Tag Archives: Food and Wine

5th Annual Pearland Wine and Food Festival focuses on Texas-based wineries and locally owned businesses

Dionisio-Wine-Festival-2016The 5th Annual Wine and Food Festival will be held in Pearland on August 27, 2016 from 12:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. at the Pearland Town Center Pavilion, located at 11200 Broadway, Pearland, TX 77584.

Dionisio Winery, the hosting winery for this year’s Festival, is pleased to announce that the Festival will feature multiple local Texas wineries, local food vendors and 30+ additional local craft and specialty item vendors for shopping!

Enjoy live entertainment, featuring Thermal Fusion, and special giveaways while tasting wines and pairing them with many choices of delicious foods, topped with a unique shopping experience. It’s the perfect adult getaway!

This year, Dionisio is hosting a unique Kick-Off Party highlighting Texas Gulf Coast shrimp at 6:00 p.m. on Friday, August 26. All are invited to attend. The event will be at Pearland’s Dionisio Winery, located at 2635 Miller Ranch Rd #103, Pearland, Texas 77584. Tickets are $75 per person and will soon be available through Eventbrite.

Attendees to the Friday night Kick-Off Party will gain complimentary entrance to the Wine and Food Festival the following day.

The Kick-Off Party menu will include multiple shrimp appetizers and entrees, paired with award winning Texas wines from festival-selected wineries. Guests can enjoy cooking demonstrations and a Q&A session with winery owners. Wineries in attendance are as follows: Dionisio Winery (Host WINERY – Pearland, TX), Maydelle Country Wines (Rusk, TX), Texas South Wind Vineyard and Winery (Refugio, TX), Big Rock Winery (Lakeside Village, TX), Los Pinos Ranch Vineyards (Pittsburg, TX), Knox Circle Winery (Huntsville, TX), Red Road Winery (Texarkana, TX), Pleasant Hill Winery (Brenham, TX), HAAK Vineyards & Winery (Santa Fe, TX), Red 55 Winery (Lindale, TX)

“Although we want people to take pleasure in this rewarding experience of wine tasting, we do want the Festival to be an opportunity to give back as well,” said Clarice Nelson-Aranda, Chairman of the Wine and Food Festival.

This year, a portion of the festival proceeds will benefit Stand Up for Kids, a 501 c3 not-for-profit organization whose mission is to, “End the Cycle of Youth Homelessness.” Stand Up for Kids is run almost entirely by volunteers, and has established 18 outreach programs all over the United States. Through a sponsorship, the Festival is supporting an upcoming expo assisting the development of innovative programs that provide homeless youth the assistance, training and resources to make a successful re-integration into society.

“We estimated last year’s festival attendance at 1,500 plus people and hope to greatly exceed that number this year so that our commitment to the youth of America, which will help run our country some day, will be benefited,” Aranda said.

Online ticket purchases for the festival are encouraged via Eventbrite at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/2016-5th-annual-pearland-wine-food-festival-by-dionisio-winery-tickets-20701994222. Online sales start at $30 for a full package that includes festival entrance, 10 tasting tickets and a souvenir glass. Day of admission tickets will start at $40.

“All can rest assured, the entrance line will run smoothly this year!” Aranda promised. Once again this year, a VIP tent will include exclusivity with a few specially sponsored items and requires an additional fee of $25 per person.

The Pearland Convention & Visitors Bureau invites visitors to experience Pearland for the weekend by taking advantage of special hotel packages and rates available on visitpearland.com. “We are proud to sponsor the 5th Annual Food and Wine Festival in Pearland, pairing wine with everything Pearland has to offer visitors,” said Kim Sinistore, Executive Director of the Pearland Convention & Visitors Bureau.

Contacts:

Tickets: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/2016-5th-annual-pearland-wine-food-festival-by-dionisio-winery-tickets-20701994222.

Details and additional information can be found on the website at http://dionisiowinery.com.

Wine Down Wednesday May 11

Dionisio May 11

DionisioWinery.com

Brazoria County Crawfish Fest April 15-17

BCCF_Logo_Web_200pxTHE BRAZORIA COUNTY CRAWFISH FESTIVAL

APRIL 15 – 17, 2016

Benefiting Boys & Girls Club of Brazoria County, The Godfrey Educational Foundation, and the Houston Blues Society

MSR Houston

1 Performance Dr.

Angleton, TX 77515

Website: BrazoriaCountyCrawfishFestival.com

Great Crawfish! Great Spice! Great Price! $3.99 lb!

Advance discount tickets and carnival ride passes available now at Eventbrite!

FREE till 3:00 on Friday!

The Brazoria County Crawfish Festival takes the friendly, relaxed fun and community feel of a small town fair and serves it up big! 

