Texas Wine Trip: Days Five through Seven

For those who are just jumping in, Hubby and I are in Texas. I have a conference here in San Antonio next week, so we came early to explore Austin and Texas wine country. I'm a couple of days behind due to inconsistent internet access, so this is going to be a long one.

Austin:

We started out on Wednesday at the Blanton Museum of Art on the University of Texas campus. They had a special Matisse exhibit and some great European art. I'll admit we don't really get that much into modern art, which they're heavy on, but those who are would probably like it.

After the art museum, we found our way to "The Drag," which runs along Guadalupe Street for lunch and then wandered back through campus to the parking deck. It's a beautiful campus, and now I have a better idea of the University of Texas other than "that football team whose sole purpose is to annoy Ohio State." They even have a fountain that spews water roughly the color of margaritas (no, I didn't taste it):



After that, the heat chased us inside back to Cork & Co wine bar, where we had a few glasses, a cheese plate, and got to hang out with Alex from www.wines.com and Personal Wine. I don't have a picture of Alex, but here's the cheese plate:



By then, it was storming, so I still didn't get to see the bats. We ran back to our hotel in the rain, changed, and ate dinner at Sullivans Steakhouse, where they're having a great summer prix fixe of three courses for two for $69. We enjoyed everything we ate, which was typical steakhouse fare.

Back to wine country...

We took off early after breakfast at Bakerman's Bakery, where we split an amazing turkey and Swiss cheese croissant. The chocolate fudge brownie I'd gotten the day before was great, too. This is a place I'll seek out should I ever return to Austin.

Our first stop was Texas Hills Vineyard, where Camille welcomed us into the tasting room and made us feel right at home. We also thought the sign in the bathroom was funny:



The highlights:

2006 Syrah
Dark cherry and plum aromas balanced with smooth spice on the palate.
Rating: Very Good (but not quite $75 good)

2006 Kick Butt Cabernet Sauvignon:
Smoky nose, medium-bodied with a little leather. Berry-smooth.
Rating: Very Good

2006 Kick Butt Cabernet Sauvignon:
Smoky nose, medium-bodied with a little leather. Berry-smooth and a little tart.
Rating: Very Good

2007 Kick Butt Cabernet Sauvignon:
Earthy nose with bigger fruit. Very smooth on its own.
Rating: Very Good
This one is also award-winning. The trophy? Yep, you guessed it, big belt buckle:



We liked all the sweet wines as well, especially with chocolate. I talked with winemaker Gary Gilstrap, who said he is most proud that all his wines are good. I agree – I rated all of them as good or above.

We'd seen a low-slung brick building that wafted aromas of smoked meat out on to the road on the way in and returned to Ronnie's BBQ for lunch. We each had a huge sandwich – Hubby's was sausage, mine turkey – prepared by Ronnie himself. If we were impressed with Texas barbecue before, we really are now.

The place:



The equipment:



The owner:



The first stop after lunch, Pedernales Cellars, had the best views of the hill country wineries we'd visited. They're known for their Viognier and Tempranillo. Highlights there included the 2008 Garnacha rosé, 2008 Merlot, and 2007 Family Reserve blend of mostly Cabernet Sauvignon with a little Merlot and Tempranillo. With space in Bertha the wine safe at a premium, we didn't get anything there.

Woodrose Winery had a beautiful back patio where we were seated for tasting. It was like being on my parents' back porch at home with all the trees. Again, the wines were good, but nothing wanted to come home with us.

