:35:52.929 --> 00:35:56.769 So I've been out, I've been out to Fredericksburg a few times and Kerrville as well. 00:35:56.849 --> 00:35:58.450 I don't want to miss out Turtle Creek. 00:35:58.610 --> 00:35:58.849 Sure. 00:35:59.010 --> 00:36:08.050 Um, I've been out there a few times now since Austin Wine Week ended uh to meet with the winemakers, to talk about what's next for next year and next in general. 00:36:08.289 --> 00:36:08.530 Right. 00:36:08.690 --> 00:36:09.889 Um, and everybody's in. 00:36:10.050 --> 00:36:23.250 And you know, the other thing is a few of them have said to me, hands down, in terms of Austin events or even events, wine events in general, this was the youngest, most diverse crowd they've ever had. 00:36:24.130 --> 00:36:29.730 And um, they appreciated that because that's like a nut they're trying to crack in terms of getting that younger consumer. 00:36:30.369 --> 00:36:37.970 I think more people are looking for these more urban style experiences than they are looking for let's go on a day trip somewhere. 00:36:38.130 --> 00:36:44.130 And so that's why I think I was so impressed with this event of yours, because I think this is hitting that. 00:36:44.369 --> 00:36:52.130 We're trying to hit this demographic and get those younger people in and get, and I think this we need more of this in the city kind of stuff. 00:36:52.370 --> 00:36:55.570 And then it might inspire some of those people who

tasted a great wine. 00:36:55.809 --> 00:36:57.170 Oh, was this a Dega Vino? 00:36:57.410 --> 00:36:58.050 I remember this. 00:36:58.210 --> 00:36:59.170 Where are they located again? 00:36:59.250 --> 00:37:01.730 Oh, okay, now I want to go take a trip out there. 00:37:01.970 --> 00:37:04.690 But start things here and build that excitement. 00:37:05.170 --> 00:37:06.050 It is so true. 00:37:06.210 --> 00:37:10.690 I mean, uh you kind of have to read the room. 00:37:11.410 --> 00:37:23.010 You know, I think, and I know disrespect to what everybody has built here in Texas, but I think sometimes people just start resting on their laurels and they're not watching the market shift and change. 00:37:23.330 --> 00:37:32.130 And so, even going out and meeting with some of the winemakers after the event, you know, some of the things they're saying to me is like, again, like no disrespect, but like their clientele's dying. 00:37:32.610 --> 00:37:33.730 They're just getting older. 00:37:33.890 --> 00:37:41.650 And so, like, every month they're losing wine club memberships, not because they can't afford it, yeah, but because literally they're not here anymore. 00:37:41.890 --> 00:37:44.850 And so, how do they start to find that younger consumer? 00:37:45.010 --> 00:37:53.010 And, you know, it may be that consumer that may not have the most sophisticated or experienced palate yet, right? 00:37:53.170 --> 00:37:57.890 But start them in and get some brand loyalty and let them know, like, there's some cool winemakers. 00:37:57.970 --> 00:38:02.850 Like, I can't even tell you how many people came up to me and were like, wait, Ronnie's is a real person. 00:38:03.010 --> 00:38:06.050 I'm like, yeah, he's a real person. 00:38:06.610 --> 00:38:09.809 Like, like, and he's a character, so go talk to him. 00:38:10.050 --> 00:38:10.930 Go talk to him. 00:38:11.010 --> 00:38:16.690 He's hilarious, he has great wine, he's got great branding, he's thinking outside of the box. 00:38:16.769 --> 00:38:17.809 Like, go talk to him. 00:38:18.210 --> 00:38:24.690 So, but people just don't, you know, like you said, that story behind the label, people just don't know until it's in front of them. 00:38:24.769 --> 00:38:26.769 And now it's like, okay, what's next? 00:38:27.010 --> 00:38:34.769 And and I will say, of the three events we had, there were three very different consumers at each event. 00:38:34.930 --> 00:38:37.570 Yeah, but they were crowd for a different crowd. 00:38:37.650 --> 00:38:38.850 They were not the same consumer. 00:38:39.250 --> 00:38:39.570 Interesting. 00:38:39.730 --> 00:38:41.090 So it really hit a different demographic. 00:38:41.410 --> 00:38:41.809 It did. 00:38:41.970 --> 00:38:43.809 And I saw a little bit of overlap. 00:38:44.210 --> 00:38:44.450 Sure. 00:38:44.610 --> 00:38:48.289 Like one person, a few people came to two things during that week. 00:38:48.530 --> 00:38:54.690 Some of my friends, obviously, who were supporting me, came to a few things,

but um, it was not the same group of folk. 00:38:55.250 --> 00:38:55.970 Interesting. 00:38:56.690 --> 00:39:01.650 Wow, I I I I'm just gonna say it was one of my favorite events that I've been to. 00:39:01.809 --> 00:39:05.809 It was just again, especially the the Sip Texas part here at Wanderlust. 00:39:06.130 --> 00:39:09.809 It was again such a high-energy event talking to so many people. 00:39:09.970 --> 00:39:21.010 It was to me, it was impressive because I've been to different wine kind of festivals and things like that before at different places where you might have 12 to 15 or 20 or so winemakers up at tables. 00:39:21.250 --> 00:39:38.450 But I I would say 70 to 80 percent of those, it's not the winemaker there, it's a representative, it's just somebody, and I saw so many people like Ron Yates and Andy Bilger, and you know these people that were the people at that winery, they're represented on site like Bay Tech, you know. 00:39:38.530 --> 00:39:41.650 Yeah, it was just fascinating to me to be a part of that. 00:39:42.130 --> 00:39:43.250 They were here, yeah. 00:39:43.490 --> 00:39:56.130 I mean, you know, uh yeah, I mean, they were here, like the people who are really behind the scenes making the decisions, uh, talking about what's fruits being picked when, maybe they're vinifying, like you know, they were here. 00:39:56.370 --> 00:39:58.769 And I think you nailed a perfect time. 00:39:58.850 --> 00:40:00.370 I know you talked about October. 00:40:00.690 --> 00:40:06.930 October, not a good time for winemakers because of harvest and uh harvest is gonna be cleated now. 00:40:07.090 --> 00:40:08.370 Now they're busy in the cellar. 00:40:08.450 --> 00:40:10.289 There, it's a crazy busy time. 00:40:10.530 --> 00:40:12.930 April, kind of quiet for those winemakers. 00:40:13.010 --> 00:40:18.850 I mean, we got people coming to the tasting rooms and such, but you you know, the vines are doing their thing, their bud break. 00:40:18.930 --> 00:40:22.050 They're they're not as I think that was a perfect window of time. 00:40:22.130 --> 00:40:23.650 So yeah, I like that. 00:40:23.970 --> 00:40:25.890 And it's April 2027 again. 00:40:26.050 --> 00:40:33.890 We've pulled it up by about a week and a half um just for some reasons of other things going on. 00:40:34.050 --> 00:40:36.050 But um, you know, the dates are published. 00:40:36.130 --> 00:40:40.769 So if anybody says they didn't know about them, we published them like two weeks after the event. 00:40:41.090 --> 00:40:44.769 So uh they are out there and we've started planning. 00:40:45.010 --> 00:40:49.490 Um, and uh, you know, we're reimagining some of what can happen that week. 00:40:49.570 --> 00:40:49.809 Right. 00:40:49.970 --> 00:41:01.650 And we're definitely gonna do a better job this year of the downloadable passport and choosing your own adventure, and then also um some other just uh some some surprises, but also some partnerships we have up our sleeve, right now. 00:41:02.050 -->

