Texas Winemakers Gather their Pluck
….The Race for a Place on Restaurant Wine Lists is On!
Ever go to your favorite restaurant and have a dark, inky East Texas Bordeaux blend with your Steak Au Poivre? How about a well-structured Texas High Plains Tempranillo with your a garlicky ox tail tapa, a fragrant Texas Hill Country Viognier along with a wood-oven roasted rosemary chicken, or a Gulf-Coast Madeira-style wine with your chocolate bread pudding? I reckon that you likely haven’t. Not because you can’t, but frankly, they can be downright hard to find.
Some say that Texas wines are fighting a losing battle to gains slots on restaurant wine lists. However, I think that the quote from fellow Texan, Dan Rather, pretty well sums up the cup’s-half-full mentality of many in the Texas wine industry when he said…..“Put on another pot of coffee, this race isn’t going to be over for a while”. Texas wineries are just starting to get serious in the race for a place on wine lists.
More at: http://vintagetexas.com/blog/?p=587
Friday, February 27, 2009
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Texas Wine – A Matter of Economics and Quality
Christian Hill of MKE Research was “sweating nails” while standing on the podium as his leadoff presentation started the meeting of the Texas Wine and Grape Growers Association (TWGGA - www.txwines.org) in Austin on Thursday morning. Hill was being besieged by computer troubles. Having been under similar circumstances, I know how hard it is to continue the presentation while trying keep your composure and not look like a proverbial “deer in the headlights”.
Despite everyone’s efforts, he was not having much success getting his slides broadcasted for the audience the way he himself could see them on the screen of his PC. However, to his credit, he was a real trouper and continued on with his important message.
Texas by the Numbers
The technical difficulties notwithstanding, Mr. Hill’s message to the annual gathering of Texas viticulteurs was clear, concise and to the point: $1.35 Billion (Yes, billion with a capital “B”).
More at: http://vintagetexas.com/blog/?p=573
Despite everyone’s efforts, he was not having much success getting his slides broadcasted for the audience the way he himself could see them on the screen of his PC. However, to his credit, he was a real trouper and continued on with his important message.
Texas by the Numbers
The technical difficulties notwithstanding, Mr. Hill’s message to the annual gathering of Texas viticulteurs was clear, concise and to the point: $1.35 Billion (Yes, billion with a capital “B”).
More at: http://vintagetexas.com/blog/?p=573
Monday, February 23, 2009
Write Off The Vine: Texas Wine News - Texas Hill Country Wine and Food Festival Announces Texas Wine Events
Write Off The Vine: Texas Wine News - Texas Hill Country Wine and Food Festival Announces Texas Wine Events
Spring is the time to be in Texas. The sun is shining bright in a mile-high Texas sky, purple martins in flight delight the ear and eye, wild flowers paint a spectrum of colors across the friendly Tejas countryside. In April, cool lingering breezes submit refreshing afternoons and delightful evenings. It is definitely time to stop, enjoy life and get a taste of the Texas wine experience.
Note the following Texas wine events at the upcoming Texas Hill Country Wine and Food Festival in Austin Texas in April 2009.
More at: http://vintagetexas.com/blog/?p=565
Spring is the time to be in Texas. The sun is shining bright in a mile-high Texas sky, purple martins in flight delight the ear and eye, wild flowers paint a spectrum of colors across the friendly Tejas countryside. In April, cool lingering breezes submit refreshing afternoons and delightful evenings. It is definitely time to stop, enjoy life and get a taste of the Texas wine experience.
Note the following Texas wine events at the upcoming Texas Hill Country Wine and Food Festival in Austin Texas in April 2009.
More at: http://vintagetexas.com/blog/?p=565
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
North Texas Tour Entry 7 – Lone Oak Winery, Last Stop before Home
As my previous day’s travels ended, I stopped in Dennison and had dinner with friend and writing colleague, Henry Chappell. The day was getting late and after dinner we made our way to his house on Lake Texoma in time to see the last rays of winter sun glancing on the lake through the winter-denuded trees. We talked until late into the evening while sharing a bottle of a decade old Texas Cabernet in the company of his two dogs. We had a wide range of topics….wine, history, kids, corporate life, dogs, writing and back to wine; sharing stories of our past.
