Texas Hills Vineyard -- Johnson City, Texas
No matter where your Texas winery adventures take you, don't miss this winery located off of U.S HWY 290 just east of Johnson City. The vineyard is settled near the Perdernales River Valley. With a variety of Italian style wines to choose from, you'll find some good wine selections. From the Kick-butt Cab to the soothing Ruby Port, we're sure you'll squeeze some space in your cellar for these bottles. The wine selection continues to grow over the years at this winery and they continue to add new varietals to their menu. During the fall they offer a wine stomp and there are other events throughout the year, to tempt you to stop in and enjoy yourself. Make sure to stop in and sample, as you should be able to find something you like here.
texashillsvineyard.com
Llano Estacado Winery -- Lubbock, Texas
Who would of thought in the 1970's that a couple of professors from Texas Tech would actually try to figure out how to grow grape vines and make wine in the Texas High Plains? Never underestimate the curiosity of mad scientists and what they can do! As it turns out the long, hot and dry summers and cool nights meld nicely with the well drained sandy loam soil creating the perfect growing environment. These environmental conditions result in a good balance of sugar and acidity levels in the grapes. Today, this winery has established itself as one of the larger premier wine producers in the state. Here, you'll find almost two dozen or more selections that will please just about the entire spectrum of any Texas wine lover. This place has also helped lay the foundation for Texas viticulture and wine making. The original vines that got things kicked off were actually planted well before the scientists started thinking of wine making and were stumbled upon when road construction was going to take place in the area. Given the uniqueness of the find, a call was made and the rest is history! Who knows who planted the original vines, we only agree that Texas High Plains definitely do produce some of the most outstanding grapes in the state. Eureka...what a discovery!
llanowine.com
Pheasant Ridge Winery Auction - Lubbock, TX
Pheasant Ridge Winery is an award-winning winery in the Texas High Plains American Viticultural Area near Lubbock, TX. Founded in 1979, Pheasant Ridge winery is one of the first of the Texas wineries and an early pioneer of commercial wine making in the state. It is one of Texas' oldest Vinifera Vineyards with 100% estate grown grapes.
Pheasant Ridge Winery will sell at auction on November 6th at 12 EST.
For more information on the auction, please visit:
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
Lost Draw Cellars – Fredericksburg, Texas
Located in the Texas High Plains, Lost Draw Vineyards has done their best at contributing to the Texas wine industry by producing some great grapes. Many Texas winemakers can thank Lost Draw Vineyards for producing some top quality grapes for any number of wines produced by state wineries. Wine lovers know full well that good wine starts with good grapes….no ifs, ands or buts. In Fredericksburg, you can now find their tasting room, Lost Draw Cellars - a collaboration of partners Troy Ottmers, Andrew Sides, and Andy Timmons. Kim McPherson is also helping out with their initial wine making. At the Fredericksburg tasting room (opened last Nov 21st) you’ll be able to taste many of their quality wines. The late freeze of 2013 was a detriment to many Texas high plains vineyards. As a result, not all 2013 Texas vintages will be sourced from Texas grapes as wineries supplemented much of their grapes from New Mexico, California, and Washington. Lost Draw Vineyards has since installed a wind machine to help combat late freezes and proved its worth during an April 2014 freeze. Currently, there are eight wines for tasting. For whites, start with the 2013 Arroyo Blanco. It’s a blend of Chenin Blanc, Viognier and Roussanne that has good character and quite smooth. Next, try the Gemutlichkeit. It's blended with Grenache Blanc, Viognier, and Roussanne that comes across as crisp and dry. The other white is a Gewürztraminer. It’s a really good one to sip and swirl on a lazy afternoon. End off the white list with their very nice and refreshing French Colombard. Now on to the reds! The Arroyo Rojo is a Mourvedre, Grenache, Carignan blend with a touch of Viognier. It's a good enjoyable mellow red wine. Their Tempranillo is a great one that lives up to the Texas reputation as Tempranillo country. It has good aroma, color, and quite fruit forward. Lastly, you’ll savor the Sangiovese red wine. This one is the star of the show! Made from 40 year old vines (yes 40 year old Texas vines), it just has that quality taste and finish you’d expect from old world wines. Sadly, we heard that Lost Draw will be pulling up these old vines, so this is likely one of the last vintages for their old Sangiovese grape vines. The Arroyo Blush is a blend of Grenache, Mourvedre, and Cinsault that is a bit sweet and refreshing when chilled with some tangerine like notes. It’s always great to visit a winery when they first open. The staff here are warm and welcoming and will treat you wonderfully. Troy can be found at the tasting room and is a good friendly guy to chat with, too. So come check them out when you’re in town and enjoy Fredericksburg's newest winery and tasting room as we don't think you'll be disappointed!