00:41:08.930 Well, I want to move for just a moment from day one, and we'll wrap up this amazing event that we had here. 00:41:09.090 --> 00:41:13.090 And so you're you're feeling like, okay, the first event is done. 00:41:13.250 --> 00:41:16.769 It was a wild success, maybe more than you expected. 00:41:16.930 --> 00:41:19.890 And now we got day two coming, which is a little bit later in the week. 00:41:19.970 --> 00:41:21.570 You had a happy hour at Daidu. 00:41:22.289 --> 00:41:22.450 Yeah. 00:41:22.769 --> 00:41:25.170 Very good, amazing restaurant here in Austin. 00:41:25.410 --> 00:41:25.650 Amazing. 00:41:26.210 --> 00:41:34.850 Focuses on local cuisine, local foods, farm to table, and their menu is almost different almost every day, it feels like when you go in there. 00:41:35.010 --> 00:41:41.330 But one of my favorite things about Daiduay that I constantly tell people who say, Where should we go for a restaurant in Austin? 00:41:41.570 --> 00:41:43.970 They have a local Texas wine menu. 00:41:44.050 --> 00:41:44.450 Yes. 00:41:44.690 --> 00:41:47.090 Texas wines all over that menu. 00:41:47.250 --> 00:41:49.250 And so I love that restaurant. 00:41:49.410 --> 00:41:54.130 So to see that you were partnered with them was really cool for the second event, which was a happy hour event. 00:41:54.289 --> 00:41:55.570 So fill me in on that event. 00:41:55.650 --> 00:41:57.090 I was unfortunately unable to attend that one. 00:41:57.170 --> 00:41:58.450 So I want to hear a little bit about it. 00:41:58.769 --> 00:42:00.930 Well, as you just mentioned, the space is incredible. 00:42:01.010 --> 00:42:06.610 So we had um, you know, outside of the restaurant in the back, they have a patio that was ours for that event. 00:42:06.690 --> 00:42:11.890 Now, this is the first time Daidui had done an event at the same time as being open. 00:42:12.050 --> 00:42:12.289 Okay. 00:42:12.450 --> 00:42:16.289 So they had regular diners there plus our event in back. 00:42:16.450 --> 00:42:21.730 So we it was a smaller crowd because the team wasn't sure, like, how are we gonna be able to pull this off? 00:42:21.809 --> 00:42:23.170 It is it gonna work. 00:42:23.410 --> 00:42:26.530 That event sold out um pretty quickly. 00:42:26.690 --> 00:42:26.850 Yeah. 00:42:27.010 --> 00:42:32.530 Uh, because people who are fans of Daidui, like they know it's 98% Texas, it's amazing. 00:42:32.769 --> 00:42:45.170 So we we partnered over there with Charlotte and Janie, who's the chef and um one of the chefs, and Janie prepared um small bites that paired with four winemakers' wines. 00:42:45.490 --> 00:42:46.850 Um, and it was perfect. 00:42:47.010 --> 00:42:56.370 So people could, you know, walk around, talk to the four winemakers, have a nibble, and then if they so chose, they could stay and eat dinner after I did with uh my group. 00:42:56.530 --> 00:43:02.130 We stayed, we had another couple bottles of Texas wine on the venue um to support Texas. 00:43:02.210 --> 00:43:06.769

But you know, it was four amazing, uh actually in at that event it was four female winemakers. 00:43:06.930 --> 00:43:07.250 Okay. 00:43:07.490 --> 00:43:19.090 Um, and uh, you know, uh Jackie being one of them over from Jacqueline Renee, yeah, Alisa Jones from Elisa Christopher, um, oh my gosh, who oh, uh Alta Marfa was there and Colosi was there. 00:43:19.250 --> 00:43:19.809 Oh, cool. 00:43:19.890 --> 00:43:20.530 Yeah, yeah. 00:43:20.610 --> 00:43:22.530 So Nikki, I guess, from Colise. 00:43:22.930 --> 00:43:26.610 And so uh it was just this kind of come and go happy hour type of event. 00:43:26.850 --> 00:43:28.450 People got to meet with them and talk. 00:43:28.690 --> 00:43:31.490 Did they give any kind of like a little spiel or talk about their wines? 00:43:32.130 --> 00:43:37.170 So they were just as consumers were coming up, myself and Charlotte stood up, welcomed folks. 00:43:37.250 --> 00:43:41.650 I talked about, you know, why Austin Wine Week was born, why it's important. 00:43:42.050 --> 00:43:49.090 Um, and then, you know, people could just come in and really like in that intimate setting, intermingle with the winemakers. 00:43:49.250 --> 00:43:55.650 So I thought it was just, I mean, the the team over there is incredible, and it was just very well executed. 00:43:55.730 --> 00:44:00.769 And the pairings, the bites that Janie prepared were perfect for every single winery. 00:44:01.010 --> 00:44:01.410 Wow. 00:44:01.650 --> 00:44:06.450 Uh, and so yeah, it was just it was a very intimate experience. 00:44:06.610 --> 00:44:06.769 Yeah. 00:44:07.090 --> 00:44:09.650 What a way to celebrate windown Wednesdays, right? 00:44:09.970 --> 00:44:10.289 Right. 00:44:10.930 --> 00:44:13.490 And I would say like half of those guests end up staying. 00:44:13.570 --> 00:44:14.370 So that was also good. 00:44:14.450 --> 00:44:16.610 It was on a Wednesday night, great for the restaurant. 00:44:16.690 --> 00:44:16.850 Absolutely. 00:44:17.250 --> 00:44:22.210 Great for them to try their things on the menu, try their wines, yeah, um, and support local. 00:44:23.010 --> 00:44:23.410 All right. 00:44:23.570 --> 00:44:29.730 So day two has now wrapped up, and we moved to the final event of the week, which was at House Wine. 00:44:29.890 --> 00:44:30.690 A little crowded. 00:44:30.930 --> 00:44:32.370 The Tastemakers event. 00:44:32.450 --> 00:44:32.769 Yeah. 00:44:33.010 --> 00:44:40.769 And so you had five different female winemakers there telling their story and sharing some of the things of their wines. 00:44:40.930 --> 00:44:44.289 You had a great little kind of charcuterie table set up there and everything. 00:44:44.450 --> 00:44:46.370 Tell me about the vision for that event. 00:44:46.690 --> 00:44:50.210 You know, it originally started uh with those, I didn't know. 00:44:50.289 --> 00:44:52.690 So, first of all, I didn't know Daiduy was going to choose all females. 00:44:52.769 --> 00:45:00.610 So there was one day where I thought, you know, we

really should support the Lone Star Ladies and let's do this event to support five female winemakers. 00:45:00.769 --> 00:45:05.010 Reason being is that, you know, winemaking, as you see, is still predominantly male. 00:45:05.090 --> 00:45:08.130 And we don't have a ton of female winemakers here in Texas. 00:45:08.370 --> 00:45:11.090 There's probably maybe you can count on two hands. 00:45:11.330 --> 00:45:14.050 And I really wanted to support them and highlight their wines. 00:45:14.130 --> 00:45:15.410 They're all incredible winemakers. 00:45:15.490 --> 00:45:18.850 Some are newer than others, some have just gone out on their own. 00:45:19.010 --> 00:45:20.610 And so they had their own labels. 00:45:20.769 --> 00:45:21.890 So that was amazing. 00:45:21.970 --> 00:45:27.490 Um, and the vision was originally we were gonna have a sit-down dinner with five course parents. 00:45:27.730 --> 00:45:27.970 Wow. 00:45:28.210 --> 00:45:32.769 Just didn't work out logistically, and it was a lot to pull off for an inaugural year. 00:45:32.930 --> 00:45:41.570 So I moved it quite quickly to just, okay, we're gonna have some light bites, we're gonna bring the ticket price down so people can meet these winemakers, and then also buy wines on the night. 00:45:41.650 --> 00:45:46.450 So the good thing about being there is that people could purchase wines, walk away with them, and a lot of folks did. 00:45:46.610 --> 00:45:47.410 Oh, yeah, we did. 00:45:47.570 --> 00:45:47.890 Yeah. 00:45:48.130 --> 00:45:51.570 I I love that, and I love the little cards you had for each person. 00:45:51.730 --> 00:45:53.410 This is kind of what I was talking about earlier. 00:45:53.570 --> 00:45:57.970 And having those wines that they brought, and you could easily buy those bottles, you could walk right up and buy them at the counter. 00:45:58.050 --> 00:45:58.370 Yeah. 00:45:58.530 --> 00:46:03.250 I was so impressed, and I don't want to like single out other, there's so many great things there. 00:46:03.330 --> 00:46:06.769 But Dina and I fell in love with uh Ray's Sauvignon Blanc. 00:46:07.010 --> 00:46:08.930 Oh that was the first wine to go. 00:46:09.170 --> 00:46:15.650 We are not Sauvignon Blanc drinkers per se, but we fell in love with that when we were like, no, we gotta go home with a bottle of that. 00:46:15.730 --> 00:46:16.450 It was so good. 00:46:16.690 --> 00:46:17.809 Somebody beat us to it. 00:46:17.890 --> 00:46:22.690 We went to get the last bottle, and um, Alex, who was working over there, is like, I've got you. 00:46:22.850 --> 00:46:24.050 We've hidden it. 00:46:24.370 --> 00:46:25.410 I don't know who got it. 00:46:25.490 --> 00:46:27.250 Somebody's drinking my Sauvignon Black. 