After my early Sunday start from Lake Texoma, I arrived just before noon at Lone Oak Winery. I sat with its owner Gene Estes and we talked about his entry and efforts into the world of Texas wine that has found a new use for the areas limestone, sand and gravel.
More at: http://vintagetexas.com/blog/?p=542
After my early Sunday start from Lake Texoma, I arrived just before noon at Lone Oak Winery. I sat with its owner Gene Estes and we talked about his entry and efforts into the world of Texas wine that has found a new use for the areas limestone, sand and gravel.
More at: http://vintagetexas.com/blog/?p=542
Monday, February 16, 2009
Write Off the Vine: Texas Wine News - Upcoming Texas Wine Festivals
FEBRUARY 2009
February 19-21
2009 Annual Conference & Trade Show of the Texas Wine and Grape Growers Association, Austin
This annual event hosted by the Texas Wine and Grape Growers Association is an opportunity to network with the Texas wine industry. Programming includes vineyard and winery seminars, trade show and Texas wine paired dining experiences. The conference concludes with the Annual Gala and Industry Auction which features wine from every region of Texas! Be sure to mark your calendars! For more information vist the web site at http://www.txwines.org/.
MARCH 2009
March 3-22
Houston Live Stock Rodeo Uncorked, Astrodome, Reliant Park, Houston
More info at: http://vintagetexas.com/blog/?p=517
February 19-21
2009 Annual Conference & Trade Show of the Texas Wine and Grape Growers Association, Austin
This annual event hosted by the Texas Wine and Grape Growers Association is an opportunity to network with the Texas wine industry. Programming includes vineyard and winery seminars, trade show and Texas wine paired dining experiences. The conference concludes with the Annual Gala and Industry Auction which features wine from every region of Texas! Be sure to mark your calendars! For more information vist the web site at http://www.txwines.org/.
MARCH 2009
March 3-22
Houston Live Stock Rodeo Uncorked, Astrodome, Reliant Park, Houston
More info at: http://vintagetexas.com/blog/?p=517
Saturday, February 14, 2009
North Texas Road Trip: Entry 6 - Lone Oak Vineyard, a bit of Texas Bordeaux
North Texas Road Trip: Entry 6 - Lone Oak Vineyard, a bit of Texas Bordeaux
I stopped the previous night in Denton, Texas. This morning I awoke and primed for today’s adventure with a “stick-to-my-ribs” Waffle House breakfast. Over the period of a couple days since the cold and ice hit northeast Texas, the weather was warming agreeably. Saturday raised its fresh and sunny face. The morning sun cast a warm, amber hue on the dry countryside punctuated only by occasional fields of emerald green winter rye.
My morning destination was about a half hour north of Denton toward the Oklahoma line where I visited with Robert Wolf at his Lone Oak Vineyard near Valley View, Texas.
More at: http://vintagetexas.com/blog/?p=521
I stopped the previous night in Denton, Texas. This morning I awoke and primed for today’s adventure with a “stick-to-my-ribs” Waffle House breakfast. Over the period of a couple days since the cold and ice hit northeast Texas, the weather was warming agreeably. Saturday raised its fresh and sunny face. The morning sun cast a warm, amber hue on the dry countryside punctuated only by occasional fields of emerald green winter rye.
My morning destination was about a half hour north of Denton toward the Oklahoma line where I visited with Robert Wolf at his Lone Oak Vineyard near Valley View, Texas.
