We'll Drink To This

Austinites represent on buzzy list of nation's top young beverage experts

Austin fares well on a buzzy new list from a national drinking authority. Wine Enthusiast recently pronounced the Top 40 Under 40 Tastemakers for 2016 (not to be confused with our Tastemaker Awards), and locals June Rodil and Jessica Sanders made the cut.

The roundup recognizes the best sommeliers, mixologists, distillers, and beverage experts in the country.

Rodil is celebrated for her role as beverage director at McGuire Moorman Hospitality, which debuted June's All Day earlier this summer. The 36-year-old Master Sommelier tells Wine Enthusiast that her namesake bistro is the kind of place "where you can drink Champagne while wearing shorts and flip-flops." (We're inclined to agree.) When not at the helm of June's or curating wine lists for other MMH properties, Rodil helps run the TEXSOM wine conference and competition.

Sanders, 36, has been a pillar of the Austin beverage scene since opening Drink.Well with her husband, Michael, and founding Texas Tiki Week. Sanders' career may revolve around cocktails, but her second concept, Backbeat, also has an impressive lineup of wines and a unique Champagne program that showcases different producers.

"It's pretty awesome to see cocktail nerds ordering wine again," she confides to Wine Enthusiast.

One other Top 40 Under 40 Tastemaker has Texas ties: Fort Worthian Matt Hedges, 36-year-old co-founder and president of Vino del Sol.

Jessica Sanders is the co-owner and operator of Backbeat and Drink.Well.

Photo by Knox Photographics

Jessica Sanders is the co-owner and operator of Backbeat and Drink.Well.

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Austin's 10 hottest restaurant stories of 2024 serve up BBQ and Tex-Mex

Mum Foods Smokehouse And Delicatessen pastrami sandwich

Mum Foods Smokehouse And Delicatessen/Instagram

Mum Foods Smokehouse And Delicatessen made USA Today's national list.

Editor's note: As 2024 comes to a close, we're looking back at the stories that defined Austin this year, and that includes our delicious, if ever-changing, restaurant scene. This year, Austinites devoured news about unique barbecue joints, classic Tex-Mex chains, a meme-y brewery, and an award-winning Hill Country winery. Here are Austin's top 10 restaurant stories of 2024.

1. Unique Austin barbecue joint makes USA Today's first 'Restaurants of the Year' list. Mum Foods Smokehouse and Delicatessen was the only Texas restaurant on the list.

2. Hill Country winery makes prestigious World's Best Vineyards list for 2024. Out of the more than 100 wineries in the Hill Country, William Chris Vineyards was the only one to make the list.

3. Austin's favorite taco chain takes top honors on USA Today 10-best list. Austin-born Torchy's once again found itself on this list of the best fast casual restaurants in the U.S.

4. Austin's beloved Tex-Mex chain Chuy's gets acquired by a new owner. The chain has been acquired by Darden Restaurants, Inc., the Florida-based hospitality company that also owns Olive Garden, LongHorn Steakhouse, Yard House, and more.

5. 13 Austin coffee shops join in on action day honoring Daniel Johnston. In January, locals gathered for "Hi, How Are You Day" — to honor Johnston's lasting legacy and build community.

6. Beautiful West Coast sushi restaurant rolls into downtown Austin. Sushi Roku, an alluring newcomer from California, stepped onto the less coastal scene by opening its first Texas restaurant in the Capital City.

Sushi Roku Austin interior By now, most Austin diners know what to expect from an upscale sushi restaurant. Sushi Roku combines "Western influences with internationally inspired accents." Photo by Richard Casteel, courtesy of IDG

7. Chinese-Vietnamese restaurant in South Austin closes after 35 years. Hao-Hao Restaurant on William Cannon is now closed. Austin foodies can still visit the Round Rock spot with the same name, but the restaurants' lineages are only distantly connected now.

8. New Braunfels sausage and beer extravaganza Wurstfest returns for 2024. Austinites love any excuse to get out to the Hill Country, especially if it involves German brews, fried food and sausage, and lederhosen.

9. Brewery named after famous character Old Gregg debuts in Austin suburb. You ever drunk Bailey's from a shoe? Well, now you can order it on the menu at Pflugerville's newest brewery. But the real focus is the signature beers, plus house-made hard seltzers, cocktails, and a rotating menu for frozen drinks.

10. Both Austin finalists win H-E-B competition to sell products statewide. Birria Queen won the grand prize in the Quest for Texas Best, earning $25,000 for its birria seasoning bombs; and Certified Country Lemonade won second place and $15,000 for its frozen iced teas and lemonades.