A Beaujolais & More restaurant participant serves shrimp and grits to an attendee at the North Texas Fairgrounds on Nov. 16, 2023. Photo by Aiden Gonzalez

The aromas of different types of cooked food filled the air of the small indoor venue as people walked around from table to table looking at food samples from local restaurants in Denton. At the entrance in the middle, there was a table selling souvenir wine glasses with “Beaujolais and More” printed across the clear glass.

Once simply a historical landmark, Beaujolais and More has grown into a community event and fundraiser that sells tickets to raise money to benefit the Denton Community Theatre. For $30, attendees can try food samples from over 20 different restaurants and food vendors in Denton, with the show's main star being Beaujolais wine.

“What I look forward to more than anything, it’s just getting a visit with all the different people that come,” said Mike Barrow, Managing Director of Theatre Denton and event organizer. “All walks of life come to Beaujolais and More.”

The event started in Carol and Gary Kirchoff’s living room. They had a passion for food, theatre and Beaujolais wine. The pair had a lot of fun with the events, and as big supporters of the local theatre, decided to turn it into a fundraiser. It got so popular that the North Texas Fair and Rodeo grounds became their third venue because they outgrew every other.

Beaujolais Nouveau wine, the eponymous wine made in a specific region of France, is released worldwide on the third Thursday of November every year. It is also called “the first blush” because it is the first wine released from that region. Every year, bottles of it are flown in for the event so people can try the Beaujolais Nouveau.

One of the vendors at Beaujolais and More, Steve’s Wine Bar, gave out samples of Beaujolais wine to attendees. When describing the novelty of the drink, he compares it to champagne.

Sparkling wine can only be called champagne if it is from the Champagne province of France, so a sparkling wine from California or Australia cannot be champagne. The same concept applies to Beaujolais wine.

“It’s fresh, it’s really light," said Steve Severance, the owner of Steve’s Wine Bar and wine seller. "A little on the fruity side, so it doesn’t have any aging.”

The "more” part of the event’s name speaks to the love of food. Over 20 local restaurants offer samples of their food. Restaurants like Thai Ocha, Barley & Board, Houlihan’s, Wild Cactus and Loco Café served samples of their individually unique dishes that evening.

“I could never play favorites [with the food vendors] because I love them all,” Barrow said.

For wine, there were several tables located around the venue with empty plastic wine glasses, and the owner or server at the table would pour them a small sample of the alcoholic beverage.

The Beaujolais and More event brought a mixture of people who enjoy food, wine and local theatre. It is also a way for attendees to give back to what they are passionate about, like Denton Theatre season ticket holder and retiree Bill Martin.

Martin has been attending “Beaujolais and More” for almost four years with his wife, and said he enjoys watching plays at the community theatre in Denton and feels it’s important to support local theatre.

“People don’t really take advantage of it in this town, because it’s the talent that they lose out on,” Martin said. “I think it’s so important, just enriches life so much more.”