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Tuesday, 16 March 2010
Wine Sisterhood Travel: 36 Hours in Austin, Texas
 Back in the saddle after our very first South by Southwest, pouring wine at the fabulous Girl and Boy Party sponsored by our friends at Kirtsy and Alltop.. We learned it is called “South-by” by the locals. Love it when you get the insider lingo!
We poured Purple Cowboy Tenacious Red Cab-Syrah blend and Night Rider Merlot and Middle Sister Wicked White and Drama Queen Pinot Grigio for about 600 of the interactive world’s movers-and-shakers. The evening was warm, so the whites were very popular, but many good comments on Purple Cowboy, too.
The event was held under a tent decorated with hay bails and a chuck wagon in back of Allens Boots, which we had visited earlier that day. We were overwhelmed by the incredible selection of beautiful cowboy boots. It’s hard to know where to start when you only get to pick just one.
We found out later from the Allens Boot ladies (most excellent two-steppers and best boots at the party) that you can actually call ahead and make an appointment with one of them for a personal boot styling session. They’ll help you make your way through the selection and find the boots of your dreams.
Here are some of the other highlights of our trip:
 Trudy’s Tex-Mex. Drink: Mexican Margarita. Note: Served in milkshake cans and so potent you’re only allowed to order two. Food: Stuffed Fried Avocado. All the things that are not on your diet, fried and covered in suiza (sour cream) sauce. We split one and were full for a day-and-a-half.
 Pete’s Dueling Piano Bar. This is a famous joint and rightly so. There’s no cover— you put your request on one of the two grand pianos with a tip and with any luck they’ll play your fave song.
The guys simply are world-class musicians/comedians/glee club directors/entertainers. We especially enjoyed the “Don’t Stop Believin’” sing-along. The piano boys are apparently (and who can blame them) soooo tired of this song that they force the audience to sing the whole thing. Amazing how many of the lyrics we DIDN’T know. Luckily everybody else did.
 The Mighty Cone. Located on South Congress (SoCo) in food trailer row, we again sampled the wondrousness’ of fried avocados in the form of the Deluxe Chicken and Avocado Cone with Ancho Mayo Sauce and Mango Jalapeno. With a side of chile-dusted fries. Are we kidding ourselves when we think splitting these kinds of things make it o.k.? At least we didn’t order a Blue Bell shake.
 Maya Star boutique. Who needs to eat when we’re so full of fried avocados? That was the reason we blew our grocery budget for the rest of the month on some must-have items from this shop on SoCo. Beautiful selection of jewelry, also.
Lowlights
Security at Austin airport. One of us forgot we left a wine opener in our carry-on. And since it was a very nice one, forced to go out of security to one of those crazy mailing stations were all the dumb people who leave sharp items in their carry-ons can mail them home instead. Just plain embarrassing.
Also, we never could seem to sit in the right row for some reason. Hey, it’s confusing!
All in all, a great trip. We hope that those of you we met at the party will find that Wine Sisterhood business card we forced you to take before we poured you a glass of wine and visit us. And SIGN up to join our Wine Sisterhood community. We want your opinions!
Cheers!
Posted on 03/16/2010 5:50 PM by Maryanne Vangrin
Comments
13 Apr 2010
Mary Ann Vangrin Hi Monica (aka Trail Boss), Thanks for the nice comments. Loved Texas...can't wait to go back and maybe take a little side trip to the Hill Country. Happy trails! 13 Apr 2010
 Monica Nauert
well golly, I missed y'all when you were here for south-by. I picked up a bottle (two) of your wine at our grocery chain H.E.B. about the time that you were here and didn't know that you happened to be in town. LOVE the wine; and I tend to be a little partial to the hill country wines, just out of pure local snobbery. So, since I have found a new 'love from out of state', I will be sharing your products with my little sister who also happens to be one of those middle sisters. Personally, I enjoy being the oldest 'Trail Boss' sister. Maybe you can cook up something strong and influential for me someday! Take care of yourselves, and we hope to have you down in our neck of the woods again soon. 17 Mar 2010
girlinthevalley It really was such a fun trip, and we met so many great people. Thanks Laura, for your blog on how to throw a party in Texas...you are right on the money! http://thequeso.com/how-to-throw-a-party-in-texas-the-sxsw-girl-guy-party-edition/ |