More at: http://vintagetexas.com/blog/?p=521
Monday, February 9, 2009
North Texas Road Trip Entry 5 – Visiting the Supreme Expérimenter at Brushy Creek Vineyards
North Texas Road Trip Entry 5 – Visiting the Supreme Expérimenter at Brushy Creek Vineyards
There comes a point in just about every Texas road trip where a personal moment surfaces and human and natural elements of this great state combine. In this case, I was heading out across the Cross Timbers prairie on Highway 81 past Decatur with the blackland farming belt in my rear view mirror. The land opened around me to an almost cosmic proportion with brushy lands casting out far and wide from the sides of the roadway. The hawks were positioned like sentinels of the road on fence posts, telephone wires, and tree tops scanning wide-eyed in search of their prairie buffet.
The purpose of this leg of my trip was to visit Les Constable – grape grower, winemaker, and owner of Brushy Creek Vineyards in Alvord, Texas. When I arrived, Les had two glasses of wine poured and we sat in discussion on the outside deck.
More at: http://vintagetexas.com/blog/?p=512
There comes a point in just about every Texas road trip where a personal moment surfaces and human and natural elements of this great state combine. In this case, I was heading out across the Cross Timbers prairie on Highway 81 past Decatur with the blackland farming belt in my rear view mirror. The land opened around me to an almost cosmic proportion with brushy lands casting out far and wide from the sides of the roadway. The hawks were positioned like sentinels of the road on fence posts, telephone wires, and tree tops scanning wide-eyed in search of their prairie buffet.
The purpose of this leg of my trip was to visit Les Constable – grape grower, winemaker, and owner of Brushy Creek Vineyards in Alvord, Texas. When I arrived, Les had two glasses of wine poured and we sat in discussion on the outside deck.
More at: http://vintagetexas.com/blog/?p=512
Saturday, February 7, 2009
Write Off the Vine: Texas Wine News - February 6, 2009 (Texas Uncorked)
“Texas Uncorked”By: Sen. John Cornyn
From: Texas Times Weekly Column
You’ve heard it described as medium heavy, sweet and low in sulfates. Its presence pre-dates the arrival of the first Anglo-American settlers to Texas. And today, its industry pumps millions in revenue into the Texas economy each year.
While crude oil may first come to mind, this liquid is Texas wine.
More at: http://vintagetexas.com/blog/?p=508
From: Texas Times Weekly Column
You’ve heard it described as medium heavy, sweet and low in sulfates. Its presence pre-dates the arrival of the first Anglo-American settlers to Texas. And today, its industry pumps millions in revenue into the Texas economy each year.
While crude oil may first come to mind, this liquid is Texas wine.
More at: http://vintagetexas.com/blog/?p=508
Thursday, February 5, 2009
North Texas Road Trip – Entry 4; La Bodega - The Winery for the Jet Set
North Texas Road Trip – Entry 4; La Bodega - The Winery for the Jet Set
I reckoned that my mid-day visit to the Dallas Fort Worth International Airport (DFW for short) would be an ideal time to partake in a different type of Texas winery tour - A Jet Set Winery Tour. It took place at La Bodega Winery located in two locations in the DFW airport facility; the original location at Terminal A (Gate A15) and the new location Terminal D (Gate D14).
A visit to La Bodega is not going to be part of your usual road trip winery visit unless ....http://vintagetexas.com/blog/?p=501
I reckoned that my mid-day visit to the Dallas Fort Worth International Airport (DFW for short) would be an ideal time to partake in a different type of Texas winery tour - A Jet Set Winery Tour. It took place at La Bodega Winery located in two locations in the DFW airport facility; the original location at Terminal A (Gate A15) and the new location Terminal D (Gate D14).
A visit to La Bodega is not going to be part of your usual road trip winery visit unless ....http://vintagetexas.com/blog/?p=501
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
North Texas Road Trip – Entry 3; Lone Star Wines at the Fort Worth Stockyards
North Texas Road Trip – Entry 3; Lone Star Wines at the Fort Worth Stockyards
Day two started with a crispy but clear morning in Dallas with patches of the frozen, slippery stuff marking my path to my car.
The first stop was to visit old friends and ally of Texas wine consumers – Chesley and Michelle Sanders who are the proprietors of Lone Star Wines.
