Why TexSom has become my favorite event of the year.

TexSom has changed a lot since it was founded 20 years ago (it celebrated the milestone at this year’s gathering).

When an intrepid wine blogger first came to Texas to be with his future life partner in 2008, the small-scale event included a limited number of seminars and tastings but it already attracted top names from across the country (the conference was held at the Four Seasons in Austin that year). The educational component was geared to those studying to achieve wine education certifications and other titles.

By 2010, the affair had found its home at the Four Seasons in Irving (near Ft. Worth) and it had begun to attract wine professionals and winemakers from all over the world. Serge Hochar (of Lebananese wine fame), Joel Peterson (the celebrated “father” of California Zinfandel), Bartholomew Broadbent (as in the British legacy)… they were just some of the luminaries you would run into.

Over the years TexSom has had its highs and lows. But its organizers have always come back to the drawing board to see how they could build it into an event that reflected and embraced the broader wine community.

I led my first tasting at TexSom two years ago for the Abruzzo consortium. I was happily blown away by the way it had come to reflect the expansive spectrum of the U.S. wine trade. When I returned last month (having missed last year’s shindig), I saw that the organizers have remained steadfastly devoted to their commitment to include every gradation of the wine professional community.

But the thing I love the most about TexSom is the community it has created: when I spoke there about Abruzzo a few weeks ago, everyone — EVERY ONE — in the group of 50 or so people were there solely to learn and to taste. It’s such a refreshing, fulfilling, and rewarding experience to present to people who really want to hone their chops.

Absent are the folks just looking for a fun time. But that doesn’t mean that TexSom isn’t fun. In fact, its electricity and attendees’ verve gave one intrepid wine blogger hope for the greater wine industry. I highly recommend it to you.

Photo, which I love, by my good friend Sandra Samuel.