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Austin Food & Wine Festival dishes out top-tier talent lineup for 2022

Mouthwatering food, delicious wines, and talented chefs are the highlights of this three-day event.

Photo by Charles Reagan, courtesy of Austin Food & Wine Festival

One of Austin's most beloved bacchanalias returns this fall. Presented by Food & Wine magazine and Austin's own C3 Presents, the eleventh annual Austin Food & Wine Festival will take place from November 4-6, and tickets are now on sale. Attracting top-tier talent to Texas, the three-day celebration showcases some of the best food, wine, and spirits in the country.

Anchored at Auditorium Shores, festival highlights include a Wurst Weekend Kickoff event (new this year); the always popular Rock Your Taco competition; flaming bites from the Fire Pit; cooking demos and conversations; samples on samples of signature dishes and beverage tastings; and, of course, live music.

This year's event showcases a dynamic roster of local, regional, and national chefs, whose wares and wines can be sampled throughout the weekend. Head to austinfoodandwinefestival.com/tickets for tickets, and see the lineup below for a highlight of things to come.

Wurst Weekend Kick-off
Chef Tim Love (Lonesome Dove) and Jesse Herman (Koko's) will kick off the weekend with a Bavarian-themed menu of sausage, brats, pork, and more cooked over a live fire. Featuring regional wines and beers, AFWF says the event is sure to be "the best (wurst) way to kick off the weekend."

Rock Your Taco
In Saturday evening’s signature tasting event, chefs will square off to create the ultimate taco, voted on by guests. This year's competitors include: Shion Aikawa (Tatsu-ya); Nicola Blaque (The Jerk Shack & Mi Roti); Jo Chan (Chan Hospitality); Tiffany Derry (Roots Southern Table); Ford Fry (Superica); Sarah Grueneberg (Monteverde Restaurant); Sarah Heard and Nathan Lemley (Foreign & Domestic); CJ Jacobson (Aba); Steve McHugh (Cured); Shota Nakajima (Banzai Teriyaki, Taku); Laura Sawicki (pastry chef, Austin); and Brooke Williamson (Playa Provisions).

Chef Demos
The weekend's chef demos will include tips and tricks from a host of chefs, including Jo Chan (Chan Hospitality); Tiffany Derry (Roots Southern Table); Kevin Fink (Emmer & Rye Hospitality Group); Ford Fry (Superica); Diego Galicia and Rico Torres (Mixtli); Sarah Grueneberg (Monteverde Restaurant); and Fermín Núñez (Este).

Fire Pit
Featuring bites "hot off the flames," with pitmasters and chefs cooking over live fire, this event showcases exceptional barbecue and other dishes. Guests will get first-hand advice from the pros, including: Sonya Coté (Hillside Farmacy); Jason Dady (Jason Dady Restaurants SATX); Jorge Luis Hernandez (Hotel Emma); Andy Knudson (Tillie’s); Jesse Kuykendall (Milpa, Ocho); Shota Nakajima (Banzai Teriyaki, Taku); and Kristina Zhoa (DASHI Sichuan Kitchen + Bar).

Chef Showcase
Local and regional chefs participating in the Saturday and Sunday chef showcases are: Alma Alcocer (El Alma); William Ankeney (Tiny Pies); Junior Borges (Meridian); Daniel Brooks (Licha’s, Chapulín Cantina); Jeff Brown (Old Thousand); Raul Castillo (Honey Moon Spirit Lounge); Ji Peng Chen (Wu Chow); Jakub Czyszczon (Garrison); Todd Duplechan (Vixen’s Wedding); Javier and Judith Equihua (Ma’Coco); Nick Erven (Wax Myrtle’s); Roberto Espinosa (Taco Deli); Jacob Euler (La Vacher); Joseph Gomez (Con-Todo); Jesse Herman (KoKo’s); CJ Jacobson (Aba); Justin Klajbor (Central Machine Works); Enma Lopez (ABW Can-Tina); Geronimo Lopez (Botika); Liz Everett and Stephanie Everett Martin (Ensenada ATX); Brad McDonald (Nido); Jason McVearry (Poke-Poke); Anne Ng & Jeremy Mandrell (Bakery Lorraine); Andre Molina (Aviary Wine & Kitchen); Kyle Mulligan (1417); Eric Nathal (Austin Rotisserie); Brian Olenjack (Lonesome Dove); Pedro Quevedo and Alex Swenson (Gelato Paradiso); Phoebe Raileanu (Casper Fermentables); Blake Ransome (Rules & Regs); Berty Richter (Ladino); Jeramie Robinson (Catbird); Ryan Samson (Vespaio, Chapulín Cantina); Shun Shiroma (Sazan Ramen); Krystal Craig and Ian Thurwachter (Intero); Leanna Valenti (Bento Picnic); Finn Walter, (The Nicolett); Jessica Winters (Cruzteca); Ling Wu (Lin Asian Bar); and Kristina Zhao, (DASHI Sichuan Kitchen + Bar).

