Update: Polar Chill has since re-opened.

Over the past three years, Polar Chill snow cone shop has become a fixture in the neighborhood around Hillcrest and Arapaho, serving up frozen treats at school carnivals and other community events. The drive-thru stand in the Hillcrest Village shopping center closes for the season Oct. 31 but this time, it won’t be back.

John Rutledge, senior vice president of Venture Commercial which leases the property, said in September that there’s a new vision in the works for Hillcrest Village, and it includes getting rid of free-standing kiosks. He said Polar Chill would likely be forced out.

“The problem is, when you have little kiosks, the place tends to look a little junky,” Rutledge said. “It hampers visibility. His building is an eyesore.”

Starla Turnbo of SMI Realty, the Houston-based company that owns the property, echoed that the stand is no longer atheistically pleasing, however, the owner was given plenty of options.

“We never forced him out,” she says.

Instead of renewing his one-year lease, she offered him a month-to-month lease and space elsewhere in the shopping center where he could install a drive-thru window.

Those options were simply too expensive for the snow cone shop’s owner Tony Atchison. The rent for a normal storefront is almost triple what he was paying before, and it’s way more space than he needs for his small operation. Relocating from his 300-square-foot stand is easier said than done.

“You don’t need that much space, so trying to find something that’s affordable, it’s mind boggling.”

Atchison says his shop draws about 50,000 people to the shopping center each year. He has a loyal following, especially in the nearby school communities.

Tony Vasquez is a parent at Prestonwood Elementary. Polar Chill works the annual carnivals free of charge, donating 100 percent of proceeds to the school’s fund to send fifth graders to Sky Ranch. Vasquez’s 11-year-old daughter wrote Atchison a poem of gratitude that hangs one the wall near the menu.

“He has given us everything and never asked for a penny,” Vasquez says. “They’re pushing someone out of the community, but the community wants him.”

Atchison says some neighbors are looking to start petitioning at schools like JJ Pearce, Richardson High School and Parkhill Junior High to illustrate how many people want the shop to stay.

But Polar Chill isn’t the only kiosk in the center. The Dog Stop, which we featured in our October dining section, is also free-standing and has been there more than 20 years. Turnbo says it’s on a long-term lease that won’t be renegotiated for some time.

So, if you’re looking to grab a Louisiana-style snow cone from Polar Chill, you better get one this month before the shop is gone for good.

The Wente family has been a mainstay of California winemaking for four generations; patriarch C.H. Wente learned the business from Charles Krug, one of the industry’s pioneers, in the late 19th century. There is even a specific kind of chardonnay grape, the Wente clone, named for the family, developed about a century ago.

So why don’t you hear more about Wente wines? For one thing, their winery is in Livermore, hardly as sexy as Napa or Sonoma. For another, their wines can be very traditional in style, which doesn’t appeal to the mass of critics who follow California wine and think old fashioned is a cocktail. But the Wente wines are always well made and always offer value, particularly for those of us how like $10 wine.

The Louis Mel ($10, purchased, available at Kroger) is an excellent example of that quality and value. This is a pleasant midweek wine that worked wonderfully with oven fried chicken and would go well with any grilled chicken or white fish. It’s not overly complex — just some citrus and pear — but that’s not a problem. It’s actually nice to taste a sauvignon blanc that is more restrained than the grapefuit puckerers so often found at this price, even from California. All in all, a more than solid wine for the price.

If you’re looking to sample dishes from some of the finest restaurants in North Dallas, be sure to get your tickets to Delish at the Galleria set for 6-9 p.m. this Thursday at the new pink ice rink with cocktails and live music. Plus, special guest Duff Goldman from the Food Network’s “Ace of Cakes” will make an appearance.

You can sample cuisine from Grand Lux Cafe, The Grill on the Alley, Mi Cocina, Nordstrom Marketplace Cafe, The Oceanaire, The Second Floor Bistro and Townhouse Kitchen and Bar.

Tickets are $50 each and includes valet. Proceeds benefit one of the event’s charity partners of your choice: North Texas Food Bank, Suicide and Crisis Center of North Texas, Children’s Advocacy Center of Collin County and Paws in the City. Buy tickets through one of their websites.