One of the fun things about tasting wine in Texas has been what I've called the Texas terroir. We could hear cows mooing from several tasting venues, and driving to the wineries was fun because we'd see fields of cows, cross cattle rails on roads, and then suddenly – grapes! Indeed, the driveway to Becker Vineyards has corn on one side and grapes on the other. However, they do have an elegant tasting building:



They also offer souvenirs:



We'd been told by several that Becker is the "Big Dog" of Texas wineries, and they did have a long tasting list. We stuck with reds. Highlights included:

2008 Claret: A Bordeaux blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Malbec, and Petit Verdot
Savory fruit nose and nice smooth palate.
Rating: Very Good

2008 Zinfandel:
Again, nice smooth fruit.
Rating: Very Good

2008 Syrah:
Blackberry nose, medium-bodied and fruity
Rating: Very Good to Excellent

2009 Reserve Cabernet Franc:
A little more acidic with a buttery finish, but already good. Probably wants more bottle time.
Rating: Very Good

2007 Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve:
Nice fruit with cedar and caramel.
Rating: Very Good

Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve (High Plains):
Dryer, but still great fruit.
Rating: Very Good to Excellent

Uh, oh. We got three bottles, the Claret, 2008 Syrah, and High Plains Cabernet Sauvignon. That meant we arrived in Fredericksburg with one spot left in Bertha, several tasting rooms to explore, and one or two more wineries to visit. The tasting room quandary solved itself because by the time we got to Town Creek B&B, checked in, and made it back to town, Fredericksburg had pretty much rolled up the streets. Yep, most of the shops and tasting rooms close at 5:30. We did find two notable exceptions:

Mar Silver Jewelry, where the jewelry prices are seriously low for the beautiful handmade pieces. I got two pendants and a chain. If you know me, you know I wear the same pieces all the time, so you know I was wowed if I'm willing to introduce others into the rotation.

Lincoln Street Wine Bar, where "Director of Nectar" Dave Shaw poured and kept us entertained for a couple of hours until we went to find dinner.

Friday (yesterday) found us back in downtown Fredericksburg after an incredible breakfast at the B&B. We stopped by a few more shops and one of the tasting rooms, and decided to head out to Chisolm Trail Winery, which everyone had described as "cute." They hadn't told us how good the wines are. The cuteness factor was, of course, upped by the winery critters.

Donkeys:


Winery cat C.J.:


Our favorite wines:

2008 Belle Starr: Blanc Du Bois
Blanc Du Bois is a white grape with nose of pineapple and apple with great tropical fruit on the palate.
Rating: Very Good

2007 Lone Wolf: Lenoir
Lenoir is a red grape, also known as Black Spanish, that was developed from Spanish root stock brought over 300 years ago and hybridized with native grapes and root stock from Georgia. Or not. No one is really sure, but it's yummy with blackberry jam nose and tartness on the palate.
Rating: Very Good

Lil's Red Satin: Cabernet Sauvignon
Again, very berry/cherry nose with bright fruit and medium body. I might chill this one down a little and sip it on the back porch.
Rating: Very Good

We got two bottles, the Belle Starr and Lil's Red Satin. That meant we were one over in Bertha, but we took care of that last night with some Claret before dinner.

I'm in San Antonio until Thursday, but I'll be conferencing and need to give my Random Writings blogsome attention, both with regard to content and to get back to the serial I'm writing for The Penny Dreadful, so look for occasional notes on particularly great San Antonio dining experiences while I'm here. And, of course, I'll be tweeting daily. As for drinking, there will likely be lots of these:



Disclosure: We got free tastings and a discount at Texas Hills for being "industry." I felt guilty, so I didn't try for that anywhere else. I would have still rated all the wines as good or above even if they hadn't treated us so nicely.

Texas Wine Trip: Day Two

For those who don't know, Hubby and I are in Texas this week tasting wine and exploring cuisine. I have a conference in San Antonio the second week of June, so we came over a week early to check out Texas wine, food, and scenery. We're exploring the hill country and Austin.

Day Two:
Wineries visited: 5
Thoughts about work: ~10, but had work-related stress dreams
Snakes in the car air conditioner vent: 0, but we did have to watch out for loose livestock. In case you were wondering, cows are really big.



If you're familiar with Hubby's and my typical wine trips, the fact that we left our hotel at 11:30 a.m. and got back around 5:30 p.m. and only visited five wineries attests to the fact that things are freakin' far apart in Texas. The "Hill Country" is still pretty wild in parts, and we even saw one place that had a zebra and camel behind its wire fencing. At that point, I couldn't help but wonder just how far we'd driven.

