This year, we set a record for the longest Beale Street Wine Race in history… 5 months 1 week and it’s still not done.
Beale Street Wine Race is an event in which servers from restaurants around Shelby County compete in a series of events:
- An opening parade, with floats
- A Queen of the Vine beauty pageant
- A grape stomp
- A four-person wine relay
Wine Race is typically held on the last Sunday in April. For those in the service/hospitality industry, it’s one last chance to blow off steam before the busy Memphis in May tourist season begins. It’s a day when much alcohol is consumef.
It’s a day of debauchery.
Except in April 2023, things went off-track.The first 3 events got done, although the winner of the grape stomp had yet to be announced. Then – as the second heat in the wine relay was about to begin, I’m told – shots rang out and MPD cleared the street and declared the games over.
Today the games will be finished. Thw wine relay will be completed and the winners of that event and the grape stomp will be announced.
Security will be turned up good and tight. Thay’re not gonna let Beale Street be embarrassed twice in a row. I haven’t heard this, but I would not be that surprised if they wand guests coming on to the street.
People will start gathering around 2, with the wine relay starting at 3 and the awards after that.
Never been to Wine Race before? Here are a few of my personal recommendations:
Park for free! The city does not charge for metered spaces on Sundays. As a general rule, it’s safer to park in areas north and west of Beale than in areas south and east of Beale.
If you absolutely want to park in a garage, the ones along Peabody Place (one block north of Beale) are good bets – Downtown Mobility Center, the one above Flying Saucer, the one next to Hampton Inn, the one next to Robusto by Havana Mix.
The best burgers on Beale are just steps away from the wine relay location. Why not get down there early and have one? Look for a place named Dyer’s and order a double-double – that’s two beef patties and double cheese – and fries.
Then go next door to Wet Willie’s and order a Call-a-Cab. It’s made with ice, strawberry and cherry Kool-Aid mix, and 190 PGA.
One thing, though: ABSOLUTELY DON’T order a Call-a-Cab if you will have to drive in the 4-8 hours following your purchase.
Don’t forget your ID! Whether it’s Memphis’ entertainment district, an Orlando trip, or some other destination, your adventure might be considerably less fun if you can’t show proof of age.
Some people like to watch the wine relay from above. If that’s you, get to Jerry Lee’s a bit early and make a beeline for the upstairs balconies. Just don’t look for me up there though – I prefer to watch from street level.
Back in April, I was having trouble with my legs and they were too bad for all that walking around an uneven street. They’re much better now, and I plan to be there in my 2023 Blind Bear Wine Race shirt.
On to the news…
Speaking of the Blind Bear, I didn’t think Tony could possibly outdo the Greens Gumbo he had as the soup weekly special last week.
Then he gave me a sample of this coming week’s special, and yeah, I think he outdid himself.
Chicken jalapeno popper soup. Love those fresh jalapenos! It’ll be available this week starting MONDAY (so if you try ordering it today, no soup for you).
Let’s hear it for trash pandas! It’s International Raccoon Appreciation Day.
A few people have told me they’ve hoped I’ve just been “on a break” from the BBQ team the past few years and that one day I wil return to the fold. With Memphis in May’s decision to move BBQ Fest to Liberty Park, I can assure you that I will never be back. I’m not mad at Memphis River Parks Partnership, because what they did at Tom Lee is a home run for the community. But a side effect of that is, BBQ Fest as I knew and loved it is dead.
Watch out for that combo flu/COVID shot – my friends got it and it made them feel so ill that they had to cancel Saturday plans. Might want to avoid getting the shot on a Friday in case the following day needs to be a day when you call in sick.
WREG has coverage on that massive fire in West Memphis yesterday, It was cleaning products. Glad to hear it wasn’t the warehouse Family Dollar runs in that area. I’d hate to hear about 1000 rats dying.
The Grizzlies made some roster moves over the weekend. No big names were involved though.
People have been asking why I’ve tended to drink glasses of Coke/Pepsi at bars lately. I’m trying to hold down expenses; it’s not anything to do with my health. It’s cheaper to ger a Coke refilled than it is to order PBR after PBR.
Headed to Blind Bear at 11 and will walk over to Beale between 2 and 3. Back tomorrow probably.