00:46:27.490 --> 00:46:28.530 Hopefully it's not me. 00:46:30.050 --> 00:46:34.289 No, I mean, I'm sure if I really want, like, Ray probably has to be bottles stashed somewhere. 00:46:34.370 --> 00:46:35.970 I could ask her, but yeah. 00:46:36.130 --> 00:46:37.250 No, that was a fun event. 00:46:37.330 --> 00:46:39.330 It was really great to see each of these. 00:46:39.890 --> 00:46:58.130 Female winemakers to be able to stand up in a again in a very male-dominated industry and share their stories, share the creations that they put their heart and soul into, and to have see people around the room, you know, as as they poured the wines and then they would and their eyes would light up and that wow, this is really good. 00:46:58.210 --> 00:47:01.250 And yeah, and hearing that story was really fascinating. 00:47:01.570 --> 00:47:03.250 I mean, it was perfect. 00:47:03.650 --> 00:47:05.809 I mean, it was perfect in that the winemakers were there. 00:47:05.890 --> 00:47:07.570 Not so perfect from a space perspective. 00:47:07.890 --> 00:47:08.690 Sure, it was crowded. 00:47:08.769 --> 00:47:09.890 Uh, it was very crowded. 00:47:09.970 --> 00:47:14.450 It was like, like if you if anybody else had come in, they would have had to pick a lap to sit on. 00:47:14.530 --> 00:47:17.809 And I think, you know, that's how many people bought tickets for that. 00:47:17.970 --> 00:47:20.690 And so again, lessons of of year one. 00:47:20.850 --> 00:47:21.650 Well, how do we do it? 00:47:21.730 --> 00:47:24.930 How do we support the winemakers for next year? 00:47:25.090 --> 00:47:29.890 Um, but yeah, I I enjoyed, you know, just having them there to share their stories. 00:47:30.130 --> 00:47:33.570 And and as you said, to see people be like, whoa, this is what? 00:47:33.730 --> 00:47:34.050 Yeah. 00:47:34.210 --> 00:47:35.890 You know, this is this is Texas. 00:47:36.050 --> 00:47:41.170 And you know, it was always interesting to me because I wasn't quite sure how people were finding out about events. 00:47:41.490 --> 00:47:43.490 And you know, it's kind of funny. 00:47:43.570 --> 00:47:54.850 Um, in the run up to that week, I happened to be in San Antonio at an event uh with a friend of mine, and I walked into this restaurant, and this woman comes up to me and she goes, Are you Amanda? 00:47:55.010 --> 00:47:57.570 And I'm like, Well, I don't know, who wants to know? 00:47:58.690 --> 00:47:59.330 Yeah. 00:47:59.490 --> 00:48:02.050 Um, and she's like, You're Austin Wine Week, right? 00:48:02.210 --> 00:48:03.570 And I was like, Yeah, I am. 00:48:03.730 --> 00:48:05.570 And she's like, Oh, I've been watching your social media. 00:48:05.730 --> 00:48:09.490 So it was, I was like, Oh, and and the same thing happened at house. 00:48:09.730 --> 00:48:13.809 Um, this couple sat there and and they're like, Hi, Amanda. 00:48:13.890 --> 00:48:16.050 I was like, hi, and you know, now I'm like, Do I know them? 00:48:16.130 --> 00:48:16.850 Do I not know them? 00:48:16.930 --> 00:48:17.809 Am I being rude? 00:48:17.970 --> 00:48:18.210 Yeah. 00:48:18.370 --> 00:48:22.289 Um, and so they're like, No, we saw you on social media, so we decided to come. 00:48:22.530 --> 00:48:26.050 So I was like, Oh wow, this is like actually working. 00:48:26.610 -->

00:48:28.130 Like what we're doing is working. 00:48:28.370 --> 00:48:29.570 When those light bulbs come on. 00:48:29.809 --> 00:48:33.250 Yeah, and so we were like, they're like, we thought we'd come along and you're doing a great job. 00:48:33.330 --> 00:48:36.530 And I was like, Oh, you know, that it's like one of those things you're like, oh, this is weird. 00:48:36.610 --> 00:48:37.970 Yeah, this is kind of weird. 00:48:38.210 --> 00:48:39.650 It's always interesting. 00:48:39.970 --> 00:48:40.370 Yeah. 00:48:40.610 --> 00:48:41.890 So let's call them out. 00:48:41.970 --> 00:48:45.570 So we had the five female winemakers that were there, represent it. 00:48:45.730 --> 00:48:51.410 We had Alisa Jones from Lisa Christopher, Benedict Rhyme from Rhyme Wines. 00:48:51.890 --> 00:48:55.809 We had Remy Gregory, was there and from the Berg. 00:48:56.130 --> 00:48:56.769 From the Berg. 00:48:57.090 --> 00:48:58.930 And then we had Adrienne Bellou. 00:48:59.250 --> 00:48:59.570 Yes. 00:48:59.730 --> 00:49:01.090 And then who Ray Wilson. 00:49:01.250 --> 00:49:02.530 Ray Wilson, okay, of course. 00:49:02.769 --> 00:49:06.850 I'm just talking about buying her wine out of I was just trying to think back to that day. 00:49:07.010 --> 00:49:07.250 Yeah. 00:49:07.410 --> 00:49:10.769 And so they got to share their those wines and stories there. 00:49:11.170 --> 00:49:14.289 Well, and it was a House Wine 2. 00:49:14.530 --> 00:49:20.930 Not only was it crowded with people like trying to pile in to get in there, but they were also doing their regular service as well. 00:49:21.090 --> 00:49:23.010 I wonder how much bleed over there might have been. 00:49:23.090 --> 00:49:24.610 Like somebody's like, what's going on in here? 00:49:24.690 --> 00:49:27.809 Kind of we sold a few last-minute tickets right then and there. 00:49:28.130 --> 00:49:28.370 Nice. 00:49:28.530 --> 00:49:33.890 Yeah, you know, in general, like luckily they weren't that busy with regular customers. 00:49:34.050 --> 00:49:38.930 But the good thing is that people stayed and bought more glasses, bought more wine. 00:49:39.010 --> 00:49:43.170 And so I don't think on that night they would have had that amount of crap. 00:49:43.730 --> 00:49:44.450 No, no. 00:49:44.850 --> 00:49:46.769 Um, but yeah, it was great. 00:49:46.850 --> 00:49:49.010 I mean, those are five amazing winemakers. 00:49:49.090 --> 00:49:50.130 I have to tell you a funny story. 00:49:50.289 --> 00:49:50.450 Okay. 00:49:50.690 --> 00:49:55.490 So a couple weeks ago, my boyfriend and I were in um San Antonio. 00:49:55.730 --> 00:49:56.050 Okay. 00:49:56.530 --> 00:50:00.450 And we go to eat at this restaurant, which we both really like. 00:50:00.690 --> 00:50:02.050 And I look, I love this place. 00:50:02.130 --> 00:50:04.370 It's this Peruvian restaurant called Leche de Tigre. 00:50:04.530 --> 00:50:05.410 It's incredible. 00:50:05.570 --> 00:50:06.690 The best ceviche. 00:50:07.090 --> 00:50:14.769 I walk up, I walk up to the

to the um door and I go, I like elbow him and I go, Ray Wilson. 00:50:14.930 --> 00:50:16.210 And she's like, Who's calling my name? 00:50:16.370 --> 00:50:18.530 She treats right, she goes, Amanda, what are you doing? 00:50:18.610 --> 00:50:19.970 I go, what are you doing? 00:50:20.210 --> 00:50:25.730 So her and Claire from Uplift were there with part of the team from William Chris, and it was so funny. 00:50:25.890 --> 00:50:27.410 So I was like, Well, we're going to have dinner. 00:50:27.490 --> 00:50:31.730 And they had been doing some trade things that day, like, you know, tastings and things. 00:50:31.809 --> 00:50:34.769 So then as we came back out, they're still sitting there with all their bottles of wine. 00:50:34.850 --> 00:50:36.289 So I was like, Can we should we join you? 00:50:36.769 --> 00:50:38.530 She's like, Yeah, because I don't really know Claire. 00:50:38.610 --> 00:50:40.769 Now I know Claire, but yeah, I hadn't really tasted it. 00:50:40.930 --> 00:50:41.570 Claire Richardson. 00:50:41.809 --> 00:50:41.970 Yeah. 00:50:42.210 --> 00:50:44.130 And she's an incredible winemaker too. 00:50:44.370 --> 00:50:48.050 So we tasted through some wines, and then Ray's like, where are you all going now? 00:50:48.130 --> 00:50:49.250 And I go, I don't know. 00:50:49.410 --> 00:50:52.050 Like, we were gonna go back to the hotel, we can go grab a drink. 00:50:52.289 --> 00:50:54.930 So I know a place that's nearby that we could all walk to. 00:50:55.010 --> 00:51:15.330 So it's like, me, you know, like this troop of winemakers, and Ray, Ray kind of like steps back and because we have to go over railroad tracks and this road, and she like she looks at my boyfriend, she goes, I don't know where Amanda's taking us, but right now I trust you and I don't trust her. 00:51:16.610 --> 00:51:21.890 So we get into this place, we go to this underground bar, she's like, Oh, you were right. 