What Texas wine pairs with Austin hot dog shop Frank? Texas Hill Country Wine and Food Festival 2010 Preview.

2010 April 16

tags: Frank, Texas Hill Country Wine and Food Festival, Whole Foods Market

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This weekend is the 25th Anniversary of the Texas Hill Country Wine and Food Festival. I love wine AND I love food, so it’s one of my favorite events of the year.

Jenn shows Chris her favorite Texas wine to pair with hot dogs from Frank.

To help get in the spirit of the festival, we chose three of our favorite Austin food vendors (Torchy’s Tacos, Texan Cuban and Frank) and asked our friends over at Whole Foods to help us pair them with Texas wines from the festival. Sharing is caring, so over the next three days, we will be sharing our pairings.

Over the last couple of days, we’ve learned what Texas wines pair well with Torchy’s Tacos and Texan Cuban. Today, Jenn Powell, Beer and Wine Team Lead over at Whole Foods Market, is going to help us pair Texas wines with Austin’s upscale hot dog restaurant Frank.

If you haven’t been to Frank, you’ve gotta give it a try. When they first opened, I thought of the gourmet hot dog places in NYC that are gourmet because the dress the dogs in things like hummus or goat cheese. Frank is gourmet because they make the sausages themselves.

One of my favorite dogs at Frank is the Jackalope. Made from a rabbit and antelope frank, it’s unlike any other dog I’ve had in my life. Since it’s topped with a huckleberry compote and a spicy sriracha pepper aioli, I thought it might be a challenge to pair. Jenn rocked it with a wine from McPherson Cellars. Watch the video to find out which one.

Throughout the pairings, Jenn convinced me that Texas wine has changed a lot. It’s no longer just cabs and chards. There are some complex wines. And because they are grown here in Texas, they are also affordable, just $10-20 for a bottle. This, to me, is a testament to the hard work of the Auler family and everyone else who has helped the Texas Hill Country Wine and Food Festival celebrate Texas wine for the last 25 years.

Y’all, I also need to raise a glass to Jenn Powell. She knows her ish AND she hosts a kick-a beer social every Friday from 5-7P at the Whole Foods Market DT. She also doles out some generous sample of wine

Lots of thanks to Torchy’s, Texan Cuban and Frank for stuffin our bellies. Also, thanks to Whole Foods for gettin this dillo a lil tipsy.

WATCH: In the video, below, Jenn tells us what wine goes good with a rabbit-antelope sausage (or any dog) and did you know that Lubbock was a big wine growing area? Who wudda thunk?