Shyler D CD Release Party
Burnet TX...Shyler D launches his music career
Texas vs The World Roussanne 2015 on Another Bottle Down
The top rated Texas Roussanne featured in an on-air blind tasting of world Roussannes from France, Austrailia and California. Original air date was October 7th 2015 and featured Jouranl judges Margaret Shugart and Scott Ota and Fall Creek Vineyards winemaker Sergio Cuadra.
Torr Na Lochs Vineyard & Winery
Texas Hill Country Vineyard & Winery Opening 2015! We hope that you will visit us soon at Torr Na Lochs – our hill over the lakes – and sip our estate wines as you overlook Lake Buchanan and Inks Lake.
Duchman Family Winery -- Driftwood, Texas
Founded in 2004, this Italian style winery in Texas is making good, affordable wines. Some Texas wine lovers will remember this place as Mandola Winery, which has since been sold. (Not to worry though, the Mandola's have a restaurant conveniently located next door.) One will first notice the vast vineyards that have been planted at the estate with a wide variety of grapes. The wine selection is well balanced between white and reds. The majority of the wines are crafted in a dry style, yet there are a few sweeter and dessert wines available in the mix. The Montepulciano should not be missed! An upscale restaurant on the premises has one of the more unique views of the vineyard and the Hill Country. When visiting, sit back under the oak trees at one of the picnic tables with your favorite bottle and enjoy this piece of Italy in Texas. Salute!
duchmanfamilywinery.com
Hye Meadow Winery -- Hye, Texas
A brand spanking new winery is in the Texas Hill Country! In fact, it's so new that it's still under construction! Well, that doesn't prevent this winery entrepreneur from unofficially opening up their doors. Owners Mike & Denise Batek may have started ankle deep in the winery business with a couple of barrels over at William & Chris Winery, but now they are all in and there's no turning back. Besides a hope and a dream, Mike is a graduate of Texas Tech's viticulture program. Along with Jeff Ivy, the winemaker, these two gents are working on building a fine facility in Hye as well as making some great wine. The wine production building is where tasting is currently done. It is quite spacious and looks like it has capacity for their current and future needs. There are currently five wines available for tasting. All grapes were sourced from Washington, but don't let that dissuade you from trying them (sometimes when wineries get started, they have to source grapes from out of state until they get their own vineyard situated). To our die-hard Texas wine lover readers, keep in mind that Washington has some excellent grapes. The two whites available are a Chardonnay and a Gewurztraminer blend, both 2011. The Chardonnay has about 10% Riesling for a little extra twist and is naked -- aka unoaked. It is quite crisp and fruit forward. The Edelzwicker is the 50/50 Gewurztraminer and Riesling blend. It is quite aromatic and is excellent when served chilled. The blush wine, also 2011, is not overly sweet and is very refreshing in this Texas heat. It is a Gewurztraminer with 2% Cabernet added. The two reds available are 2010 vintages. The Sangiovese has a surprisingly good depth and complexity for such a varietal. It has about 25% Cabernet added to it. The Cabernet Sauvignon is young and fresh, and should continue to age well for a couple more years. Yes, it is good to drink now, but we think it will only improve if you let the wine gods enrich the flavor a little longer. Of course, we will feature these wines more in depth in a future blog posting. Sometime in July, Mike plans on releasing wines sourced from Texas grapes (both 2011 vintages). One will be a Viognier and the other will be a red blend of Tempranillo, Merlot, and Mourvedre. Though the tasting room and event buildings are still under construction, don't let that hinder you from admiring their majestic oak trees that form the backdrop to this exciting new venue. It is quite spectacular! How could one ever say no to this piece of wine country? There are plans in the future to add a vineyard. Mike is thinking about starting with Touriga and Aglianico. Both grapes have shown great promise in quality and yield in the Texas Hill Country. Who knows, maybe a port will be in the works, too! There are some events happing at the winery starting in July (including a pig roast) with the official grand opening on July 27th. This winery is a great addition to Hye and the Texas Hill Country. Do make this one of your stops on your next wine trek. Cheers!