We started at Stone House Vineyard in Spicewood, which is south of Marble Falls. They have a basic tasting for $5, reserve for $10, and dessert wine tasting for $7, but if you get the basic and reserve tastings, they'll add the dessert for free. Their owner and winemaker is Australian, and so most of the grapes or juice or wines (I wasn't really clear as to when it comes to Texas) are sourced from Barossa Valley and other Australian AVAs. Our favorites:



2006 Claros: 100% Norton grown on site (see picture)
Spicy and a little raisin.
Rating: Very Good

2008 Shiraz (Barossa, Australia):
Nice and smooth with good, dark fruit.
Rating: Good to Very Good

The outside Stone House tasting area:


Our next stop was Spicewood Vineyards. They pour a nice lineup for $2 per person per tasting. They, too, source some of their fruit from elsewhere, namely Columbia Valley. I surprised myself and Hubby by really liking the Chardonnay, which is aged in stainless steel, and -- are you sitting down? -- new French oak. It's a little smoky/nutty on the nose, but beautifully balanced with pear, melon, and almond. I rated it Very Good, and yes, it's from Texas fruit.

Spicewood Tasting Room building:


We went for lunch at Flat Creek Estate, where we were supposed to meet up with a college friend who now lives in Houston. She couldn't make it, but we had a great lunch at the Bistro and enjoyed the view:



I had the brie and blackberry jam sandwich, and Hubby got the special flatbread, which had mushrooms, tomatoes, chicken, and some sort of special cheese in addition to mozzarella. Sorry, we didn't get pictures because we were hungry. I had a glass of the 2008 Pinot Grigio, which was very floral and had good melon and citrus to it, and Hubby had the "Super-Texan," mostly Sangiovese and medium-bodied with bright fruit. Both played well with food. We tried to do a tasting of other wines, but the tasting room was a little crowded and understaffed because they, like many of the other wineries we talked to, expected that the crowds would be in Austin for the Wine & Jazz Festival and not visiting the wineries.



After a long drive through some narrow roads, we arrived at Texas Legato, which we were intrigued by because they offer Malbec. Our favorites:

2007 Family Reunion: blend of Merlot, Malbec, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Petit Syrah, which, according to the label are "from Texas and California"
A nice, medium-bodied red with bright fruit and smooth tannins. It would be great slightly chilled and sipped on the back porch.
Rating: Very Good to Excellent

2008 Malbec: blended with 3% Cabernet Sauvignon
Coffee and cassis nose. Full, dark fruit and very smooth.
Rating: Very Good

2008 Cabernet Sauvignon:
Cranberry-cherry nose. Definitely tart and with good acidity. Wants MEAT.
Rating: Very Good to Excellent

We got the Family Reunion and Cabernet Sauvignon.


Rudy the winery dog at Pillar Bluff

The final stop of the day's tasting was Pillar Bluff, where I got a little distracted from the wines by the cute winery animals. First, there was Rudy, the winery dog, and then Pistol, the winery cat. Our favorites:

2006 Boar Doe: No, this isn't a spelling error on my part or a wacky Spellcheck correction, this is how they put it on the label:



It had a big fruit nose, nicely balanced fruit and acidity, and very dry finish.
Rating: Very Good

2007 Founders Red: blend of 40% Cabernet Sauvignon, 40% Merlot, 15% Cabernet Franc, and 5% combined Petit Verdot and Malbec (same blend as Boar Doe)
With 2% residual sugar, it's a little sweet, but lovely raspberry and cherry flavors. Another great summer sipper.
Rating: Very Good


Pistol the winery cat

My GPS took us through some very scenic spots, most of which don't have a place to pull off, and Texas ranch roads and farm roads and random county roads don't have much in the way of shoulders. He did get this one:



FYI, all the pictures in this post and the previous one were by Hubby with his spiffy new camera. He's doing a great job with his new toy, and I feel like a big shot blogger with a cameraman.

