In the fall of 2003, Jerry and Laura Lasco opened The Tasting Room in Uptown Park ("TTR"). A small, European-style wine bar and café, the 1,000 square-foot TTR quickly became a popular destination for Houston's wine and food lovers. Since that time, Lasco Enterprises has expanded TTR Uptown Park to its current 7,600 square foot size and added a new concept (The Reserve Room) at Uptown Park, opened the second TTR location in Houston's River Oaks area (2006), introduced the highly regarded MAX's Wine Dive restaurant concept into the Houston market (2006), and in 2009 opened MAX's Wine Dive in Austin.
Along with many wine tastings and dinners, each spring and fall for the first three years of operation we hosted our "Cellar Classic" at TTR Uptown Park. Participants in this one-day event enjoyed an afternoon-long tasting of 100 wines and samples of delicious food prepared by many of Houston's best chefs. This event has grown each year, and in the fall of 2006, more than 400 wine and food enthusiasts attended our Saturday "Grand Tasting Experience."
Over the years, we recognized that, within Houston proper, there was no multiple-day event solely dedicated to the appreciation of fine wine and food. So we decided to fill that void and we introduced the Houston the Houston Cellar Classic: A Celebration of Wine and Food in 2007. The past couple of years' events have been smashing successes - in 2009, we had over 700 people attend the Saturday Grand Tasting, and we plan on making this year's event even better. This celebration will span an entire week, will feature multiple events occurring at all of our Houston locations, and will benefit deserving local charities. Our goal is to create the City of Houston's first nationally-recognized wine and food event, drawing participants from the Houston area, as well as Austin, San Antonio, Dallas and beyond. Beginning Monday, October 18, 2010 and ending Saturday, October 23, 2010, the 2010 Houston Cellar Classic will feature six exceptional wine and food events - not to mention amazing retail prices on TTR and MAX's expansive selection of wines from around the world. We believe that, with the help of our fantastic sponsors, the Houston Cellar Classic will become one of this country's premier annual wine and food events. We hope you will join us during this exciting week.
Cheers,
The TTR/MAX's Family