Attractions:

  • Crawfish: Red Swamp Crawfish, serving bigger, fatter, juicier bugs from multiple stations at $3.99(lb). They have been providing Texas with hot, fresh, spicy crawfish for over 20 years. With four boiling trailers going they can put out 4,000 lbs of bugs an hour 
  • The Houston Blues Society Stage: *Brad Absher and Swamp Royale * Campfire Soul * Eric Demmer Band * Odell Gray & The House Rules Band * Ted Hawley Band * Little Terry & The Blues Birds * Luther & The Healers * Trudy Lynn with Steve Krase Band * Mighty Orq Band * No Refund Band * Sparky Parker Band * Zach Person Band * Paul Ramirez Band * Sonny Boy Terry Band * Jonn Del Toro Richardson Band * Evelyn Rubio Band * Great Scott and The Almighties * Ally Venable Band * Dave Nevling and The Blues Kats *

  • The Bayou Stage: Genevieve Allen * Keven Anthony * Blaggards * Jason James * Level One Band * Randy Meadows * “Bon Ton” Mickey * Zach Person * Cecil Shaw * Mike Stinson * Van Wilks *The Revi’s * Tres Equis * The Zydeco Dots! And more to come!

  • Carnival: This year will see more, bigger, and better amusement rides and games with rides to thrill the adults and the little ones, too.
  • Food Vendors: There’s more food to enjoy than great crawfish! Every kind of Cajun food from Alligator to Pistolettes to Shrimp Creole; a huge selection of festival food favorites like corn dogs, shaved ice, and funnel cakes; and specialty foods and traditional dishes with a twist such as shark and lobster sliders, and so much more.
  • Specialty Entertainment: Slayer Reptile Ranch * ‘Gator Races * Armadillo Races * Splash Dogs * Crawfish and Funnel Cake Eating Contests
  • Marie Laveau: The Voodoo Queen of New Orleans presented by Creepy Hollow.
  • MSR Houston: The professional, world-class racetrack and home to the festival is launching a major, multi-million dollar expansion to host national and international races and other region-wide concerts and events.
  • Go-Kart Track: MSR has one of the fastest Go-Kart tracks in the country, on one of the longest tracks. Patrons can enjoy real fast track action.
  • Fittipaldi Exotic Driving: World famous racers Fittipaldi are offering two-lap thrill rides in exotic cars throughout the event.
  • Festival Vendors: The festival will feature rows of vendors with the best of arts, crafts, gifts and more from Brazoria County, the Greater Houston-Gulf Coast Area and around the country.
  • Children’s Area: will provide all patrons need to keep their kids busy and having fun during the event.
Gallery

BAKFISH Brewing Co: Soft Opening Pics

This gallery contains 22 photos.

Pearland’s new winery opens with red carpet treatment

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Owner Jimmy Aranda with Kelly Kronfeld and Pamela McDowell

Dionisio Winery, which recently moved from downtown Houston to its new location at 3526 Miller Ranch Rd. #103, held its Grand Opening on Saturday (Feb. 27).

The Winery was transformed into an indoor/outdoor showcase with vehicles provided by Porsche of North Houston. A runway was cleared down the middle of the Tasting Room for a fashion show by Ronica Marie Couture, which is the official sponsor for the Miss Texas Belleza Latina 2016 pageant. Guests walked up the red carpet when they arrived, and had the opportunity to have their photos taken in front of a traditional “opening night” background.

Approximately 300 attendees purchased handsome Dionisio Winery glasses, and the staff filled them with Black Cherry Pinot Noir, Green Apple Riesling, Peach Chardonnay, Cranberry Malbec, Pomegranate Zinfandel, Strawberry White Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Tres Hermanos, Tres Hermanas and Sauvignon Blanc.

“I couldn’t be happier with the turnout,” said owner Jimmy Aranda. “[Wife] Clarice and I are so honored and humbled by the support from the City of Pearland, as well as ‘older’ friends from Houston, have given us. We’ve had a great welcome!”

The Winery is now open, with the Tasting Room open from 4:00 – 8:00 p.m. on Wednesdays and Thursdays, from 4:00 – 10:00 p.m. on Fridays, from noon until 8:00 p.m. on Saturdays and from noon until 5:00 on Sundays.

Patrons will be able to purchase tastings by the glass, by the bottle or even by the case. Per glass tastings feature either four different fruit wines or two red and two white wines for $12 and the customer keeps the glass. Meats and cheeses by Boar’s Head are provided to cleanse the palate in between wines.

Dionisio Winery is also available for parties. For pricing information, email DionisioWinery@gmail.com or call (713) 906-2499.

For more information, visit DionisioWinery.com.