lostdrawcellars.com
Solaro Estate Winery -- Dripping Springs, Texas
One of the newest boutique wineries to open in Texas is making some high quality robust reds that will make you want to come back for seconds and thirds. Winemaking can be both an art and a science and this winemaker has done a superb job balancing both skills. This winery ...is dedicated to creating pure Texas pleasure via the grape with mostly 100% Texas sourced grapes from single sourced vineyards. Over half of their wines use Texas sourced grapes, making this winery a must visit for those truly passionate about more locally and Texas sourced products and wines. Their current lineup is all about the reds, with every one well worth sipping and enjoying. They cater to dry reds and are doing a fantastic job producing them, with Rieslings and Muscat soon to follow later this fall or early winter. The tasting room is a delightful spot with floor and ceiling windows allowing visitors to soak up some beautiful Texas hill country scenery of distant rolling hills amid the foreground of grapevines, while savoring the fruits of the harvest.
Driftwood Estate Winery - Bottling Our Wines
Driftwood Estate Winery produces over 5,000 cases of wine a year. Here, we see the Driftwood Estate Winery Team hard at work on bottling a new batch of wine!
Haak Winery -- Santa Fe, Texas
Nestled along the Texas gulf coast in Galveston County, is a winery that has some great tasting Blanc du Bois and sweet red blush wines. This winery has been in business for some time and is often very lively on the weekends with events frequently scheduled on their back patio, which often include live music and an opportunity to enjoy the entertainment while meeting other wine enthusiasts. There is a generous sampling of wine related gifts and food pairing options available in their gift shop and a growing list of wines offered on their menu. Though there are both dry and sweet wines available, we found the sweets to be more of their specialty. Dessert wines are also available and should not be missed.
Rosemary's Vineyard & Winery - La Grange, Tx
The folks here started up this winery about seven years ago. Located along the rolling hills on HWY 71, they are situated just east of the town of La Grange. Owner, Emmett Schulze, started out with some estate grape vines in 2000, but learned by experience what grows well and what doesn't for this area. Most grapes now come from west Texas or the high plains, but they still have a few locally produced, as well. Currently, there are about seven wines for tasting located in the new bigger tasting room. Much better than the smaller one many people may have visited before. They have your traditional Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Merlot plus some nice Muscadines. They have both red and white Muscadine wines that are surprisingly smoother than some others made in Texas. Check out the Lenior, too, as its flavors should be palatable for most red wine drinkers. We think the White Zinfandel is the one you might remember most at this place. It's a very pleasant that is a lightly crisp wine that when chilled would be perfect for those hot days. This is a nice little stop as you're heading back and forth between Austin and Houston, with a country setting just off the highway, inviting you to sit a spell and relax as you enjoy the wines and the pretty scenery. The tasting room has ample space, so feel free to stop in and visit a while.
wines-made-in-texas.com
High Plains Is #1 Grape Producing Region in Texas
Dr. Ed Hellman, with the Department of Plant and Soil Sciences at Texas Tech joined Lubbock's First News on Wednesday (June 10th) to talk Viticulture (the study of grapes).
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