00:51:21.970 --> 00:51:28.610 There's an incredible bar here, but it's just like now it's just so funny because what are the chances we're in the same place at the same time in San Antonio? 00:51:28.769 --> 00:51:42.850 Um, and then you know, that's like I enjoy winemakers so much because I think they're so funny and they're all characters, and so just getting able to like be out in the wild and have a drink and you know get them out of the cellar and yeah, oh yeah, so funny. 00:51:43.090 --> 00:51:43.970 That's great. 00:51:44.210 --> 00:51:50.450 Well, what was we've talked about the three main events now that concluded then the inaugural Austin Wine Week. 00:51:50.530 --> 00:51:57.170 So, what was one of the biggest logistical or operational challenges that you felt like you faced that the public never saw? 00:51:57.650 --> 00:52:01.809 Figuring out how uh to support winemakers to sell wine on the day. 00:52:02.050 --> 00:52:02.289 Yeah. 00:52:02.850 --> 00:52:03.809 Huge challenge. 00:52:04.050 --> 00:52:04.370 Okay. 00:52:04.930 --> 00:52:10.610 Um, didn't quite crack that correctly, like didn't quite do that. 00:52:10.769 --> 00:52:16.210 I think the other thing is just, you know, as I mentioned, people are last minute in Austin. 00:52:16.289 --> 00:52:26.289 There's so much going on, and we could see how much traffic we were getting, like on our Instagram, on our website, on the TikToks or whatever the threads we were doing. 00:52:26.450 --> 00:52:28.530 And they weren't yet converting to tickets. 00:52:28.690 --> 00:52:31.490 And I think that you're just like, you're sweating it. 00:52:31.570 --> 00:52:34.530 You know, you're just like, oh no, that was a big challenge. 00:52:34.769 --> 00:52:51.250 Um, I think also just, you know, you everybody says they're gonna show up, like winemaker-wise, and they're kind of sometimes like wrangling cats, and you're just like fingers crossed, you know, fingers crossed, they all get it right, they all remember. 00:52:51.809 --> 00:52:56.850 Um, you know, like there's all these emails going out, and people don't recognize that. 00:52:57.010 --> 00:53:01.809 I mean, you know, we may have talked about this before, but I'm a basically a one-person show. 00:53:02.610 --> 00:53:15.650 And so I yes, I part-time I had a social media person who was like, I don't know, maybe a quarter of the time-ish, um, who was sometimes pushing out my socials, but all the planning, all the logistics, everything else was down to me. 00:53:15.730 --> 00:53:18.050 And so sometimes I was just asking people for grace. 00:53:18.130 --> 00:53:22.450 Like, if I'm not getting back to it, it's because I have a day job and I'm doing this. 00:53:22.610 --> 00:53:22.930 Yeah. 00:53:23.170 --> 00:53:25.970 Um, and so that I think is a challenge. 00:53:26.050 --> 00:53:29.090 You know, as we continue to grow and scale, I'm definitely gonna need a team. 00:53:29.170 --> 00:53:33.730 And I don't want to be be remiss and not thank all the volunteers who helped. 00:53:33.970 --> 00:53:35.570 There were so many volunteers. 00:53:37.250 --> 00:53:37.490 Yeah. 00:53:37.570 --> 00:53:40.530 I mean, so many people that jumped in and were supportive. 00:53:40.610 --> 00:53:43.170 And Sammy's team, of course, is incredible. 00:53:43.330 --> 00:53:47.010 And, you know, my friend Oscar Valenzuela, he was my captain on the day. 00:53:47.170 --> 00:53:55.010 So I would like catch his eye and I'd be like, you know, somehow we were speaking, like, especially here at Wanderlust, we're speaking the same language, like, go check on that, go do that. 00:53:55.170 --> 00:54:01.890 Oh, and what also what people didn't know is that, you know, we were accepting walk-up tickets on the day here at Wanderlust. 00:54:02.690 --> 00:54:08.450 And uh, we had partnered with a great company here, Brandon and the team over at Goodwolf, who are local at local ticketing agency. 00:54:08.530 --> 00:54:10.450 We didn't do any of the event brights or anything like that. 00:54:10.530 --> 00:54:12.050 We wanted to support local.

00:54:12.450 --> 00:54:17.730 So um, Brandon was supposed to be here to help with like the ticketing machine on the day. 00:54:17.890 --> 00:54:24.289 And I got a message from him that morning saying he thought he had broken his foot, so he was in the ER. 00:54:24.530 --> 00:54:25.170 Oh gosh. 00:54:25.410 --> 00:54:32.050 So, right before doors are about to open, like literally, we don't have the square, we don't have anything to accept money. 00:54:32.210 --> 00:54:37.410 We printed out my personal Venmo to try to because we weren't sure how we were gonna take money for walk-ups. 00:54:37.570 --> 00:54:37.730 Yeah. 00:54:38.050 --> 00:54:40.850 And Brandon came in with on crutches. 00:54:41.090 --> 00:54:41.650 Oh gosh. 00:54:41.890 --> 00:54:46.769 Made sure the team was set up and the team of volunteers sitting at the front desk who were incredible. 00:54:47.010 --> 00:54:48.930 But I was like, you gotta be kidding me. 00:54:49.010 --> 00:54:58.370 Like, we're not gonna, and we weren't like able to figure out like like the mission, like it wasn't kind of working where we could see the entire list of people who had actually bought tickets. 00:54:58.530 --> 00:55:03.010 That that was like, I kind of like laughed it off as like, can somebody just give me a glass of wine? 00:55:03.090 --> 00:55:06.610 Because like this is crazy. 00:55:06.769 --> 00:55:08.450 Uh, but it ended up working out. 00:55:08.690 --> 00:55:10.850 It all came through at the end. 00:55:11.090 --> 00:55:11.490 Yeah. 00:55:11.730 --> 00:55:14.450 Well, and Texas wine country is spread out. 00:55:14.530 --> 00:55:15.809 I mean, Texas is a huge state. 00:55:15.890 --> 00:55:24.130 Now we focused a lot on those hill country type of producers or someone in our backyard, but that's still for some of those places, a couple hours, so you know, getting here to Austin. 00:55:24.289 --> 00:55:26.130 What was the hardest part about coordinating? 00:55:26.210 --> 00:55:32.769 You mentioned like Wrangley Cats, but coordinating these people that are spread out throughout the hill country to converge on this one location. 00:55:33.090 --> 00:55:42.289 I think part of it is that um they have so much going on so that even when I was sending them out instructions of like, you can bring your wine on the day, or if you're in Austin, you can drop it off. 00:55:42.370 --> 00:55:50.450 And like, you know, some of them just weren't necessarily like, you know, I had so many calls like, wait a minute, can I drop, can I bring it on the day? 00:55:50.530 --> 00:55:51.170 I'm like, yeah, yeah, yeah. 00:55:51.250 --> 00:55:52.289 You could bring your wine on the day. 00:55:52.450 --> 00:55:53.010 Things like that. 00:55:53.170 --> 00:55:56.690 There happened to be one one person who forgot his wines. 00:55:56.769 --> 00:55:57.090 Yeah. 00:55:58.530 --> 00:56:01.490 And he had somebody, he had a, I'm not gonna name names wrong yet. 00:56:03.650 --> 00:56:04.530 We see you wrong. 00:56:04.769 --> 00:56:05.650 We see you wrong. 00:56:05.809 --> 00:56:08.370 I was like, uh, are you missing anything over here? 00:56:08.610 --> 00:56:09.170 So funny. 00:56:09.250 --> 00:56:11.570 I was like, of course, you know, like so funny. 00:56:11.730 --> 00:56:29.970 I think just you know, legit, like just the basic details, because you know, winemakers are often off doing other things and then to show up and be on time and you know, know when doors are opening and when to set up, you know, but a lot of them are just professional teams. 00:56:30.050 --> 00:56:32.050 So they come in, they've got their things, they know what to do. 00:56:32.130 --> 00:56:33.330 But yeah, that was pretty funny. 00:56:33.570 --> 00:56:36.769 Uh Ron had somebody come in pretty quickly behind him and bring the wines. 