Drink Up

Whole Foods Market goes old school with a new way to take home wine on tap

Whole Foods Markets "Old Schooler" wine 64 ounce growlers.
Photo by Matt McGinnis
Master Sommelier, Devon Broglie, ceremoniously pours the first "Old Schooler"
Photo by Matt McGinnis
Master Sommelier, Devon Broglie, with the first "Old Schooler" wine.
Photo by Matt McGinnis
Charles Bieler and Devon Broglie celebrate the launch of the "Old Schooler"wine to go program.
Photo by Matt McGinnis
Devon Broglie, congratulates Charles Bieler on the "Old Schooler" wine to goprogram.
Photo by Matt McGinnis

Now there is no need to get wasted, err, be wasteful, when drinking wine, thanks to Whole Foods Market being the first grocery retailer in U.S. to sell wine on tap in reusable “Old Schooler” containers.

“Now you have a way to maintain your wine consumption, get better value and reduce your impact,” explains Charles Bieler of The Gotham Project, whose kegged wine is featured on tap at Bar Lamar, in the flagship Whole Foods Market in Austin.

Bar Lamar has had wine on tap since it opened. That’s pretty cool in itself if you think about how much packaging waste that eliminates in bottles, labels, corks and foil neck wrappers. According to Bieler, 70 percent of all glass heads straight to the landfill, accounting for 10 percent of the total weight of the trash.

Not only are the containers wasteful, but the majority are made overseas meaning the bottles have to travel thousands of miles before they are even filled. Then bottles make up 50 percent of the weight of shipping wine before we get to drink it.

Whole Foods Market has taken the next step in helping us drink responsibly with the to go wine containers they are affectionately calling “Old Schoolers.” The name refers to the way people in places like Spain, Italy, Argentina and Croatia take their own jugs to the neighborhood winery to fill ‘em up and take ‘em home to drink.

“Reusing is a whole lot better than recycling. We live in a world of finite resources,” says Bieler.

The whole idea of creating the “Old Schoolers” program came about around two years ago over beers at the Mean Eyed Cat. Devon Broglie, Whole Foods Market’s Master Sommelier, wanted to sell Bieler’s wine at Bar Lamar in the new keg and tap system. Bieler, a staunch advocate of alternative and eco-friendly wine packaging, was initially reluctant to keg his wine.

But Broglie challenged Bieler’s manhood with some choice words and eventually convinced him to change his mind. It turns out Bieler isn't a &*$$%.

That personal commitment led to Gotham Project wines being the only wines on tap for the inaugural run of the “Old Schoolers” pouring. They will be there for the indefinite future — while supplies last. Six wines on tap are available by the glass or to go in three sizes of glass containers at pretty damned good prices:

12 ounce Mason jars for $5.99 and $1.99 for the jar (two glasses of wine)
32 ounce bottle for $12.99 and $2.99 for the bottle (a little more than a traditional bottle of wine, which is about 25 ounces)
64 ounce growler for $19.99 and $4.99 for the container (roughly equivalent to 2.5 bottles of wine)

As cool as it is to be environmentally conscious and take home wine in a nifty package, it’s really all about the wine. Hell, you can’t drink an empty bottle. The Gotham Project has a portfolio of more than 25 wines sourced from around the world. The wines currently on tap are:

2011 Central Standard White, High Plains of Texas, a blend of Grenache Blanc, Viognier, Rousanne and Chenin Blanc
2010 Charles & Charles Riesling, from the Columbia Valley, WA
2011 Charles & Charles Rose, Columbia Valley, WA
2010 Pacific Standard Pinot Noir, Anderson Valley and Santa Ridge Hills, CA
2010 Charles & Charles Red Blend, Columbia Valley, WA, a blend of 50 percent Merlot, 30 percent Cabernet Sauvignon and 20 percent Syrah
2010 Pacific Standard “Old Vine” Zinfandel, Lodi, Amador, Napa and Sonoma, CA

Broglie ceremoniously poured the first "Old Schooler" — the Central Standard White, a Texas wine made by Kim McPherson, winemaker at McPherson Cellars. Being a patriotic Texan, I grabbed a bottle of the blend to take home.

This is a delightful summer sipper with honeysuckle scent, ripe Fredericksburg peach and lemon zest flavors and perky acidity. The bright citrus and lush stone fruit make it a charming wine to serve with grilled fish tacos. I’m going to take my bottle back and work my way through the lineup.

