Texas Wine Gal

Lucky girl

Yes, I really am one of the luckiest people I know.  I spend lots of my time enjoying wine and visiting Texas wineries.  The best part is the friends I travel with and the friends I make along the way, including the winemakers, winery owners and grape growers in the Texas wine industry.

This weekend, Jessica Dupuy of Texas Monthly, Alissa Leehner with SAHMmelier, Margaret Shugart with Wine Roads of Texas and I headed out for a Texas wine journey. 

Destination: Mason and Pontotoc. 

Of course, we had to make a few stops along the way, starting with Hye. Texas and William Chris Vineyards.

Tasting with Chris Brundrett of William Chris.

My two favs:

Next stop: 4.0 Cellars — the tasting room with McPherson Cellars, Brennan Vineyards and Lost Oak Winery.

Had to pick up Brennan Vineyards Lily and Buffalo Roam.

Next up:  Mason and swinging by Sandstone Cellars.

Scott Haupert with Sandstone Cellars

Beautiful, rich, dry reds powered by Touriga

I went home with this piece of art — not sure I will ever want to open it because it’s so beautiful!

Sandstone NV Port

#happygirl

Cheers!

Chillin’ with Cowboys and Gauchos

The Wine and Food Foundation of Texas has some killer events, and today’s Cowboys and Gauchos was one of them — super fun and laid back, with great wines and amazing BBQ meats prepared by local chefs.

The wines were primarily from Texas and Uruguay, both countries sharing similar climates.  More and more Texas wineries are making wines from Uruguay’s Tannat grape — including Bending Branch and Alamosa Wine Cellars, which includes Tannat in its Texacaia red blend. Alamosa’s Jim and Karen Johnson have also been pleased with their Graciano, the first of this Spanish varietal to be produced in Texas.  Super nice wine with chocolate-cherry flavor.

My wine favorites included some new Texas wines I have not tasted before:  Becker Vineyards Provencal Rose, the first Provencal made by their new winemaker John Leahy, and Flat Creek Estate’s Cuvee Blanc and Tempranillo.  I also enjoyed old favorites including the McPherson Cellars Albarino,  Duchman Family Winery Vermentino and the Pederales Cellars GSM.

Hye Meadows Winery is set to open in several months and will offer wines from Washington state, including a lovely Edelzwicker, Chardonnay and Sangiovese. Today, they shared a tank sample of their first Texas Tempranillo.

My food favorites: Jack Allen’s cabrito tacos and Cafe Josie glazed pork with a sweet sauce and served with the most amazing, super crisp sweet but peppery cookie. 

Salt Lick Pavilion meat pit

Jim and Karen Johnson with Alamosa Graciano

Alyssa @Sahmmelier and Matt @whatareyoudrinking

Hye Meadow Winery owners Mike and Denise Batek with Matt McGinnis

Hye Meadow Winery wines

David Mayfield, king of Tannat and importer of Uruguay wines

John Bratcher and Kassie McPherson, McPherson Cellars

Cheers!

Texas Monthly Top 20 Wine Picks for 2012

My friend Jessica Dupuy with Texas Monthly has shared her Top 20 favorite Texas wines — and lucky for me, I have tasted most of these.  I must admit the Brennan Vineyards Lily, the Duchman Winery Vermentino and Trebbiano and Perissos Roussanne are among my favorite white white wines.

For the reds, I am intrigued that two of the Top Reds are Nero D’Avola.  I have not tried either of these wines but will pick them up soon! I love the McPherson Sangiovese and William Chris Hunter for lighter style reds, and the Pedernales Tempranillo Reserve and the Pontotoc Vineyard San Fernando Academy when I’m hankering for something with some weight.

While I was getting over bronchitis last week, I sipped on the Hilmy Cellars Muscat Canelli and it was like enjoying a Clementine. It has nice acid to balance out its slight sweetness.  The Messina Hof Moscato is also a nice dessert wine that is not too sweet.

Go try some of these wines and let me know how you liked them!

Cheers!

Summer Sipper

Back from vacation, which included enjoying lots of great wine at Topsail Beach, NC, I decided to open what will be one of my favorite summer sippers — the McPherson Cellars Les Copains.  This white Rhone blend of Viognier, Grenache Blanc and Roussanne is killer.

The Viognier gives it a nice floral nose but it jumps with peach and apricot flavors, with beautiful acidity and balance.  It’s a steal at less than $15.

Hello summer!

Albarino in Texas?

Since hearing that McPherson Cellars in Lubbock had made an Albarino wine, I have been anxious to try it.  A silver medal winner in the Dallas Morning News and TEXSOM Competition and the New World International Wine Competition, the McPherson Cellars 2011 Albarino Castano Prado Vineyards has lots of fruit aromas (peaches and stone fruit) and nice acid, providing a well-balanced wine.

This is my kind of summer sipper.  It’s only available at the winery in Lubbock and the new 4.0 Cellars winery and tasting room in the Texas Hill Country.

Road trip anyone?

Wine Wednesday - Regional Wine Week

This week marks Regional Wine Week, a time to celebrate great local wines.  This is easy for me given that I enjoy a Texas wine at least once a week.  In fact, all the beer and wine served at my daughter’s wedding next weekend will be from Texas (more details to come).

I love this post from Pia Mara Finkell (@piamara) today about how people enjoy growing their own produce, buying from farmer’s markets, going to locavore restaurants, yet they don’t always buy and drink local wines.

I hope more people will try local wines and see that “what grows together goes together.”

Tonight, I picked up two Texas wines at Specs — both around or less than $10. 

McPherson Roussanne — an incredible white that you should definitely try

McPherson La Herencia — a new red blend of Tempranillo, Mourvedre, Grenache, Carignan and Syrah. Can’t wait to try this!

Rose Wines Still Have My Heart

With summer officially over, it’s time to move to those hearty, big reds that warm you all over.  But since I’m in Texas and it’ still 90 degrees, I am not quite ready to give up my white and rose wines.

In fact, at a tasting last week, I enjoyed Driftwood Estate Winery’s Dry Rose made of 100 percent estate Syrah.  Lots of strawberry, with a hint of spice on the finish, beautifully dry.  If you haven’t been to Driftwood Estate Winery, what are you waiting for?  It’s got a killer Hill Country view!

Other Texas wineries making great dry rose wines: Becker Vineyards, Bending Branch (made from Tannat!), Messina Hof, and McPherson Cellars .

Below: Gary Elliott, Driftwood Estate Winery

Wine Week Extraordinaire

I had three wine events last week — crazy but wonderful. First, the Texas Wine Twitter Tuesday.  Sandstone Cellars’ Don Pullum (@AkashicVineyard on Twitter) paired Texas wines with gazpacho, lamb kebabs and ice cream with apricot jam topping.  We tasted the wines with each dish, alone and with different garnishes, to see how the wines changed with the different flavors.

Texas Monthly wine gal Jessica Dupuy (@jdewps) and Austin’s newest Master Sommelier Devon Broglie (@DevOnWine) with Whole Foods Market joined me, Jenny and Bobby from the Texas wine team at my house to taste and Tweet along with Russ Kane of Vintage Texas and other wine friends around the state.

Besides the three Texas wines we tasted with the meal —Duchman Dolcetto, Haak Tempranillo and Texas Hills Orange Muscat — we also shared the McPherson Roussanne and William Chris Emotion (both super nice additions!).

What a great way to spend a Tuesday!