00:56:36.930 --> 00:56:37.250 There we go. 00:56:37.490 --> 00:56:37.970 I was laughing. 00:56:38.050 --> 00:56:39.490 I was like, you gotta be kidding me. 00:56:39.650 --> 00:56:47.090 Like they like, and uh, because that morning too, I jokingly sent out an email reminding everybody what time I was, don't forget your wines. 00:56:47.170 --> 00:56:48.370 And I put ha ha. 00:56:49.250 --> 00:56:51.250 Like uh, no one's gonna forget. 00:56:51.570 --> 00:56:53.490 No one's gonna forget their wines. 00:56:54.930 --> 00:56:55.809 There's one. 00:56:55.970 --> 00:56:59.330 Yeah, that could be a problem if you gotta set up and I got anything to pour. 00:56:59.490 --> 00:57:00.450 So yeah. 00:57:00.690 --> 00:57:06.850 So when the weekended, the smoke is now permeating off, the dust is settling. 00:57:07.090 --> 00:57:12.690 When was that moment where you kind of had that aha feeling of we pulled this off? 00:57:13.010 --> 00:57:14.050 I think so. 00:57:14.130 --> 00:57:23.410 After the Thursday event, a few of us um went to go grab like some snacks after that at a different restaurant. 00:57:23.650 --> 00:57:32.210 And I like, I think I started to get that glazed look, like, and you know, one of our group asked me, like, how do you feel? 00:57:32.530 --> 00:57:36.050 And I was just like, I feel like I'm in a fever dream. 00:57:36.130 --> 00:57:38.850 Like, did that week actually happen? 00:57:38.930 --> 00:57:39.570 Did I dream it? 00:57:39.730 --> 00:57:40.850 Did I did I dream it? 00:57:40.930 --> 00:57:41.650 Was it real? 00:57:42.289 --> 00:57:43.970 And I was so exhausted. 00:57:44.130 --> 00:57:56.450 So woke up Friday morning, did my normal thing, go to walk the dog, whatever, and I'm just like, I think it took me about a week to then reflect. 00:57:56.530 --> 00:58:00.289 And like I kept getting asked the question, like, but how do you really feel? 00:58:00.450 --> 00:58:02.530 And I was just like, I don't, I don't really know. 00:58:02.690 --> 00:58:11.890 And then it kind of hit me as I started to talk to some of the wineries and winemakers, like, oh, holy shit, like, oh, I did that. 00:58:12.050 --> 00:58:13.010 Like, that was a thing. 00:58:13.170 -->

00:58:19.730 So it took me probably about a week to realize I actually shut off like all my emails and basically my phone for two weeks. 00:58:19.890 --> 00:58:20.130 Yeah. 00:58:20.370 --> 00:58:32.850 I was just like, I can't talk to anybody, I need to recharge, get back to normal life, like yeah, not talk to anybody about this, not hear anybody's feedback, like I don't want it. 00:58:33.090 --> 00:58:39.890 Um, and then once I kind of came up for air after two weeks, I was like, huh, okay, yeah, here we are. 00:58:40.610 --> 00:58:41.250 What's next? 00:58:41.410 --> 00:58:42.130 What's next? 00:58:42.289 --> 00:58:42.690 Yeah. 00:58:42.930 --> 00:58:50.370 It was fascinating to me to watch, to see all the fun social reels and media and things that were coming out after the event. 00:58:50.530 --> 00:58:57.809 It was funny because I I I had done so much filming here because I knew we were gonna do this episode and I was holding everything back. 00:58:57.890 --> 00:59:00.370 So it was fun seeing everyone else sharing all this stuff. 00:59:00.450 --> 00:59:01.970 And I'm like, I can't wait to share my stuff. 00:59:02.050 --> 00:59:06.130 I can't wait to so the viewers, you're getting to see some of that throughout this episode. 00:59:06.370 --> 00:59:14.530 But it was just really neat to see the post-event kind of hysteria going on and sharing of all these people's experiences. 00:59:14.850 --> 00:59:19.090 And the different perspectives, you know, of what people, what their highlights were. 00:59:19.170 --> 00:59:19.330 Right. 00:59:19.490 --> 00:59:32.450 You know, whether it was a food purveyor, you know, Frank's churros or Laura's hot dogs, you know, whether it was that or um people loving the DJ, like so many younger women wanted me to get up on stage with them and dance. 00:59:32.690 --> 00:59:35.330 I was like, you can get up on the stage, like go for it. 00:59:35.490 --> 00:59:36.370 I got a lot going on. 00:59:36.690 --> 00:59:37.490 Go for it. 00:59:37.730 --> 00:59:45.170 Um, or it was, you know, people really highlighting one of the wineries or wines that was like their aha. 00:59:45.410 --> 00:59:47.010 Like they're like, oh wow. 00:59:47.170 --> 00:59:52.289 Like I had a few people, you know, there were kind of like hits that people didn't expect. 00:59:52.769 --> 00:59:58.930 Um and all the wine, all the winemakers, all the wineries, amazing, impressive. 00:59:59.090 --> 01:00:03.490 There were a few that people time and time again kept coming up to me saying, Hey Amanda, have you gone to try that? 01:00:03.570 --> 01:00:09.570 Now, being responsible for the event, I didn't get around to even half of the wineries. 01:00:09.730 --> 01:00:15.250 Um, you know, it looked like I was having glasses of wine on my hand all the time, but that was to settle you a little bit. 01:00:15.410 --> 01:00:21.090 Yeah, it was like you know, I I really didn't get to taste like I would have wanted. 01:00:21.570 --> 01:00:26.370 But um, you know, I know people kept coming up to me saying, Have you tried Jackie's peak pool over there? 01:00:26.530 --> 01:00:27.809 And I'm like, I know, it's great. 01:00:27.970 --> 01:00:35.970 Andy's um Alvarino that he had um over at a Dega Vino, like people kept saying, like, oh my gosh, you know, that's like a Vino Verde. 01:00:36.050 --> 01:00:36.769 I'm like, exactly. 01:00:36.930 --> 01:00:38.289 Like that is what the point is. 01:00:38.450 --> 01:00:47.410 So I think there were things that I was experiencing as well through other people's eyes and their perspectives that also helped when their reels and things were coming out. 01:00:47.490 --> 01:00:56.450 I was like, oh wow, like you know, you kind of look at it and you're like, there was a buzz here and there was energy, and uh, you know, it was just a different lens that I wasn't able to see. 01:00:56.690 --> 01:01:03.330 I love that because you were so focused from the organizer perspective and the details, making sure this connects here and these people were taken care of here. 01:01:03.809 --> 01:01:10.769 And so then be able to sit back and now see it from the consumer's viewpoint and their experience of it was like uh offer year. 01:01:11.010 --> 01:01:11.809 Yeah, for sure. 01:01:12.130 --> 01:01:14.530 Okay, so year one in the books. 01:01:14.769 --> 01:01:19.490 So now did you when did you start to think, okay, you know, I think this this really worked? 01:01:19.570 --> 01:01:21.090 Let's think about year two. 01:01:21.650 --> 01:01:26.289 I realized after I came up for air after those two weeks that there was something here. 01:01:26.530 --> 01:01:36.130 I had, you know, anytime I've built a business or built something, I generally get like a gut sense that like I've about to be onto the precipice of something. 01:01:36.370 --> 01:01:42.690 I knew that starting Austin Winemeek, that the Texas bubble is about to burst in a good way in winemaking. 01:01:42.850 --> 01:01:44.850 And part of it is informed by life experience. 01:01:44.930 --> 01:01:47.410 Part of it was, you know, I lived in England for 10 years. 01:01:47.570 --> 01:01:55.490 I saw what happened with the South Downs before everybody started to, everybody outside of the UK started to know about English sparkling. 01:01:55.570 --> 01:01:55.890 Yeah. 01:01:56.050 --> 01:01:58.370 Um, and what was happening with the winemaking there. 01:01:58.450 --> 01:02:01.010 Like I was kind of there before that went. 01:02:02.050 --> 01:02:05.890 And I had the same sense that that's what's about to happen with Texas. 01:02:06.050 --> 01:02:06.370 Okay. 01:02:06.690 --> 01:02:18.530 And so I knew a couple weeks after, and when I started to go out to see the uh, you know, winery owners, winemakers, that they also thought there's something going on. 01:02:18.769 --> 01:02:21.890 And um, you know, I think a couple of things. 01:02:22.130 --> 01:02:28.690 Some of the winemakers had said to me, you know, the way we view you now is the face of Texas

