Woodlands Wine & Food Week takes place June 5-June 11th in the beautiful suburban area of Houston Texas – The Woodlands! Wine & Food Week as a whole sees about 10,000 people come through during the week. Guest can expect a gastronomic grandeur of events highlighting more than 500 wines, 75 restaurants, legendary wine producers and culinary personalities.
Last year’s events were awesome! An enjoyable week of decadent bites from the city’s top chefs and wines from around the world. Check out my 2016 recap of Woodlands Wine & Food Week below and get your tickets for this year’s events here.
The New Wines of Ancient Thrace tasting provided a peek into 6,000 years of ancient wine making. Ancient Thracians are believed to be the best ancient wine makers in the world. As these wines have yet to be released in the states, we were unable to take photos, as a matter of fact the wines were wrapped at each Woodlands Wine & Food Week event. Guests savored seven of the most popular vines of which date back to First century AD.
New Wines of Ancient Thrace are sourced from five regions throughout the country & coast of Bulgaria:
Struma River
This area includes the valley of the Struma River. It is part of the historic region of Macedonia. The typical climate of this region is Mediterranean with mild, wet winters and hot summers. Typical grape varieties include Melnik, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Keratsuda.
Black Sea region
Characterized by a moderate fall, this bordering region is suitable for the production of white wines with high mineral content, and red wines with lighter body. Among the most commonly planted varieties in this region are Smoke, Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Noir.
Danubian Plain
This region includes the southern shores of the Danube and is characterized by a temperate continental climate, hot summers and sunny days. Most commonly planted varieties include Merlot, Pamid, Cabernet Sauvignon, Gamza and Muscat Ottonel.
Rose Valley
This region is located between the Balkan and Central forest and it produces dry wines (mostly white). Red Muscat, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Riesling are among the most common.
Thracian valley
This region consists of a central part of nisin, as well as parts of the mount Sakar. Some of the most typical varieties of this region are Mavrou, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Pamid.
The Mavrud (translation: dark or black) varietal was a crowd pleaser. Cultivated in the region of ancient Filipopolis and commonly used for deep red wine color and mild taste. Our Bulgarian wine experts expressed the level of difficulty and great effort required to produce its huge flavors.
The Melnik vine red grape from the Struma Valley region, was another favorite. It’s texture what reminiscent of silk. According to one legend, the wine made from Melnik, was among the favorite of Winston Churchill.
The Wines of Ancient Thrace have not only changed my life, but have altered the way I view wine. You can taste the history and the age of the grapes. These aren’t some “baby grapes”, these are great great great…grandma and grandma grapes.
PHOTO GALLERY
