Texas Food & Wine Alliance:
Our Roots To Present
After 26 years staging one of the premier epicurean celebrations in the southern United States, the Texas Hill Country Wine & Food Festival transitioned to the Austin Food & Wine Alliance (AFWA) in 2011. The Alliance was created to continue the festival’s mission of fostering awareness of the Central Texas culinary scene and giving back to the community through a vibrant grant program. The Austin Food & Wine Alliance was honored to quickly win the support of the newly formed Austin Food + Wine Festival, a world-class showcase of national, state, and local culinary talent.
Due to its dynamic near-decade of success in supporting and cultivating Austin’s culinary businesses and nonprofits, AFWA expanded statewide in 2020 to replicate its innovative grant funding program in Texas’ major cities. The newly formed Texas Food & Wine Alliance (TFWA) was created to be the umbrella organization overseeing our work in Austin, Dallas, Houston, and San Antonio.
Key Dates:
APRIL 1986 – Texas Hill Country Wine & Food Festival (THCWFF) Founded
DECEMBER 2010 – First THCWFF Wine & Swine Culinary Weekend
APRIL 2011 – 26th and final edition of Texas Hill Country Wine & Food Festival
APRIL 2011 – First Live Fire! at Texas Disposal Systems Exotic Game Ranch
JANUARY 2012 – THCWFF transitions to Austin Food & Wine Alliance
APRIL 2012 – First Austin Food + Wine Festival
DECEMBER 2012 – First annual AFWA culinary grants awarded - $20,000 to Austin culinary community
MAY 2013 – AFWA hosts first Culinary Arts Career Conference with 500 high school culinary arts students
DECEMBER 2013 – AFWA awards $25,000 in grants to Austin culinary community
JANUARY 2014 – AFWA brings back the Official Drink of Austin Cocktail competition
DECEMBER 2014 – AFWA awards $30,000 in grants to Austin culinary community
OCTOBER 2015 – AFWA hosts famed culinary superstar Chef Emeril Lagasse for a Wine & Dine Dinner at Olamaie
DECEMBER 2015 – AFWA awards $40,000 in grants to Austin culinary community
JUNE 2016 – AFWA hosts culinary legend Jacques Pepin for a Wine & Dine dinner at Launderette
DECEMBER 2016 – AFWA awards $27,500 in grants to the Austin culinary community
FEBRUARY 2018 – AFWA awards $50,000 in grants to the Austin culinary community for 2017
NOVEMBER 2018 - AFWA hosts renowned cookbook author and TV personality Lidia Bastianich
DECEMBER 2018 - AFWA awards $60,000 in grants to Austin culinary community
DECEMBER 2019 - AFWA awards $70,000 in grants to the Austin culinary community, the largest amount in AFWA history
JUNE 2020 - AFWA awards $14,000 to grant recipients to aid in COVID-19 relief
SEPTEMBER 2020 — AFWA announces statewide expansion. The Texas Food & Wine Alliance was created to be the umbrella organization overseeing our statewide work.
JANUARY 2021 - AFWA awards $30,500 in grants to the Austin culinary community
JULY 2021 - SAFWA hosts Taco Rumble, its first San Antonio event
JULY 2021 - TFWA launches statewide tour of Wine & Dine dinner series with stops in Austin, Dallas, and San Antonio
DECEMBER 2021 - AFWA awards $37,000 to the Central Texas culinary community and SAFWA awards $17,000 to the South Texas culinary community — its first San Antonio grants
JANUARY 2023 - TFWA awards $107,500 in grants to Texas culinary community, including its first Dallas and Houston grants — reaching a milestone $528,500 in giving since 2012