wine. 01:02:29.170 --> 01:02:30.130 So we're on board. 01:02:30.289 --> 01:02:30.610 Yeah. 01:02:30.850 --> 01:02:31.970 And I was like, what? 01:02:32.289 --> 01:02:35.410 Or like, you know, one of them had said, well, now you're a Texas wine influencer. 01:02:35.570 --> 01:02:46.610 I was like, uh, well, then I should get paid for that, but um, you know, so no, I mean, uh, all kidding aside, I started to realize that, okay, we have some momentum here. 01:02:46.850 --> 01:02:47.730 There's a ball rolling. 01:02:47.970 --> 01:02:48.850 And what's next? 01:02:49.090 --> 01:02:58.930 And I think, you know, we're filming right now on a Sunday afternoon, and uh last week, last Wednesday, the Decanter Wine Awards just came out. 01:02:59.490 --> 01:03:03.090 And those are huge wine awards in the world. 01:03:03.170 --> 01:03:06.769 And for folks who don't know, based out of London, I used to be a judge in there, like one of the judges. 01:03:07.250 --> 01:03:07.490 Cool. 01:03:07.650 --> 01:03:10.050 So um, I'm very familiar with the awards. 01:03:10.370 --> 01:03:16.690 And I knew there was a group of Texas winemakers, about 20, 25 of them, who had sent over a container of wines. 01:03:16.930 --> 01:03:18.050 I knew that. 01:03:18.450 --> 01:03:23.809 Um, and we were just all waiting to see, you know, what's gonna happen. 01:03:23.970 --> 01:03:26.050 And it is so exciting. 01:03:26.210 --> 01:03:33.970 Like four of our wineries and all four of those who were here, were present, uh, got gold. 01:03:34.210 --> 01:03:37.730 So, you know, we had a Degavino, Spicewood, who's Ron Yates. 01:03:38.050 --> 01:03:41.570 Um, we also have Ab Asteris and Turtle Creek. 01:03:41.650 --> 01:03:42.850 Yeah, they were all here. 01:03:42.930 --> 01:03:51.090 Yeah, and so we've also been talking about some things uh with the four of them about what's next, um, and highlighting them. 01:03:51.250 --> 01:03:54.370 And then there were several others that got silver and bronze. 01:03:54.450 --> 01:03:57.330 Now, this is the first time in the history that Texas has gotten gold. 01:03:57.410 --> 01:03:57.890 Yeah. 01:03:58.210 --> 01:04:07.090 So that is like, you know, there's some things where people are starting to watch and realize that there's a really impressive wine country here and some really impressive winemaking. 01:04:07.570 --> 01:04:15.410 Impressive to get out there on that world stage and the world taking notice that not only Texas, but Austin being in the heart of that. 01:04:15.490 --> 01:04:16.690 And that's really exciting. 01:04:16.850 --> 01:04:17.090 Yeah. 01:04:17.250 --> 01:04:24.610 And yeah, to have that those four golds that they were all represented here throughout the Austin Wine Week is really exciting. 01:04:24.930 --> 01:04:25.490 Very exciting. 01:04:25.570 --> 01:04:26.690 I had a friend who called me. 01:04:26.769 --> 01:04:35.170 She's a um, she's in the PR space out of California, and uh, she called me last week and she goes, I made it, I

just saw decanter. 01:04:35.250 --> 01:04:41.170 And she's like, How many of those do you know and who were represented at Austin Wine Week? 01:04:41.250 --> 01:04:42.370 And I said, All four of them. 01:04:42.530 --> 01:04:43.330 They're all my buddies. 01:04:43.570 --> 01:04:44.210 All my buddies. 01:04:44.370 --> 01:04:45.730 And so she's like, No way. 01:04:45.970 --> 01:04:55.490 And I said, Yeah, they were all here, plus a plethora of others that uh placed and like I didn't I didn't have insight into who actually sent wines over. 01:04:55.570 --> 01:05:00.210 Like I had an inclination, um, but I knew that the container had gone over. 01:05:00.530 --> 01:05:01.570 Yeah uh yeah. 01:05:02.050 --> 01:05:05.410 That's an exciting, exciting use for the Texas wine industry. 01:05:05.890 --> 01:05:07.170 Now, year two. 01:05:07.250 --> 01:05:09.250 So you got it on the books. 01:05:09.410 --> 01:05:09.650 Yeah. 01:05:10.050 --> 01:05:13.250 For my viewers, what was the what are the dates now for year two? 01:05:13.490 --> 01:05:15.010 April 10th to 17th. 01:05:15.170 --> 01:05:16.370 Okay, 2027. 01:05:16.690 --> 01:05:17.490 2027. 01:05:17.809 --> 01:05:22.130 And what made you decide I want to go ahead and lock these dates in this early? 01:05:22.370 --> 01:05:24.370 I like to be a first mover sometimes. 01:05:25.570 --> 01:05:28.450 I like to people go, wait, is anything else happening? 01:05:28.769 --> 01:05:29.809 Oh, amazing. 01:05:30.210 --> 01:05:31.330 They can plan around that. 01:05:31.570 --> 01:05:34.130 Yeah, you're gonna have everybody else, you're gonna have to plan around. 01:05:34.370 --> 01:05:35.730 My dates are locked and loaded. 01:05:35.809 --> 01:05:36.050 Yep. 01:05:36.210 --> 01:05:42.289 I spoke to uh, you know, January over at um uh Texas Hills Country Winery Association to find out what they had going on. 01:05:42.530 --> 01:05:46.450 I spoke to some of the winemakers and I was like, all right, we're doing it. 01:05:46.690 --> 01:05:58.370 Um and not only that, uh, what is different for this year into 2027, we are going to be doing various events throughout the year in the run up to the big week. 01:05:59.010 --> 01:06:01.730 So um stay tuned for some of those. 01:06:02.050 --> 01:06:07.010 Um, some of them might be more formalized, sit-down dinner, some of them are gonna be more pop-up style. 01:06:07.490 --> 01:06:14.690 Um, and then um we have some partnerships that are happening this year that I can't announce yet. 01:06:14.930 --> 01:06:19.650 Um, but very, very exciting conversations that are going on. 01:06:20.050 --> 01:06:33.570 Um, and then you know, one of the other things is that um uh we'll have a presence at um the Texas Food Championships, uh, which is the feeder into the world food championships. 01:06:33.650 --> 01:06:33.890 Yeah. 01:06:34.130 --> 01:06:42.450 So I'll be there with um as a judge, as a food judge, but also uh uh with a couple of the wineries who are gonna activate there as well. 01:06:42.930 --> 01:06:50.690 Um and so that's very exciting that we'll have, you know, a kind of uh space dedicated to what we have going on as well. 01:06:51.010 --> 01:06:53.570 Leveraging those partnerships into other events as well. 01:06:53.730 --> 01:06:54.130 Yeah. 01:06:54.289 --> 01:06:54.690 Yeah. 01:06:55.010 --> 01:06:55.809 Super exciting. 01:06:55.970 --> 01:07:06.930 So now that we're on the books and you've got proof of concept down, and you kind of mentioned a couple of things, but what do you kind of have on tap for next year that you want to do a little bit different or bigger or better? 01:07:07.250 --> 01:07:12.690 Yeah, um, definitely want the big tasting, like we had the SIP Texas. 01:07:13.010 --> 01:07:17.330 Um we are kind of ironing out some of those details right now. 01:07:17.490 --> 01:07:21.809 Uh, would like probably throughout the week to have some more education. 01:07:22.050 --> 01:07:26.370 Um, so maybe that's with industry, maybe it's consumer as well. 01:07:26.610 --> 01:07:34.450 Um, and you know, doing some partnerships there to think about how do we have, you know, we didn't have any master classes or anything here. 01:07:34.610 --> 01:07:36.690 It was really, that was not the vibe of it. 01:07:36.850 --> 01:07:39.809 Uh, but I think there's opportunity to improve on that. 01:07:39.970 --> 01:07:44.450 Um, there's also, I think, an opportunity to have a sit-down dinner this year. 01:07:44.690 --> 01:07:56.050 Um, and then we do, we are doing something which is more chef Texas chef led, uh, which is gonna be a lot of fun and very interactive. 01:07:56.450 --> 01:07:59.250 So that will be the following Saturday. 01:07:59.330 --> 01:08:01.330 So that'll be on the 17th. 01:08:01.410 --> 01:08:02.530 So we're gonna close out with that. 01:08:02.690 --> 01:08:03.650 Yeah, that's your big pleasure. 01:08:03.890 --> 01:08:06.530 Um, yeah, that'll be SIP Texas will kick it off. 01:08:06.690 --> 01:08:08.930 And then that food event will close it out. 01:08:09.010 --> 01:08:17.970 So, and then the passport, as I mentioned, just getting better if consumers don't necessarily want to pay the ticket price or come to one of those events and want to do their own thing. 01:08:18.210 --> 01:08:28.130 And so, you know, we're having conversations now with various retail outlets and other things to be able to um really highlight Texas wines throughout the week and become a true partner in that. 01:08:28.289 --> 01:08:28.609 Yeah. 01:08:29.409 --> 01:08:35.970 Well, we've talked a little bit towards the consumer, and hopefully you guys have your dates saved now for April 10th to the 17th. 01:08:36.130 --> 01:08:36.449 Here to here. 01:08:37.010 --> 01:08:39.329 Go ahead and put it on your Google Calendar, whatever you need to do. 01:08:39.890 --> 01:08:42.369 But let's talk to the industry side for a second. 01:08:42.529 --> 01:08:52.050 So if there are people watching that maybe you're involved with Austin with restaurants or