More and Chesley's Texas wine picks at: http://vintagetexas.com/blog/?p=487
Day two started with a crispy but clear morning in Dallas with patches of the frozen, slippery stuff marking my path to my car.
The first stop was to visit old friends and ally of Texas wine consumers – Chesley and Michelle Sanders who are the proprietors of Lone Star Wines.
More and Chesley's Texas wine picks at: http://vintagetexas.com/blog/?p=487
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
North Texas Road Trip - Entry 2; San Martino Winery
North Texas Road Trip - Entry 2; San Martino Winery & Acient Civilization
I’m back on the road heading from Tyler Texas, northwest to Rockwall on the eastern outskirts of Dallas. The air is clear and crisp and the sun is in full shine, typical of what follows a Canadian cold front into Texas. The flare for city names in East Texas is quite evident from the road signs I saw on my path with town named: Cut and Shoot, Gunbarrel City and Frognot.
Rockwall’s identity has always been closely linked to its geology. In 1851, settlers discovered a rock wall of very large proportions buried beneath the town site. Its brick-like structure and cementaceous joints caused some to conjecture that the wall was manmade by an ancient civilization.
More at: http://vintagetexas.com/blog/?p=479
I’m back on the road heading from Tyler Texas, northwest to Rockwall on the eastern outskirts of Dallas. The air is clear and crisp and the sun is in full shine, typical of what follows a Canadian cold front into Texas. The flare for city names in East Texas is quite evident from the road signs I saw on my path with town named: Cut and Shoot, Gunbarrel City and Frognot.
Rockwall’s identity has always been closely linked to its geology. In 1851, settlers discovered a rock wall of very large proportions buried beneath the town site. Its brick-like structure and cementaceous joints caused some to conjecture that the wall was manmade by an ancient civilization.
More at: http://vintagetexas.com/blog/?p=479
Sunday, February 1, 2009
A Frosty Morning at Kiepersol Winery / Wine Wiz Quiz Answers
A Frosty Morning at Kiepersol Winery / Wine Wiz Quiz Answers
It was an early morning, and particularly chilly, as I departed Houston for my wine destinations in northeast Texas. I was up and on the road with a steaming cup of coffee before sun up and had a visits set at Kiepersol Winery (Tyler, Texas) and San Martino Winery (Rockwall, Texas) with plans to finish the day with a Grande Bordeaux tasting in Dallas.
I was well on my way heading north past Conroe when the sun finally appeared casting oblique yellow rays filtering through a crystalline haze. The concentration of light increased revealing a dusting a frost on the countryside. But, the road was dry and fast.
More at: http://vintagetexas.com/blog/?p=472
It was an early morning, and particularly chilly, as I departed Houston for my wine destinations in northeast Texas. I was up and on the road with a steaming cup of coffee before sun up and had a visits set at Kiepersol Winery (Tyler, Texas) and San Martino Winery (Rockwall, Texas) with plans to finish the day with a Grande Bordeaux tasting in Dallas.
I was well on my way heading north past Conroe when the sun finally appeared casting oblique yellow rays filtering through a crystalline haze. The concentration of light increased revealing a dusting a frost on the countryside. But, the road was dry and fast.
More at: http://vintagetexas.com/blog/?p=472
Wine Wiz Quiz: The Wine, The Moon and The Stars
Wine Wiz Quiz: The Wine, The Moon and The Stars
1. Name of the winery located in Sonoma Valley named after the area in which it resides: Valley of the _____________ Winery.
2. How long does it take to Moon to go around the Earth?
a. 24.532 hours, b. 0.9998 years, c. 1 month, d. 27.322 days
More at: http://vintagetexas.com/blog/?p=466
1. Name of the winery located in Sonoma Valley named after the area in which it resides: Valley of the _____________ Winery.
2. How long does it take to Moon to go around the Earth?
a. 24.532 hours, b. 0.9998 years, c. 1 month, d. 27.322 days
More at: http://vintagetexas.com/blog/?p=466
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