The Wine & Food Foundation of Texas began as part of the Texas Hill Country Wine & Food Festival, now the second largest wine and food festival in the country. The Festival was created to give the Texas Hill Country the opportunity to experience the growth and development of the Texas wine industry and explore the wide variety of culinary offerings. One of the annual hallmark events held during the Festival was the Rare and Fine Wine Auction that benefited local charities.

The success of the Auction created the need for an organization to distribute the proceeds toward educational grants and scholarships in the areas of wine and food, and The Wine & Food Foundation of Texas was born. With a mission of recognizing and developing creativity, professionalism and state of the science research in all areas of the culinary and viticulture arts, The Foundation began awarding educational grants, scholarship and fellowships to outstanding individuals and other entities who achieve excellence in these areas. Today, The Foundation has expanded to host several annual community-wide wine and food events, such as the Stephan Pyles Celebrity Chef Dinner, Big Reds & Bubbles fine wine tasting and Tour de Vin cuisine and wine tasting from around the world, to support its educational scholarships and Grant Awards Program.