If you're an epicure looking to sip wine while sampling delicacies prepared by some of Dallas' finest restaurants, or even if you are not but merely want to learn about the pleasures of wining and dining, then add Savor Dallas wine and food festival to your March calendar.
The annual festival, which runs March 19-22, began 11 years ago, when Dallas wine and food aficionados Jim White, then host of KRLD's Restaurant Show, and wife, Vicki Briley-White, founded the event. They operated it until last fall, when CrowdSource, the event marketing company owned by The Dallas Morning News, purchased the festival.
The move came as The News and parent company A.H. Belo Corp. are buying businesses that create new revenue sources and audiences, says Alison Draper, president of CrowdSource.
Draper's goal isn't to change Savor Dallas, but transform it into a nationally renowned festival that connects the best restaurants and wineries in North Texas with residents here and beyond.
Events begin Thursday with the Arts District Wine Stroll. On Friday, members of the Dallas Arboretum and the public can attend Savor the Arboretum, a food and wine tasting in the gardens at sunset.
On Saturday, attendees can choose between two events in Fair Park (or go to both): the more intimate Reserve Tasting in the former Women's Museum building and the Grand Tasting in Centennial Hall, a walkabout tasting during which guests can linger over wine, spirits and craft beer and sample bites from top Dallas restaurants.
New events include a Sunday farm-to-table Community Brunch in partnership with Cafe Momentum and Downtown Dallas, Inc. at Main Street Garden and a number of seminars and dinners in various restaurants and other venues throughout the week. These include a roundtable discussion on Modern Texas cuisine and seminars on the basics of wine tasting, how to butcher and prepare a chicken and more.
The festival is refined - after all, it features exceptional wines and premier chefs - but it's also a return to simple pleasures. As Draper says, it's "people getting together and socializing in a beautiful area with food, drink and music."
For a schedule of events and to purchase tickets for Savor Dallas wine and food festival, visit savordallas.com.
Elizabeth Hamtilon, Special Contributor. Follow her on Twitter at @hamiltoneliz
Read more from Palate magazine, publishing with The Dallas Morning News print editions on March 8.