Ticket types range from VIP, All-in, Weekender, and One-Day passes — each with their own degree of special access and benefits. All attendees must be 21 years of age or older.

The Austin Food & Wine Festival is the benefactor of the Texas Food & Wine Alliance, a nonprofit dedicated to fostering awareness and innovation in the Central Texas food and wine community through grants, educational programming and events. To date, Austin Food & Wine Festival has contributed over $1.3 million to the alliance.

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Refill, revere, rejoice

Austin distiller refills Kentucky Bourbon bottles for $1 in UT gameday stunt

Photo courtesy of Still Austin Whiskey Co.

Still Austin is filling up empty Kentucky Bourbon bottles and adding its own label in a display of Texas dominance.

Cheap bourbon isn't usually something people line up for, but in this case they know it's good. Still Austin Whiskey Co., a favorite Austin distiller, is offering $1 refills of its own Cask Strength Bourbon on empty Kentucky Bourbon bottles on November 23.

The promotion celebrates the Texas Longhorns vs. Kentucky Wildcats football match the same day. This is a highly anticipated game because the two teams have only been matched up once, back in 1951. Kentucky coach Mike Stoops reportedly also upped the ante by saying the Longhorns have "no weaknesses."

Essentially, this is a parallel challenge by Still Austin: Replace your Kentucky Bourbon with our Texas spirit and watch the Lone Star State win again.

"Why would I ever taint your bourbon with dried up Kentucky juice[?]" asked a (frankly, terrifying) customer on Instagram.

There is a misconception that bourbon has to be made in Kentucky. The Kentucky Distillers’ Association itself points out that, "According to the 1964 Congressional Resolution, in order to have “Bourbon” on the label it must be made in the United States of America and meet all other federal “standards of identity” for Bourbon."

Still Austin CEO and co-founder Chris Seals is setting the record straight with a little snark, inviting both fans and "skeptics" to stop by to take advantage of the deal.

“We’re deeply grateful to Kentucky for inventing the stuff, but after 200 years of the same old bourbon, people want something new,” said Seals in a press release.“The idea that great bourbon can only come from Kentucky is a myth based on decades of misinformation. We’re inviting everyone still holding onto this old guard notion to ‘Kentucky Fill Up’ to experience the difference for themselves.”

The product he's chosen to represent the brand, the Cask Strength Bourbon, is described as "a deeper more 'metal' version of our beloved straight bourbon." It's 116 proof (58 percent ABV) and has won double gold at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition twice, in 2022 and 2023.

Still Austin will only refill 500 bottles. Here are the rules: The bottles have to be 750 milliliters, clean, intact (with the original cap on hand), and they must have originally contained bourbon from a Kentucky Distillery. There are two time slots for refilling at 9 am and 11:30 am. Patrons can get tickets ahead of time at stillaustin.com.

In addition to the fill-ups, Still Austin will host a watch party starting at 2:30 pm. More Texas-Kentucky crossover will include Frozen Texas Julep cocktails, Texas fried chicken, and an armadillo derby race. There will also be exclusive merch and giveaways. Still Austin is the official corporate partner of Texas Athletics.

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Fans of Austin sports and Austin food and drinks can now score tickets to The Tailgate, CultureMap's all-out party devoted to everyone’s favorite way to get in the gameday spirit. The event, presented by Verizon, goes down from 6-9 pm December 12 at Distribution Hall. Find out more about it here.

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