bars or even some winemakers, things like that, how can they say, I want to be a part of year two? 01:08:52.289 --> 01:08:54.210 How can they get involved and be a part of things? 01:08:54.449 --> 01:08:55.890 Yeah, they can just reach out to me. 01:08:56.130 --> 01:08:58.529 I mean, conversations are starting now. 01:08:58.689 --> 01:08:59.010 Yeah. 01:08:59.170 --> 01:09:07.409 Um, and we'd like more retail restaurants, we'd like more of the trade, the industry to get involved for this next year. 01:09:07.569 --> 01:09:10.769 Um, and you know, I think we did change some some hearts and minds. 01:09:10.930 --> 01:09:12.369 There was, there was industry here. 01:09:12.449 --> 01:09:12.689 Yeah. 01:09:12.850 --> 01:09:18.130 Uh, we had representation and people were pleasantly surprised about what Texas is doing. 01:09:18.289 --> 01:09:23.649 Um, so yes, I think just reach out to me at Amanda at AustinWineweek.com, ping me on Instagram. 01:09:23.729 --> 01:09:25.489 I look at those messages. 01:09:25.729 --> 01:09:35.729 Uh so now would be the time because we're starting to, you know, anybody who supported us for this year gets first right of refusal. 01:09:35.890 --> 01:09:36.210 Okay. 01:09:36.529 --> 01:09:38.449 So um on anything we're doing. 01:09:39.090 --> 01:09:39.649 The founders. 01:09:39.970 --> 01:09:40.930 Yeah, they are. 01:09:41.170 --> 01:09:51.489 So um they were here from the ground level, and they know I've been sitting down with a few of especially the winemakers and telling them what's in store. 01:09:51.729 --> 01:10:03.250 Uh so you know, same with industry, same if you're a buyer somewhere, if you want to get involved or the education side, or maybe a Psalm group or a tasting group, happy to have those conversations. 01:10:03.569 --> 01:10:06.130 Okay, so year two is previewed. 01:10:06.210 --> 01:10:07.489 We're getting excited about that. 01:10:07.729 --> 01:10:11.170 Let's, I want to just sit down in a time machine for a second. 01:10:11.809 --> 01:10:18.529 And let's go forward five years, and the fifth annual Austin Wine Week has just completed. 01:10:19.010 --> 01:10:26.449 How would you hope that you've really affected the story of Texas wine and this local industry here in Austin? 01:10:27.329 --> 01:10:41.729 I hope that um not only Austinites here, people who live here, are buying more Texas wine, tasting more Texas wine, supporting uh some of the wineries, whether they're in Hill Country or beyond, they're going out and using their dollars to support local. 01:10:41.890 --> 01:11:11.409 But I also hope that um this becomes more global, that we start to see um industry and other consumers coming into Texas and really taking Texas seriously and starting to recognize what amazing winemaking we have here, what amazing land we have here, uh, and really putting their, whether it's their words, their journalists or critics or what have you, or just consumers really putting their dollars behind it and coming to support Texas. 01:11:11.569 --> 01:11:15.090 Uh, you know, we're we're sitting here, we're filming during the middle of the World Cup. 01:11:15.170 --> 01:11:15.409 Yes. 01:11:15.729 --> 01:11:31.489 And before uh we sat down, we were watching there's a Spain game going on, uh Spain and the uh Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and we were just talking about how funny it is right now seeing all these Europeans or folks from around the world that are coming and trying things that are Texan. 01:11:31.729 --> 01:11:38.769 And so, you know, you're seeing Buckies, you're seeing um chips and queso, you're seeing like Tex Mex for the first time. 01:11:38.849 --> 01:11:40.049 Well, why not Texas wines? 01:11:40.130 --> 01:11:40.210 Right. 01:11:40.449 --> 01:11:42.689 You know, we're all here doing that. 01:11:42.929 --> 01:11:59.170 And so I, you know, I really hope that um I'm part of the story to put Texas further on the map so that the next time when people are going to a store, to a restaurant, that they think, you know what, I'm gonna skip over that French section. 01:11:59.250 --> 01:12:01.329 I'm here in America, and let's go to Texas. 01:12:01.729 --> 01:12:02.529 Let's think local. 01:12:03.889 --> 01:12:04.849 I have something else to share. 01:12:05.170 --> 01:12:05.809 Okay, yes, yes. 01:12:06.449 --> 01:12:11.489 Um, so if people follow my Instagram stories, they may have seen. 01:12:11.569 --> 01:12:14.289 Uh this week I was on a plane. 01:12:14.369 --> 01:12:16.529 I flew from Austin to Fredericksburg. 01:12:17.329 --> 01:12:29.889 Uh and um then landed in Fredericksburg and then uh went and tasted over at Invention Vineyards, um, you know, met with the team over there, uh Ryan and Ashley. 01:12:29.969 --> 01:12:34.929 And uh Ryan's a winemaker who does the sparkling program with his team for Heath. 01:12:35.170 --> 01:12:36.929 Uh and you know, fantastic. 01:12:37.090 --> 01:12:50.689 But um you know, if people really want a unique high-end luxury experience and to leave for Millionaire out of Bergstrom to get to uh Fredericksburg or Kervo, yeah uh we are doing that now. 01:12:50.929 --> 01:12:51.329 Really? 01:12:51.489 --> 01:12:52.049 Yeah. 01:12:52.369 --> 01:12:59.729 So uh that stay tuned, but um, we're starting to put people on these, you know, uh uh like wine flights. 01:12:59.889 --> 01:13:00.049 Yeah. 01:13:00.689 --> 01:13:02.689 Gives a whole new meaning to wine flights. 01:13:03.009 --> 01:13:04.049 Fly, sip, and stay. 01:13:04.210 --> 01:13:08.609 And we're also in uh partnership with a hotel out there, so um yeah. 01:13:09.170 --> 01:13:09.489 That's it. 01:13:09.729 --> 01:13:11.250 Keep your eyes open for that one coming. 01:13:12.289 --> 01:13:12.929 That's really cool. 01:13:13.409 --> 01:13:17.569 Follow Amanda's socials and uh Austin Wine Week to hear some of those things. 01:13:17.889 --> 01:13:19.489 So I love that. 01:13:19.649 --> 01:13:25.889 Well, I'll tell you what, there are a lot of places in Texas that we can go to different

