Texas is making Wine? Whoda Thunk?

Texas is making Wine? Whoda Thunk?

 

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As one can see, there are a LOT of Texas Wineries.  When I went to College in the late '70s,(and the drinking age at the time was 18) there were 3 wineries in Texas. Val Verde winery in Del Rio was established in 1883 making wine for the predominately Catholic populaton in the area.  It is still in operation.  The other two were Llano (pronounced Yawn Oh) Estacado and Messina Hof winery in College Station (my new home town) both of these were established in the early 70s.  I consumed quite a bit of Llano while at Tech being a poor college student and their wine being drinkable and affordable.  OK, not great wine at the time. (I thought it really good at the time, but what did I know?). Still in business and makes some pretty good reds, again not great, but again affordable and drinkable.  Messina Hof makes pretty good wines also, but I'm not a fan.  Haven't found one I really liked,  your tastes and assessments may differ.  As a wise man once told me "Nobody likes every wine, but everybody likes a wine."  

True 'Dat!

But, as I said, that was millenia ago.  Now there are 191 Wineries in the state making it the #5 largest producing State in the Nation.  One guess on who's #1.  If you said California, pat yourself on the back, but that was an easy answer.  The others were Washington, Oregon, New York and....Texas.

 Most folks are familiar with the first four, so I'm going to discuss Texas wines

When Texas first started making wine (Val Verde Winery and Religious wine being an exception), the only model out there to decide on what wine to grow was....Wait for it,  Wait for it....

Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay!  There's a reason for that.  If you look at the climate of all four states, they are fairly cool.  Cab Sauv and Chardonnay grapes love cool weather.  Texas is not known for that feature.

But, the wine growers went and visited and learned from the vineyards there.  Came home and planted....you guessed it, Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay.  The plants grew ok, but didn't usually develop the flavors and characteristics that the two wines were expected to have.  They tended to be a bit thin in mouth feel (Not a good sign.)

So...On with the story of my eight wineries.  

 

Texas Hills Vineyard

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Texas Hills Winery is just outside Johnson City, Texas about 30 miles west of Austin.  Established by retired pharmacists Gary and Kathy Gilstrap, they fell into the trap of Cab and Chard, but quickly realized after a visit to Italy (where the climate is a bit more like Texas) that just maybe some other grapes would do better.  So they replanted (They kept some Cab because of the deep red color they could add to other reds).  Tempranillo, Shiraz, Sangiovese, and Grenache were planted.  A lot of hard work, mixing grapes, swirling, sniffing, tasting, and those wines became best sellers.  Unfortunately, Gary passed away a couple of years ago, so Kathy sold the winery.  It's still in business, just doesn't have the joie de vivre for Mrs J and I.  Not only did we love their wine, but the 4 of us have literally been around the world together.  Thanks Guys, it was great while it lasted.

 

Val Verde Winery 

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 As one can likely ascertain, Val Verde Winery is the oldest winery in the state.  Growing grapes and making wine wasn't as automated then as it might be now.  But....They're still around.  While going through pilot training in Del Rio, we would visit them and taste their wines.  Not bad, but I was in the "Sweet wine" state of a wine lover's career.  (I got over that as I got older).

The winery's history can be found here. Pretty interesting, They're still in the winery's original 1883 building.  Haven't been down there in quite a while, so can't/won't comment on their wines.

Yes, Beans, it's only about a 5 hour drive down there, what am I waiting for.

Anyhow, on with the wineries I'm a bit more familiar with.

 

Becker Vineyards 

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 Becker Vineyards was started by Dr Richard Becker and wife, Bunny. They bought land in the Fredericksburg area in the early '90s and started planting vines.  Today, their winery is one of the best wineries in the state.  As mentioned before, Cabernet Sauvignon is a difficult wine to grow and their Cab is very much the exception to the "Good Cab Sauv can't be made in Texas."  Their other wines are also very good.  Highly recommended.

 

Grape Creek Vineyards  

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Grape Creek was founded by Ned Sims. He and his wife bought the land and started planting grapes in the late 80's. I've written about Ned a few times, one was just a few weeks ago.   It's a good story, I'll wait.  Their wines are also very good.  Makes a nice Merlot and a Cab/Merlot blend.  As a WWII vet, (invaded, Guadalcanal, Saipan and Tinian) he was getting on in years. On his passing, the winery was sold and bought by Heath Family Brands.

 

 Sister Creek Winery

Yes, that IS the Sister Creek winery and tasting room

Sister Creek Vineyards is a bit off the beaten path being in Sisterdale TX (pop. 25)(sistercreekvineyards.com) Established 1988, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot are their wines.  All very good.  There Chardonnay is one of the VERY Few I will drink. 

 

 Llano Estacado Winery

Llanowine.com

 

Llano Estacado was founded in 1976.  First wine that I drank on my own.  Texas had just passed a drinking age bill that allowed 18 year olds to consume alcohol. Their Grape Vineyard is in Lubbock because the climate conditions are very amenable to wine grapes.  Dry, flat soil with few bugs and/or heavy rain conditions. I assess their wines to be middle of the road.  Pretty good for day to day consumption, but not for a high-falutin dinner party.

 

Messina Hof Winery 

tourtexas.com

 

Messina Hof Winery.  Located in Bryan Texas (close to where we live now). winery is also one of the oldest wineries in the state.  Much like Llano Estacado, it's not bad wine, but more of a consumer "grab a bottle for dinner" wine.  A lot of it is sold, just not my cup of tea (Glass of wine?). 

 

Fredericksburg Winery

  

Fredericksburg Winery Established in1996 by two brothers, both Army Vets.  Most of their wine is fruit flavored.  Again, not my style wine, but a lot of it is sold. To each his own. The winery is located within the City Limits of FBG which attracts the tourist trade. One doesn't have to drive from, and more importantly to, their B&B...

As I mentioned earlier, Texas has been making wine for a long time (since 1650) but it hasn't taken off until recently.  Recently being 30-40 years.  With a little bit of exploring, you can find (and consume) some really good wines.  C'mon Down!

Peace out, y'all!