Head over to Bar Lamar and try out one of the wines by the glass before you commit to a full growler. If you aren’t going straight home after purchasing your wine, head over to the fish counter and ask for a bag of ice to keep your wine from cooking in your car (extra points if you spit out the phrase “bag of issse” like Adrock in the song “High Plains Drifter”).

The "Old Schooler" packaging is only available at the Whole Foods Market location at 6th and Lamar for now. They hope to expand the program to other stores in the future.

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News You Can Eat

Glam club's closure and beer passport map out Austin food and drinking news

Photo courtesy of Estelle's

Looking beautiful can only get you so far.

Buckle up, Austin. Hope you're ready for a lot of food news, since it seems like restaurants were holding out until Labor Day to make big announcements. This week we have more than five openings, a surprising closure, and some fun ways to change up your happy hour drinking routine.

Openings and closings

The life of Estelle's in the Warehouse District was short and beautiful; the social club has now closed after less than a year and a half in business. "We are heartbroken to share that Estelle’s has closed its doors and will not be reopening," says a message on the website. "Thank you to our employees, partners, and guests who brought Estelle’s to life." When it opened, it caught the eye of many Austinites thanks to its old-fashioned, stately-yet-airy decor. But despite the apparent readiness for a lounging upscale crowd, the actual venue was known for being very loud and tightly packed.

Another short-lived venture was Bacalar, a Mexican restaurant that was embattled from the start in September 2023, thanks to the relatively recent controversial past of Chef Gabe Erales. As of July 2024, the chef had departed and the restaurant closed, although the group he partnered with for the launch, Urbanspace, remains involved in Tómalo Grill. Formerly the sister takeout window, it will be taking over the full space officially on September 10. It is in a soft opening period throughout the weekend leading up to the grand opening date. Operating hours are Tuesdays through Sundays from 5-10 pm, with brunch on Saturdays and Sundays from 10 am to 2 pm starting September 14. The service window remains open Tuesdays through Sundays from 8 am to 2 pm.

ICYMI: We had lots of openings to share this week. Starting with familiar faces, Sixth Street bar Whiskey Tango Foxtrot is opening a classy-sporty spinoff that's something between a sports bar and an athletic club. Little Ola's Biscuits, a casual sister to Olamaie, is also expanding for the first time into the Mueller neighborhood. Austinites can also look forward to a brand new brunch, breakfast, and lunch spot by the Jack Allen’s Kitchen team. It was big news last year when Las Bis and Luminaire suddenly shuttered at Austin’s Hyatt Centric Congress Avenue, but now two new concepts are replacing them. Finally, two more deli-ish spots are making a comeback: Katz's is rebuilding a longtime legacy with a lot of goodwill, and Foxtrot is feeling out a possible return to a possibly hostile market.

Other news and notes

New Italian restaurant Casa Bianca is making a name for itself through interesting fusion dishes, which might make a dinner spread harder to choose compared to your neighborhood pizza spot. To help flesh out this unique POV, Chef Joseph Zoccoli has curated a tasting menu of six savory courses that will rotate seasonally. It'll be available every night of service for a market price of "around $140," plus optional wine pairings for $35. Reserve via Resy.

Central Market is creating the world's largest charcuterie board on September 11, in an attempt to break a world record. Just setting the board up isn't enough; the record depends on how much is eaten. With more than 1,000 pounds of meat and cheeses, that's a tall order. The free tickets are already sold out, but it'll be fun to see if and how the grocery store pulls this off. This is part of a larger 30th anniversary celebration that's happening all over the state, including more broadly accessible perks like in-store specials, live music, and more.

Friend groups who like to keep busy while enjoying a drink together can try something new at Electric Shuffle, a modern shuffleboard bar. It already had a similar package available for brunch, but now it's expanding out into a nighttime affair. Instead of doing things à la carte, this social sets guests up with a 90-minute open bar, family style appetizers, and a shuffleboard reservation for up to 20 friends for $65. A DJ keeps the energy up no matter how skilled at shuffleboard your party is.

Austin really does have too many places to enjoy a beer to count, but the Austin Ale Trail is attempting it, anyway. The "passport" lines up "over 50 craft breweries, pubs, bottle shops, and cideries in the Austin area," according to the website. Visitors can use it for discounts and freebies at participating businesses, or just a fun challenge to expand their horizons. The program kicks off with two parties: one September 7 at Vacancy Brewing and one September 8 at Blue Owl Brewing. Passports are also available at Black Star Co-Op, The Brewtique,Lazarus Brewing, and WhichCraft.