Pearland’s First Microbrewery Opens March 14

DSC_0409-1024x683Pearland’s first microbrewery, BAKFISH Brewing Company, officially opens its doors to the public on March 14.  Located at 1231 Broadway Street, brewery hours will be Monday through Friday from 3 to 9 p.m.; Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. and Sundays from noon to 9 p.m.  The local establishment has been in the making for two years when a casual conversation between co-owners Brian Allen and Kris Szecsy about brewpub law changes emerged as a full-fledged effort to open their new business.

Leaving their full time careers – a chemist in the oil and gas industry for Kris and business development in aviation for Brian, the BAKFISH name derived simply from their initials “B” and “K” with “fish” added as an homage to Kris’ background in marine biology plus the emphasis of being located on the Gulf Coast.

Brian, a native Pearlander, conducted a bit of research only to find the Houston area south of Loop 610 is underserved for brewpubs and soon after their Pearland location was born.

With over 8,000 square feet, BAKFISH Brewing Company will offer 5 core beers including a blonde, wit, brown porter, single IPA and double IPA plus seasonals. A 20-gallon pilot system will allow Head Brewer Kris an opportunity to test new products.

While Kris focuses on perfecting brews and testing new products, Brian manages the front of the house including the 3,200+ square feet of space available for private events, 2,000 square foot tap room plus 1,200+ square feet in the actual brewery. With a seating capacity of 200, the duo plans to offer a variety of events to draw visitors including food trucks, game night, partnerships with biking and fitness enthusiasts and more.  BAKFISH is pet-friendly and kid-friendly.

“Center Court Pizza is the first establishment to carry BAKFISH on draft and additional accounts will be added as we produce more beer. We look forward to opening the doors and sharing our beer with the community,” says Brian Allen co-owner of BAKFISH Brewing Company.

http://www.bakfishbrewing.com/

Dionisio Winery hosts Networking Mixer

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For more information, visit DionisioWinery.com

FIRST ANNUAL HOUSTON TEA FESTIVAL

texas-tea-festival-logo-385-x-592Don’t be late for a very important date! The First Annual Houston Tea Festival will take place on the scenic campus of the University of Houston – Clear Lake (Bayou Building Atrium II, 2700 Bay Area Blvd., Houston, TX 77062) on February 20 and 21, 2016 with the theme of Alice in Wonderland. This inaugural event will celebrate the world’s most popular beverage, tea, with tastings, samples, expert speakers, demonstrations and workshops, local vendors, live entertainment, children’s activities, and more fun for the whole family.

Pearland’s own The Drink Station will be represented at the festival.

Highlights of the First Annual Houston Tea Festival will include a Mad Hatter Murder Mystery Dinner, a Sunday afternoon tea service, a movie screening of the documentary All in this Tea, an Alice in Wonderland costume contest, and a Lolita fashion show. This year’s keynote speaker will be America’s foremost authority on tea and recipient of the 2015 John Harney Lifetime Achievement Award, James Norwood Pratt.

Other notable speakers will include author Babette Donaldson; editor of TeaTime Magazine, Lorna Reeves; editor of Texas Tea Time Magazine, Lee Garcia; Secretary of U.S. League of Tea Growers, Mark Adams; Noli Ergas of Sugimoto Teas; and general manager of Tealet, an international tea farmers’ alliance, Rie Tutali.

The festival is presented by Lone Star Houston Tea Festival, Inc., a non-profit organization, and is co-sponsored by Waterfall Teas, PlumDeluxe Teas, TeaTime Magazine, Earlene Grey, Fresh Cup Magazine, Greensheet, KidsOutAndAbout Houston, The Tea House Times; Centerpoint Body, Mind and Spirit Houston, Houston Entrée, Indigo Sun, May Zest Tea Company of Taiwan, Natural Awakenings Magazine of Houston, Natural Awakenings Magazine of Southeast Texas, and The Tea Mistress, LLC.

Volunteers are needed during the festival. Volunteers will receive free admission to the festival and a swag bag containing giveaways from sponsors and vendors. Select sponsorship opportunities are still available.

Ticket Prices are $12 per day, $20 for both days in advance and $15 per day, $25 for both days at festival entrance. Additional information on tickets to special events including documentary screening, tea parties, and VIP admission can be found on the festival website at http://www.houstonteafestival.com. Free parking is available in Lots D1-4 and Lot R on the university campus.

Crawfish Festival moves to Angleton, gets new name

PRESS RELEASE

BCCF_Logo_Web_200pxThe Pearland Crawfish Festival, one of Texas’ largest crawfish festivals, is moving to MSR Houston Motor Speedway, south on Hwy 288 from Pearland, where it has had its home for three years.

In the spirit of the move, the festival is expanding its brand to encompass the whole county, and has been renamed, “The Brazoria County Crawfish Festival.” This year’s festival will take place April 15 – 17 at MSR, located at One Performance Dr. in Angleton.