hyemeadow.com
The Austin Winery - Austin, Texas
Yes, Austin folks! There is a quality winery in the state's capital city that's worth your sipping time. Having just opened up over a month ago, this very small urban winery has the potential to be a big hit in the Austin scene. The three young entrepreneurs Cooper Anderson, Matthew Smith and Ross McLauchlan have started with an initial small batch of wines sourced from various west coast and Texas terroirs. Everything in a wine that a good wine fan expects is here in the lineup, from crisp whites to deep bold reds. Current wines available for tasting are made from grapes chiefly sourced from California. The Sauvignon Blanc from Lodi is a very nice crisp dry white that you'll enjoy. The Russian River Valley Chardonnay puts the B in buttery flavor and despite its long oak aging, it's not an oak wine. The three Pinot Noirs from different areas provide the opportunity to sample the influence and subtle variations of various west coast terroir on a single varietal. The Pinot Noir from Sonoma County comes across quite fruity like a Cabernet Sauvignon. The Russian River Valley Pinot Noir is quite bold and favorable. Finally, the Santa Lucia Pinot Noir is just plain awesome. Who knew one could enjoy such quality and variety of notes of Pinot Noirs in one sitting at the same winery. But don't stop there! Their Violent Crown is a Grenache/Syrah blend(80/20) that puts the w in wow. Sadly, the source for the Grenache in this vintage is no longer available, so keep a few of these around and enjoy over time. Lastly, you'll get to sip the tasty old vine Zinfandel from Shenandoah Valley. Stay tuned to this blog channel and we'll be able to go more in depth on each wine in the future. At the time of this visit, the Texas wines weren't ready to be bottled, but should be soon. Do take note of the unique art work with the labels. They help tell a story with each wine. These label art work are worth framing and displaying in your post-opened bottle room. They are currently open on Saturdays as well as by appointment. Give this new local winery a tour on your next wine adventure. It's a cool place to visit, along with Austin!
theaustinwinery.com
The World Wine Guys Visit The Hudson Valley
Mike and Jeff visit the Hudson Valley, and Hudson-Chatham Winery.
Hawk Shadow Estate Winery – Dripping Springs, Texas
Just north of Dripping Springs, but south of the Pedernales River are some spectacular Texas Hill Country views. What a perfect place to establish a vineyard and winery! This all family run business has done just that. Owners Doug Reed, Tom Reed, and Chip Concklin opened up their tasting room in February 2014 and are serving some great tasting Texas wines along with generous Texas hospitality. Tim Drake from Flat Creek has assisted with some consulting, as well. They currently have seven acres planted on the estate with one area on its fourth leaf and the other on its ninth. Varietals include: Grenache, Syrah, Sangiovese, Tempranillo, Mourvedre, Nebbiolo,and Aglianico. The vines look quite healthy and cared for. As we all know, great wine starts with great grapes. Most of what is currently available for tasting has been sourced from the Texas High Plains while the estate vineyard has been maturing. There are three whites for tasting, but by no means are these your traditional white wines. As the owners will tell you, they make and serve “red style white wine for red wine drinkers”. The 2011 Orange Muscat is dry with some tawny toasted notes, making it quite unique compared to other Orange Muscats in the state as this one is dry without the sweet side that traditionally is used for this varietal. The 2012 version (same vineyard, different year) labeled, Big O, has a bit more alcohol, but also tastes just as good yet completely different from the 2011. Who thought that dry Orange Muscats could taste this good without being sweet, but the owners have done a fine job on those two. The barrel fermented and unfiltered Chenin Blanc will initially present the buttery notes with a lovely smoothness then finishes off as citrusy. The Texas Gal, a blend of Chenin Blanc and Muscat Canelli, has a hint of sweetness but not too much. For the reds, the 2012 Tres Robles is a blend of 78% Mourvedre and the rest comprised of Malbec and Syrah. It's light oak notes compliment the very strong strawberry, pomegranate and rhubarb aromas on the nose. Their local estate produced 2011 HSV is sold out but not to worry! A new vintage is already bottled and should be released by Fall 2014. You’ll also be in for a treat with their Wild Child 2. It has a nice smokiness yet remains quite smooth. They also have a Tempranillo barrel aged in Hungarian oak for twenty months….expect this one to be superb. Twenty months is a good bench mark for the winemaker. After all, quality cannot be rushed. Also in the works is a Syrah that is quite herbaceous. It, too, will be great on its own or as a complimentary blend in the future. When we visited, they were just about ready to harvest in the next day or two as the sugar was looking good on the fruit. We sampled some of their yet to be harvested Tempranillio grapes and they had wonderful flavors and characters for this yet to be aged juice. You could tell that the 2014 Tempranillo is going to be great tasting wine and a keeper for the cellar! We really enjoyed our initial visit to this up and coming rising star for Texas Hill Country Wineries. The owners and staff (family members) are extremely friendly, make you feel comfortable and at home, and are very happy to visit with you about what is going on at the winery. Hopefully, their future crops will be fruitful and their cases will multiply! We are definitely going back to check in and see how things progress and pick up some of the new releases. Cheers and Welcome to the Texas Hill Country Winery industry Hawk Shadow!!
hawksshadow.com
Longhorn Cavern
Our tour at the Longhorn Cavern State Park in Burnet, Texas
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Music used
Bronze Whale - Say it (BAILE Remix)
Ξ Soundcloud
Rave in a Cave
Just a video of me and some friends touring the Longhorn Caverns in Burnet County, TX
My camera does nowhere near the justice this cave deserves!
Visit the caverns and take a look for yourself!
For more information on the Longhorn Caverns go to: