TxakoliFest 2012 July 21, 2012

It’s a tradition that’s grown in legend and stature each year, and Durham-based Lucas Gambit Productions is proud to announce details for July 21st’s TxakoliFest, a day-long event highlighting some of the region’s best musical artists, food and the underappreciated Spanish wine from which the festival draws its name.

“I’m very excited about our 5th-annual TxakoliFest,” said Matthew Beason, owner of Six Plates Wine Bar (2812 Erwin Rd., Durham, NC 27705). “This will be our third year partnering with Lucas Gambit and, after the last two years, there’s no question that this will be our biggest and best festival thus far.”

Txakoli is a Basque white wine, slightly tart, slightly effervescent and destined to be paired with seafood. On Saturday, July 21, Beason’s award-winning Six Plates will transform into a traditional Basque-style restaurant serving six different types of oysters and eight featured Txakolis by the glass.

In anticipation of this year’s event, 100 advance tickets ($12) have been made available for TxakoliFest’s first session (1-4 p.m.), 125 advance tickets for the 4-7 p.m. session, and a very limited number of advance tickets will be sold, guaranteeing purchasers admission into the 7 p.m., general-admission third session. Ticket pricing includes entertainment and a commemorative cider glass—all food and wine will be sold separately.

“I started the event to showcase some of my favorite wines from a specific region in Spain that was not often talked about,’ said Beason, a Durham native with more than a decade of local restaurant experience, including ownership stints at Pop’s and Rue Cler. “Clean, crisp and slightly effervescent, these wines are perfect for a warm Saturday in July. The Spanish and, more specifically Basque, know how to enjoy their wines in fun fashion, and I can only hope to emulate the fun that they have while imbibing.”

This year’s Txakolifest is sponsored by Lucas Gambit Productions, Kompleks Creative, Wine Authorities, DeMaison Selections, and Haw River Wine Man. A Durham-based entertainment company, Lucas Gambit has put together an impressive list of acclaimed rock, indie, jazz and acoustic performers from around the region for Txakolifest, including Charles Newkirk, Andrew Kasab, The King’s English and Jessica Long + the New Kind.

“Lucas Gambit's vision is to empower music artists and reinvigorate the local music scene through artist management, event production and label administration,” LGE’s Rod Shuler said. “We’re excited to partner with Six Plates and Matt Beason once again in our mission to provide quality production and entertainment here in the Triangle.”

Advance tickets for TxakoliFest are available for online purchase at www.lucasgambit.com at Six Plates (cash or credit) or at Wine Authorities (2501 University Dr., Durham, NC 27707) on a cash-only basis. For more information on the Txakoli Fest or Six Plates Wine Bar, visit http://sixplates.com.