“Brazoria County – including Pearland – is experiencing explosive growth,” said festival organizer Bob Fuldauer. “But part of that growth in Pearland means few open tracts available for the site of a major festival that aren’t being developed.”

With much of the region historically used for rice farming, available open tracts have very poor drainage after rains. “Last year we had huge problems with mud and standing water with storms after a wet spring. We knew moving ahead we needed a site with concrete for the festival. MSR Houston offers that, as well as being a growing public race and event facility that will be available – and improving – for years to come,” Fuldauer added.

The Brazoria County Crawfish Festival takes the friendly, relaxed fun and community feel of a small town fair and serves it up big. With the move comes the chance to bring out more: more food – including more Cajun food, more vendors, more activities, more carnival rides and more fun! A new caterer will handle the key element of boiling and quickly serving the tens of thousands of tons of crawfish that the hungry crowds demand.

Red Swamp Crawfish has been providing Texas with live and hot, fresh, spicy crawfish for over 20 years. Their crawfish comes in daily from the best farmers in rice fields and the Atchafalaya River Basin of Louisiana. As caterers, they can serve any corporate or private event. With four boiling trailers going, they can put out 4,000 lbs. of bugs an hour. Another change from past years will be multiple crawfish stations.

Specialty entertainment, like the popular Splash Dogs, will be back and bigger than before, with new iguana races and more added to the armadillo races and contests. The Houston Blues Society will fill the Blues Society Stage with even more of the top local and regional blues favorites and rising newcomers. More of the area’s best Zydeco, Texas Country, and Classic Rock will raise the roof of the Bayou Stage.

A huge selection of vendors of unique wares, arts and crafts, a world-class carnival and children’s area will provide plenty of activities and fun for adults and kids alike.

MSR Houston is a professional, world-class racetrack that also has one of the longest, fastest, Go-Kart tracks in the country. Previously a track mostly for racing clubs and members, MSR is launching a major, multi-million dollar expansion to host national and international races and other region-wide concerts and events. The Brazoria County Crawfish Festival will be their first major public festival.

Attractions:

  • Carnival: This year will see more, bigger, and better amusement rides and games with rides to thrill the adults and the little ones, too.
  • The Houston Blues Society Stage: The Houston Blues Society is dedicated to the study, research and preservation of the blues culture and music unique to Houston, Texas and the Texas Gulf Coast. They will provide a stage showcasing this iconic music of overcoming struggle that has deep traditions joining Texas and Louisiana. This year they’ll bring even more and bigger acts.
  • The Bayou Stage – The Cajun culture evokes a love of fun, good-time music. In Texas, Zydeco from Louisiana is joined by Texas Country and Classic Rock for the soundtrack of a great time.
  • Specialty Entertainment: This year Iguana Races and other new specialty acts join the popular Armadillo Races, Splash Dogs, Crawfish and Funnel Cake Eating Contests. A special Crawfish Eating “heat” between Pearland’s police and fire departments will allow patrons to cheer on their heroes.
  • MSR Go-Kart Track: MSR has one of the fastest Go-Kart tracks in the country, on one of the longest tracks. Patrons can enjoy real fast track action.
  • Festival Vendors: The festival will feature rows of vendors with the best of arts, crafts, gifts and more from Brazoria County, the Greater Houston-Gulf Coast Area and around the country.
  • Children’s Area: will provide all patrons need to keep their kids busy and having fun during the event.

For more information, visit BrazoriaCountyCrawfishFestival.com.

Dionisio Winery plans for Grand Opening

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The Winery’s logo has been painted on the floor of the new location.

Jimmy and Clarice Aranda, owners of Pearland’s new winery, have worked hard to make the transition from Dionisio Winery’s downtown Houston location to their new address at 2635 Miller Ranch Rd. #103.

All city inspections have been done and now the Arandas are focusing on getting the winery ready for its Grand Opening celebration on Feb. 27.

“We have been working all hours of the day and night,” Jimmy Aranda said. “It’s exciting for us to have the winery in our ‘hometown.’”

Aranda is hosting an event for Valentine’s Day, which has already sold out. “This will be a soft opening for us,” he said. “It’ll give us a chance to see how things go and what we may need to improve upon.”

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Elegant lighting gives the Tasting Room an upscale atmosphere.

The Grand Opening will feature Dionisio Wines, such as Black Cherry Pinot Noir, Green Apple Riesling, Peach Chardonnay, Cranberry Malbec, Pomegranate Zinfandel, Strawberry White Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Sauvignon Blanc. There will also be a fashion show for attendees to enjoy, featuring Ronica Marie Couture, the official sponsor of the Miss Texas Belleza Latina 2016 pageant.

To RSVP for the Grand Opening, which will take place from 7:00 p.m. until 10:00 p.m., email DionisioWinery@gmail.com or call (713) 906-2499.

For more information about Dionisio Winery, visit DionisioWinery.com.