Wine, Food, and Spirited Adventures in Dallas

After an arduous work week, wining and dining is definitely more satisfying than whining. Instead of heading out to one of the numerous Metroplex boroughs, spoil yourself at the new social spots located right downtown. Leave the car in the lot and put on your party shoes.

Downtown plays host to a feast for the senses with the return of Savor Dallas. Thursday, February 16th through Sunday, February 18th, Savor Dallas offers wine seminars, tastings, cooking demonstrations, exhibits, and jazz mix-and-mingles. The event showcases hundreds of wines, as well as chefs, restaurants, the Arts District and cultural facilities. See and be seen at delicious mixers in the African-American Museum in Fair Park, the Latino Cultural Center, and Mo?t & Chandon's Bubbles 'N Jazz night with David Sanborn.

Event founder Jim White brags, "I've been [to wine events] all over the world. My view may be biased, I know, but it's shared with others who've traveled like me, and this is the best food and wine event we've ever been to." The lively downtown setting also offers epicurean education to enhance the appreciation of beginner, intermediate, and expert connoisseurs. Jim notes that the event was purposely constructed "for those who enjoy a glass once a week, or for the true oenophile who can participate in [Master Sommelier] Doug Frost's Master Wine Tasting."

The International Grand Tasting at Savor Dallas features 500 spirits and samples from 50 of the finest local restaurants, including Tucker, The Mansion on Turtle Creek, Seventeen Seventeen, Standard, and Steven Pyles. Pyles' eponymous restaurant opened to rave reviews at the end of 2005. Stellar cuisine and ambiance both echo the New Millennium Southwestern theme - fresh, innovative, and global - right down to a tapas-ceviche bar.

If you'd rather enjoy your vines and treats in a more intimate setting, pick up requisite picnic supplies at UrbanMarket, the first grocery downtown. This cozy Jackson Street grocer finally graced Dallas last summer and provides great deals on beer and wine, super-fresh flowers and produce, and even weekly wine tastings and art mixers.

If the decadent weekend rekindles your love for the great grape, try making your own at Swirll. This Main Street winery (yes, winery!) helps guests to concoct their own private labels. The Swirll girls will guide you through tasting, blending, and (after six weeks fermentation) bottling and labeling.

So, stay, play, and indulge in spirits in the heart of Dallas.
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