The key to success for regional wine is not so much about quality or even pricing. It’s about producing wine that reflects the place where it is made. Regional wine will never be successful if it’s nothing more than a knockoff of what’s being done elsewhere — and where it’s being done better, as well.

That’s why the best regional wine has a sense of terroir, whether it’s a New York riesling, a Missouri norton, or a Virginia viognier. The top producers in those states know they have to compete with California, but they have also realized they don’t have to do it on California’s terms. They can do it on their terms.

That’s what we’ve finally figured out in Texas. There has been a revolution in the past five years, with growers and winemakers embracing warm climate grapes in a way I never thought possible. Today, we have quality wines made with tempranillo, roussanne, syrah, sangiovese, blanc du bois, black Spanish, and viognier — grapes better suited for the Texas terroir than the traditional French varietals. Even the state’s biggest producers, who can sell (and need to sell) chardonnay and cabernet sauvignon because they’re in grocery stores, are using these new varietals to produce fascinating wines.

One of the best examples of the revolution is McPherson’s La Herencia ($14, sample, available at Central Market), a tempranillo blend that has the Spanish grape’s varietal characteristics yet retains a Texas quality. It’s richer and more full than a Rioja, the best-known tempranillo from Spain, with more red fruit. But it’s not too fruity or too tannic or too alcoholic, like so many California wines. Serve this with barbecue, almost any main course with rice (like jambalaya), and even some roast or grilled chicken dishes.

One of the other hats I wear is as co-founder of DrinkLocalWine, where we focus on wine made in the 47 states that aren’t California, Oregon, and Washington. We’re holding our fourth annual regional wine week this week, and there are articles and links to regional wine throughout the country, including Texas. Regional wine is part of significant changes going on in the wine business that much of the wine business is missing, and Texas wine has played a key role in those changes.

Sullivan’s Steakhouse in Addison has launched a fundraising campaign for the National Breast Cancer Foundation now through Oct. 31, offering a special pink menu. It’s $39.95 per person, and $5 from each meal benefits the organization. The menu also includes two wines – a Chandon Rose Brut and Terrazas de los Andes Malbec Mendoza 2009. The restaurant will donate $1 per glass and $5 per bottle.

The menu features three courses, including dishes like filet mignon, roasted chicken breast, Cajun dusted salmon fillet and crab stuffed shrimp with sides such as horseradish mashed potatoes, sweet potato casserole, crab fried rice, broccoli with garlic, skillet steak mushroom caps and green beans.

Check out what else is on the menu. Just click on the photo to the left and zoom in.

The Cultured Cup moved out of its Preston Center home this summer and shifted its focus to online sales of its specialty teas, chocolates and coffees. That’s still the case although now, the owners have opened a new location off Alpha and Midway where they’ll host programs and tastings.

There’s an open house 11 a.m.-5 p.m. this Saturday and all week, you can receive a 15 percent discount on items. The new sampling program includes a 0.5-ounce sample of tea for every 16 ounces of tea purchased and a 2 ounce sample of coffee when a customer orders 3 pounds of coffee.

Also during the open house, Billy Dietz will host a program oolong teas. He’s the world’s youngest Certified Tea Specialist. Cultured Cup co-owner Kyle Stewart was the first in Texas. These guys know what they’re talking about.

The first time time I tasted the Tormaresca chardonnay, I knew two things. First, that Italian chardonnay was not something most people wanted to write about. The Italians had plenty of other white wine grapes; what were they doing messing around with chardonnay? The other thing I knew was that Tormaresca made really good cheap wine.

So I really wasn’t surprised at the quality. Tormaresca, as a producer, is that good. Somehow, on their property in Puglia in the Italian boot heel, they do things that other wineries can only dream about.

The current vintage of the chardonnay ($12, sample) is better than ever — bright, clean and crisp (almost too much crisp, actually, though that should not be noticeable as the bottle ages). There is lots of green apple fruit, the wine has enough oak to complement the fruit but not to overwhelm it, and it’s only 12 1/2 percent alcohol. As always, I wonder why the Italians can make such a pleasant chardonnay while so many in California, where chardonnay is an important grape, stumble in the dark trying to do the same thing. Drink this chilled on its own, or pair it with a variety of white wine food — roast chicken, spaghetti carbonara or even Sunday brunch.

