San Antonio Wine & Food Festival

Back in November, we visited our great friends, Lauren & Ricky, for a weekend in San Antonio, specifically to attend the New World Wine & Food Festival at the nearby Rio Cibolo Ranch in Marion, Texas. Had we truly been prepared, we would have come as some of the other patrons did, with wine glass holster necklaces fashioned out of leather, so that we could eat, drink, and socialize with ease. These Texans were hard-core about their wine! Seriously, next year, I am going to have to hunt one of those babies down so I can wear one myself! The closest I can find to such an item is this Cup Caddy necklace, but it's not quite the same as the awesome leather version we saw at the festival, adorned with fringe and branding.

All coveting aside, our weekend in San Antone was fabulous. The weather was, as the snow-birds will tell you, the reason why people love Texas in the winter. Sunny, breezy... perfect. We stayed at Lauren and Ricky's apartment and watched The Ugly Truth on Saturday night. Worst movie EVER, by the way. If you haven't seen it, don't bother. Katherine Heigl needn't downplay her performance due to poor material over this one; she decided to take the part, so I blame her for the suckiness. And it did suck. It had potential, but the writing was absolutely horrid, and no acting talents on Katherine Heigl's or Gerard Butler's parts could have saved it. Anyway, we made fun of the entire horrible movie and then went to bed.

The following morning, we set out for Marion, Texas to hit the festival. Once there, we devised a plan of attack that would allow us to taste the most wines and break for food as needed. Central Market provided a huge spread of antipasto selections, including assorted fine cheeses, peppered prosciutto and other sliced meats, and gourmet olives and peppers. Another table made some strange nacho concoction meant to look like an egg, with a tortilla chip on the bottom, melted white cheese on top of a jalapeno slice, and then a little circle of melted yellow cheese in the middle - literally meant to look like a fried egg. We weren't sure what the point was behind the design, but the nachos still tasted pretty good. We tried dark chocolate truffles, stuffed mushrooms, and fresh sushi at a picnic table under the shade of a gigantic scrub oak, while listening to covers of Jimmy Buffet and Billy Joel classics. We tasted Sicilian olive oils with artisanal breads (and even bought a few bottles of the oil), and compared spicy Zins to buttery Pinots. It was a perfect day, and Samara took in all the action from the vantage point of her stroller. It was her first full day in the stroller, and she thoroughly enjoyed it, closing her eyes in the breeze and taking in the smells of the food, wine, and hill country air. As you probably guessed, she was out like a light before the sun began to make its way down for the day.

The highlight of the day for both Lauren and I was our first experience with a professional lassoer. I'll bet most of you have seen a calf tied at a rodeo, but I'll also bet most of you have never allowed yourself to be lassoed voluntarily. Well, we did. And it was awesome. You'll have to view the video below to fully appreciate the experience. I've also included a slideshow below that of images from the weekend, for your viewing pleasure.

Little did I know that my wine-drinking days were numbered at this point, thanks to Baby #2, so drink a glass for me until it's my turn again, will ya?

Until next time...