Texas Wine Trip: Day One

For those who don't know, Hubby and I are in Texas this week tasting wine and otherwise getting into trouble (but not too much trouble -- don't worry, Mom!). I have a conference in San Antonio the second week of June, so we came over a week early to check out Texas wine, food, and scenery. We're exploring the hill country and Austin.

Day One:
Wineries visited: 1
Thoughts about work: ~15
Snakes in the car air conditioner vent: 0

Hubby and I listened to NPR's Wait, Wait, Don't Tell me! news quiz this morning between taking a very unhappy diabetic gray cat to the vet for boarding and deciding to leave the car in the PreFlight covered parking in case of hail. They mentioned this story, which happened in Austin. Yep, apparently the snakes in Texas get frisky. We both kept a close eye on the a/c vents in the rental car and will continue to do so as we travel around and in Texas hill country.

The trip itself went smoothly, for which we were grateful. Apparently a very bad combination of weather and the new federal laws about tarmac wait time combined to create headaches for quite a few travelers last night, and the Atlanta airport was crazy busy today. Our flight left Atlanta and arrived in San Antonio generally on time. We picked up the rental car and headed north in search of Texas wine:



Our first stop, about an hour north of San Antonio, was the Mandola Estate Winery. They had followed me on Twitter and tweet under the #TXWine hashtag, so my curiosity had been piqued. Even better, they were open until 9:00, which was perfect since we didn't get to the area until 6, after all of the others had closed. We would have gone anyway because of their focus on Italian varietals.

Mandola Estates started in August 2006 with juice sourced from California and moved quickly to Texas grapes. They get some of their fruit from the High Plains AVA near Lubbock and grow some of their own. Thanks to Bill Elsey for sharing that information with me and connecting on Twitter. The only complaint I have is that the tasting room gets a bit noisy when crowded because of the rustic Italian stone construction.



I didn't rate any wines below a Good, so here were the highlights:

2008 Viognier:
Grape-perfume nose, but good stone fruit and citrus. Not at all syrupy.
Rating: Very Good

2008 Vermentino:
Grapefruit nose, pear and herb on the palate. Like a Sauv Blanc, but herby instead of grassy.
Rating: Very Good

2008 Dry Rosé:
Made from Cabernet, tart and spicy cherry/strawberry.
Rating: Very Good to Excellent

2008 Aglianico: Grape exclusive to this winery
Tobacco and dark fruit nose, plummy supported by tobacco with a smooth but leathery finish.
Rating: Very Good

2008 Spino-Montepulciano:
Smoky nose, but great fruit moving to the darker side with more depth
Rating: Very Good to Excellent

2008 Rosso:
Blend of Cab and Merlot, this one has dark fruit and spice with some cedar notes.
Rating: Very Good to Excellent

We got bottles of the Rosé and Rosso. The Rosé came to dinner with us at Salt Lick Barbecue, which we had gotten several recommendations for. It's BYOB, so we had to ask for cups for sipping while we waited:



And it was a bit of a wait:



We actually ended up only waiting for 45 minutes, and it was worth it. Here's a picture of the "pit:"



And the plate:



Yes, that's sausage, beef brisket, and a pork rib with cole slaw, potato salad, and beans. The sauce, Salt Lick's secret recipe, is more vinegary and mustardy and not at all tomato-ey. It's also a little sweet. We debated on how to describe it, and the only thing we could agree on was that it's really good.

Oh, and it's true that Texans wear their cowboy boots all year long, even when it's 90 degrees outside. There's even a statue to honor the almighty boot:



Tomorrow's agenda: meeting up with a college friend at Flat Creek Estate winery for "Jammin' in the Vineyard"

Disclosure: Mandola comped our tasting. When I asked why for clarification, I was told it was "for being a fan and supporter." They did know I was a wine blogger through the Twitter connection.