Oct. 4 is National Taco Day, and you know what that means – free food. Here are a few ways to take advantage of this wonderful food holiday tomorrow:

All Taco Cabana locations are giving away a free chicken fajita taco to customers 5-8 p.m. The closest locations are at Campbell and Central and Marsh and Belt Line.

Pollo Campero at Preston and the George Bush Turnpike also is offering a free Campero chicken taco all day. You can get it with grilled or fried chicken.

Fuzzy’s Taco Shop has $1 tacos all day, but it’s dine-in only. Our locations are at Midway and Spring Valley and Campbell and Nantucket.

One of my favorite things about fall is Cafe Brazil‘s caramel apple cider. When it shows up on the menu, I know that autumn is imminent.

The Dallas restaurant‘s holiday menu debuts tomorrow, Oct. 4, and the caramel apple cider and cinnamon pumpkin pancakes are back. Cafe Brazil is also debuting two new French toast creations for the holidays — bananas foster, which tastes as good as it sounds, and eggnog, which is covered with cinnamon apples, cranberries, powdered sugar and eggnog sauce, and won’t be available until Nov. 1 (sorry, you’ll have to wait).

On their own, these items are sweet and decadent enough to act as dessert, but pumpkin cheesecake with brownie crust is also a Cafe Brazil customer favorite, as is its Holiday Blend coffee, available by both the bottomless cup and the bag. Stop by the Addison or Richardson locations to inaugurate the season.

Set those digital recorders. I’ll be on Channel 11, sometime after 5:30 a.m. on Friday, to talk about the Texas wine garden and wine stage at the State Fair of Texas. I’m told I’ll even get a chance to display my corkscrew skills. And, no, that’s not too early to drink wine.

We’re doing a reduced a schedule of interviews at the Fair this year, thanks to our friends at the Texas Legislature. Though, to be fair, since they are likely funding the schools in an unconstitutional manner, I shouldn’t be too upset about the wine stage being cut. It’s all in the perspective.

Details for the stage are here. Stop by and say hello if you’re at the Fair.

Inexpensive cabernet sauvignon tends to be obviously flawed in one way or another — too much oak (or poorly done oak), too much fruit (or way too much fruit), uneven tannins, or green, unripe fruit. That’s because cabernet is not always easy to make and it’s almost always more expensive to make than other wines. So, when a winemaker is trying to hit a price below $15, something has to give.

Which was not the case with the Mandolin ($12, sample), which showed up quite unexpectedly and was almost overlooked when it did. Wines that I’ve had before or that I know don’t fit a review go into the giveaway box. For some reason that I don’t remember, this was going in the giveaway box but never got there.

That’s my good fortune. The Mandolin is well-made, quality $12 wine from California’s Central Coast. As such, it’s much better than so many others of its kind and on a par with solid sub-$15 cabernets like Avalon and 337. Look for some cherry fruit, but not too much, and appreciate the balance between the acid, tannins and oak in a wine at this price. Drink this with any red meat, including meat loaf and burgers.

There are a few variations of the legends surrounding the origin of coffee, but the highlights remain the same: Some Ethiopian goats graze on red berries. The goats get a tad bouncy. Kaldi, the goatherd, notices the bouncy goats. Coffee’s effects are discovered.

A few centuries later, more than 50 percent of American adults drink an average of 3.1 cups a day, according to a study by the Harvard School of Public Health on the caffeinated beverage. A few of the larger coffee chains across this buzzing nation are using National Coffee Day on Sept. 29 to say “thank you” for such impressive consumer dedication.

Here is where to go to say, “You’re welcome.”

7-Eleven is offering free medium coffees (and lattes and cappuccinos) on Sept. 29 from 7-11 a.m. “Like” the company’s Facebook page on Wednesday, Sept. 28, and have the added bonus of playing “Dip-a-Drip” for a chance to win a $25 gift card to the convenience store.

Dunn Bros. Coffee in Addison is celebrating its own “Bold Standard Day,” where 16-ounce cups of Organic Kenya Muiri Estate coffee are $1 until 10 a.m. RSVP to the facebook event now and enter for a chance to win one pound of the same coffee on Wednesday, Sept. 28.

Starbucks is pretty quiet on the matter. Most likely, if only the white and green cup will do on Sept. 29, you are going to have to pay for it.

Happy bouncing!