wine festivals and different things. 01:13:26.130 --> 01:13:38.609 What is it that you would say really characterizes Austin Wine Week as unique and different that people would say, I've got to get April 10th to the 17th, 2027, put on my calendar and be in attendance next year? 01:13:38.929 --> 01:13:43.329 Well, I think one of the things is what we talked about before is that the winemakers are here. 01:13:43.409 --> 01:13:43.729 Yeah. 01:13:44.049 --> 01:13:48.769 Um, and we're bringing a piece of wine country here into Austin. 01:13:48.849 --> 01:13:49.969 Uh so that's one thing. 01:13:50.049 --> 01:13:51.809 And it really is wine-led. 01:13:52.210 --> 01:13:57.969 Yes, we have food components, yes, we want people to experience that cuisine, but it really is wine-led. 01:13:58.289 --> 01:13:59.569 Um, so I think that's one thing. 01:13:59.649 --> 01:14:06.449 I think also the the vibe of it, the uh, you know, anybody is welcome, everybody is welcome. 01:14:06.609 --> 01:14:09.649 And, you know, for next year we're gonna have some interesting surprises. 01:14:09.809 --> 01:14:10.049 Yeah. 01:14:10.210 --> 01:14:16.130 So it's not, I don't think, your tried and true wine festival, so to speak. 01:14:16.449 --> 01:14:21.090 Um, and you know, we're not putting out wines that we wouldn't be proud of. 01:14:21.250 --> 01:14:24.130 Uh, all the winemakers, uh, and myself included. 01:14:24.289 --> 01:14:30.289 So, you know, I think sometimes we go to some of these things and you're paying for them, but you're like, oh, I wouldn't normally drink that. 01:14:30.369 --> 01:14:33.729 You know, I can get that on the shelf for X dollar amount. 01:14:34.049 --> 01:14:35.250 That's not what we're aiming for. 01:14:35.329 --> 01:14:40.049 And we're just aiming for people to have a really good time and find something that they they love. 01:14:40.369 --> 01:14:47.329 You know, we we talked about Austin Wine Week and the events and um having it be something near and dear to my heart. 01:14:47.409 --> 01:14:49.809 And this was the first year, the inaugural year. 01:14:50.529 --> 01:14:52.849 It really is part of a bigger vision. 01:14:53.489 --> 01:14:56.449 It it was like I wanted to test the waters. 01:14:56.769 --> 01:15:05.729 So it was kind of my petri dish to see if I could get people out in Austin, see if I could get the winemakers out, see if we could get people really interested in what is going on with Texas. 01:15:06.049 --> 01:15:12.210 But it's really part of a bigger vision to support the Texas ecosystem as a whole, here and abroad. 01:15:12.369 --> 01:15:12.689 Yeah. 01:15:13.009 --> 01:15:14.849 Uh so stay tuned. 01:15:15.009 --> 01:15:21.889 There are some other things coming up that will possibly be branded Austin Wine Week, possibly something else. 01:15:21.969 --> 01:15:22.289 Yeah. 01:15:22.609 --> 01:15:31.489 Um, and uh, you know, I am, and I I guess I can say this because I also own the URLs for Texas Wine Week and SATX Wine Week. 01:15:31.649 --> 01:15:32.130 There we go. 01:15:32.289 --> 01:15:32.929 There we go. 01:15:33.170 --> 01:15:34.609 So uh stay tuned. 01:15:34.769 --> 01:15:35.090 Yeah. 01:15:35.329 --> 01:15:36.929 There could be something else coming. 01:15:37.090 --> 01:16:12.529 Um, you know, this was just a foray into my true bigger vision of how to support Texas through not only the dollars that are supporting the winemakers, um, and uh, you know, again, the ecosystem of the farmers to the purveyors, like um, you know, Sean over at uh, you know, Mickey's mustard, like, you know, everybody who's doing these things that really need to get in front of a different consumer and have us start thinking differently about the choices we're making, um, but also to support Texas on a bigger scale. 01:16:20.449 --> 01:16:38.529 It's just incredible to see how Austin Wine Week has become this really fascinating petri dish for the local ecosystem, supporting everyone from boutique winemakers to local farmers, and even some of those fun ones like artisanal mustard, fun hot dogs. 01:16:38.689 --> 01:16:44.369 And they all come together in this blend that really makes our local culinary scene so vibrant. 01:16:44.609 --> 01:16:45.090 All right. 01:16:45.329 --> 01:16:54.609 If you want to get in on the action next year, and trust me, you do, you're gonna want to go to www.austinwineweek.com. 01:16:54.929 --> 01:17:04.210 And you'll be able to look at things like that passport option that lets you kind of choose your own adventure throughout the week for next year and get all the details of the event there. 01:17:04.449 --> 01:17:06.210 Now go ahead and mark your calendars. 01:17:06.369 --> 01:17:10.609 Remember, it's gonna be April 10th through the 17th, 2027. 01:17:10.929 --> 01:17:18.449 And don't forget, when you go to those events next year, make sure you tell them you heard about them on this podcast, Texas Undervine. 01:17:18.769 --> 01:17:24.929 All right, now for the section of the podcast when I would normally do a wine wanderer bottle reveal. 01:17:25.250 --> 01:17:30.210 But because of the special nature of this podcast, I don't have one specific bottle. 01:17:30.689 --> 01:17:47.489 So instead, we are raising a glass to the event itself and to Amanda for her vision with this, but also to four specific wineries that participated in the event who just brought home historic gold medals from the Decanter World Wine Awards in London. 01:17:47.649 --> 01:17:54.210 Now, that would be Spicewood Vineyards, Av Astris, Adega Vino, and Turtle Creek Vineyards. 01:17:54.449 --> 01:18:07.489 It's such an incredible honor for them to be notified that they won these awards and to lift up the Texas wine industry on the world stage at an even higher level, that we are making incredible fine wine in this state. 01:18:07.729 --> 01:18:12.529 It truly is not just great for those wineries, but it's a massive win for the whole state. 01:18:12.769 --> 01:18:21.090 So you better run,

don't walk, to go to those four providers and taste some of those amazing wines that are now being praised on the world stage. 01:18:21.250 --> 01:18:28.529 But don't let that neglect all the other great wineries we have here in Texas as well, because that rising tide does lift all ships. 01:18:28.689 --> 01:18:34.449 And I can tell you that there are world-quality wines at many wineries we have here in Texas. 01:18:34.609 --> 01:18:36.849 And that's what Texas Wine Month is all about. 01:18:37.090 --> 01:18:41.649 Such a great opportunity to go taste amazing wines this month here in our backyard. 01:18:41.809 --> 01:18:46.529 And Austin Wine Week is just one of those ways to bring some of that here to our city. 01:18:46.609 --> 01:18:55.409 But whether you live here in Austin or whether you live in different places of the state, or even if you live outside of the state, make sure you get here or order some of those wines online. 01:18:55.729 --> 01:19:00.049 We should be celebrating Texas and lifting up our incredible Texas wines. 01:19:00.289 --> 01:19:00.849 All right. 01:19:01.170 --> 01:19:10.130 As we get ready for year two of Austin Wine Week and we look for some of those fun pop-up events that Amanda hinted at throughout the coming year, I want to hear from you. 01:19:10.289 --> 01:19:17.170 Head on over to the YouTube channel if you're not watching this video, or if you are, head down to the comments and leave me a comment. 01:19:17.329 --> 01:19:28.369 I want to know what are you looking to see when it comes to local wine representation in Austin bars, Austin restaurants, or even some of your other city's restaurants and bars. 01:19:28.529 --> 01:19:32.289 And while you're there on YouTube, make sure you like, follow, and subscribe to the podcast. 01:19:32.449 --> 01:19:37.969 And if you want to support the show and get even more insider tips, make sure you join our community on Patreon. 01:19:38.049 --> 01:19:41.489 You'll get access to some extra things that the average listener doesn't get. 01:19:41.649 --> 01:19:43.329 And with that, my time is up. 01:19:43.409 --> 01:19:50.130 So don't forget, subscribe to the podcast and follow my socials to be notified anytime a new episode is released. 01:19:50.289 --> 01:19:54.369 And until then, happy trails and bottoms up, y'all. 01:19:58.769 --> 01:20:01.009 Thanks for listening to Texas Undervine. 01:20:01.250 --> 01:20:05.889 We strive to provide you with the best information about wine businesses all over Texas. 01:20:06.049 --> 01:20:14.529 Be sure to check out our website at Texasundervine.com and follow us on our socials at Texas Undervine to stay up on all the upcoming episodes. 01:20:14.769 --> 01:20:17.409 Please email us with any suggestions or feedback. 01:20:17.649 --> 01:20:27.329 Also, contact us if you're interested in donating, sponsoring, or advertising on the podcast just to help us cover our expenses and bring even more great info to you in future episodes. 01:20:27.569 --> 01:20:33.009 Above all, travel safely and most especially, drink responsibly.