Buyers Purchase Award-Winning Wines at 2019 Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo™ Rodeo Uncorked!® Champion Wine Auction
Buyers gathered for the annual Rodeo Uncorked! Champion Wine Auction and Dinner at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo on Sunday, Feb. 24. Winning wines from the Rodeo Uncorked! International Wine Competition, held Nov. 3-4, 2018, were auctioned Sunday night.
The Grand Champion Best of Show, Graham Beck Brut Rosé, Robertson NV, sold for $150,000 to buyers Randa and Ray Gilliam, Kristina and Paul Somerville, Jennifer and Joe Van Matre, and Sheridan and John Eddie Williams.
The Reserve Grand Champion Best of Show, Bodegas Muriel Reserva, Rioja DOCa, 2013 sold for $120,000 to buyers Andrea and Bruce Bryant, Kathy and Gene Clark, Melinda and Pete Ruman, and The Wine Cru.
The Rodeo Uncorked! International Wine Competition included 3,156 entries from 18 countries, including Argentina, Austria, Chile, France, Italy, Japan, Portugal and South Africa. Texas wineries represented 413 entries, and 370 entries came from this year’s featured region, California’s Central Coast.
A selection of the champion wines will be available for tasting, by the glass and bottle, throughout the run of the Rodeo, Feb. 25 through March 17, in the Champion Wine Garden, located in Carruth Plaza. Times are Mondays through Thursdays, 4 to 11 p.m.; Fridays, 4 p.m. to midnight; Saturdays, 11 a.m. to midnight; and Sundays, noon to 10 p.m. Enjoy live music daily beginning at 4 p.m. on weekdays, 11 a.m. on Saturdays and noon on Sundays. Educational seminars are available in the Champion Wine Garden, ranging from $40 to $70 per person. To learn more and to view the 2018 entertainment schedule, visit rodeohouston.com/Visit-the-Rodeo/Attractions-Activities/Wine-Garden.