Media Night at Fleming’s Plano in North Texas

Texas Wine Lover was invited to the event for the purposes of this press coverage. However, all opinions, experiences, and photographs are entirely our own.

#FlemingsPlano is the fresh place to see, be seen, and to enjoy a gorgeous selection of Fleming’s 100 Wines by the glass (including some excellent Texas wine choices) within the confines of their newest flagship Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse and Wine Bar. The new location is on the first floor of Legacy Tower adjacent to The Shops at Legacy, at the southeast corner of Legacy Drive and the Dallas North Tollway. On behalf of Texas Wine Lover, we attended Fleming’s glamorous media night June 24, just three nights before they opened to the public.

President and partner Skip Fox welcomed everyone by acknowledging the fact that this does add to the number of steak houses in the area, but he said, “We like to say that Fleming’s is rare AND well done.” And with the amount of well trained, professional team members in abundance, there is always someone watching to see what you may need or want.

Maeve Pesquera, Fleming’s director of wine, greeted arriving guests with sabered Schramsberg Blanc de Blancs North Coast sparkling wine. I laughingly asked her, “How many bottles do you expect to open with that method tonight?” She delightfully replied, “As many as it takes.” She also enjoyed every opportunity through the evening to trade fun barbs with Chef Partner Travis Herbert, saying that the wine is the most important part of Fleming’s. I do like that right out front there is “wine bar” in the name. In addition to the bubbles, the bar team greeted us with a delicious specialty craft cocktail created from Garrison Brothers Bourbon. Flemings Plano will be the only restaurant in the area offering the spirits from Garrison Brothers Distillery.

The award-winning diverse list of Fleming’s 100 wines is a selection of 100 different wines you can enjoy by the glass. These wines are hand-selected by Maeve. Add to the attention to detail with the wine choices by having fun with Fleming’s wine pads. This is an iPad solely dedicated to your wine tasting experience, and on the spot you can email yourself the tasting notes from the professionals. I laughed at myself the next day when I counted six tasting note emails I had sent to myself. We were pleased to see McPherson Cellars Roussanne and Pedernales Cellars GSM among the Fleming’s 100. Yes, Texas wine. And Maeve along with Leah Hastings, the Regional Service Manager, noted they were enjoying the effort in making just the right choices for Texas wines to join the Fleming’s 100.

After spending time in the Vintner’s Suite where all 100 wines were available for the tasting as well as some special “opens” for the party, we were treated to a special dinner menu with what felt like a choice of everything. I do not want to overlook telling you how fabulous my steak was—Aged Bone-In Ribeye prepared just the way I like it with an Oscar style optional “dress-up”. WOW! All of the available sides from the kitchen were shared with us to sample, and our choice of dessert. Oh the cobbler. Go there for cobbler and bubbles. You will not be disappointed.

On our departure, we were escorted to the valet and given a neat Fleming’s wine crate. Inside we found a box of truffles, beautiful bottle of wine, a Fleming’s crystal wine glass, and an invitation to return from Chef Partner Travis Herbert including $50 from the house toward our next dining experience. Our invitation even included an Uber offer just in case the Fleming’s 100 were really enjoyed more thoroughly than planned.

We didn’t have to Uber, but we did return a week later with friends to refresh ourselves a little bit ahead of preparing this story. Yes, you guessed it. The cobbler and the bubbles were my repeat fun experience at Fleming’s. The team members we made friends with, Mark, Eric, and Jill, were all pleased to see us back so soon, and we enjoyed several nods from the gents behind the bar.