Texan had “Wine-Powered” Flight before the Wright Brothers
Born in Germany in 1821, Jacob Brodbeck taught school there before starting a new life on the Texas frontier. He reached Fredericksburg in 1847 and became a teacher at the Vereins Kirche and later at the nearby Grape Creek School. In due course Brodbeck married and fathered a large brood of twelve children. This would be considered a lifetime achievement for most men of his day, but Brodbeck was also consumed by invention.
While in Germany he had attempted to build a self-winding clock, and later designed an ice-making machine. Brodbeck rose to the position of Gillespie County school commissioner while keeping his mind and hands busy working on new inventions with even grander ambitions “fermenting” in his active mind.
More at: http://vintagetexas.com/blog/?p=836
Sunday, May 24, 2009
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Video: Sangiovese, the Warm Climate Pinot Noir
Video: Sangiovese, the Warm Climate Pinot Noir
Sangiovese is universally acknowledged as one of the great grapes of Italy and is the principal grape used in producing Chianti in Tuscany. The grape normally produces light to medium bodied red wines with crisp acidity that makes them the near-perfect match for a wide range of foods from fish to fowl to grilled meats. The name Sangiovese comes from the phrase “Sanguis Jovis”, literally “Blood of Jove”, and it is sometimes translated as “the Blood of God”.
There are at least fourteen separate and distinct clones of Sangiovese. Most produce a lighter style wine with the exception of the clone of Sangiovese used to produce Brunello which results in a fuller body and darker quality than found in Chianti-style wines.
Viedo and More at: http://vintagetexas.com/blog/?p=821
Sangiovese is universally acknowledged as one of the great grapes of Italy and is the principal grape used in producing Chianti in Tuscany. The grape normally produces light to medium bodied red wines with crisp acidity that makes them the near-perfect match for a wide range of foods from fish to fowl to grilled meats. The name Sangiovese comes from the phrase “Sanguis Jovis”, literally “Blood of Jove”, and it is sometimes translated as “the Blood of God”.
There are at least fourteen separate and distinct clones of Sangiovese. Most produce a lighter style wine with the exception of the clone of Sangiovese used to produce Brunello which results in a fuller body and darker quality than found in Chianti-style wines.
Viedo and More at: http://vintagetexas.com/blog/?p=821
Friday, May 15, 2009
Video: Viognier, Roussanne and Blanc du Bois: Three Sisters of Texas Wines
Video: Viognier, Roussanne and Blanc du Bois: Three Sisters of Texas Wines
Ever think of Texas as a Chardonnay kind of place? I didn’t think so. It can be grown in Texas and even does well in a few locations. If you are looking for some truly satisfying Texas white wines, look for what have rapidly become the “Three Sisters of Texas Wines”: Viognier, Roussanne and Blanc du Bois.
Click the video link above to view a presentation of these three varietals by Pat Brennan owner of Brennan Vineyards in Comanche, Texas.
I have blogged extensively on Texas grown Viognier, Roussanne and Blanc du Bois and the first two were in my personal “Pick Six” wines that were recently featured at the Grand Wine and Food Affair.
More at: http://vintagetexas.com/blog/?p=808
Ever think of Texas as a Chardonnay kind of place? I didn’t think so. It can be grown in Texas and even does well in a few locations. If you are looking for some truly satisfying Texas white wines, look for what have rapidly become the “Three Sisters of Texas Wines”: Viognier, Roussanne and Blanc du Bois.
Click the video link above to view a presentation of these three varietals by Pat Brennan owner of Brennan Vineyards in Comanche, Texas.
I have blogged extensively on Texas grown Viognier, Roussanne and Blanc du Bois and the first two were in my personal “Pick Six” wines that were recently featured at the Grand Wine and Food Affair.
More at: http://vintagetexas.com/blog/?p=808
A Land of Limestone Ledges and Red Sandy Soil: Part 2
A Land of Limestone Ledges and Red Sandy Soil: Part 2
Continued from: http://vintagetexas.com/blog/?p=790
In my search to define Texas terroir [the sense of place], I often stop to listen for voices of the human spirits that linger in the rustle of tall grass, the gush of spring water on slab limestone, or the rush of windblown sandy soil. These are the voices that tell of the land’s history, its potential, and the past and future trials that test the will of those that try to harvest its bounty. I also listen for the unsaid words that are held back when a grower contemplates his lost harvest produced by a late spring freeze. These are the words that define the Texas wine experience.
More at: http://vintagetexas.com/blog/?p=802
Continued from: http://vintagetexas.com/blog/?p=790
In my search to define Texas terroir [the sense of place], I often stop to listen for voices of the human spirits that linger in the rustle of tall grass, the gush of spring water on slab limestone, or the rush of windblown sandy soil. These are the voices that tell of the land’s history, its potential, and the past and future trials that test the will of those that try to harvest its bounty. I also listen for the unsaid words that are held back when a grower contemplates his lost harvest produced by a late spring freeze. These are the words that define the Texas wine experience.
More at: http://vintagetexas.com/blog/?p=802
Monday, May 11, 2009
Texas wine experience: A Land of Limestone Ledges and Red Sandy Soil: Part 1
A Land of Limestone Ledges and Red Sandy Soil: Part 1
I sit here thinking about where the Texas wine experience began. The spring sun warms my face as I gaze out over freshly greened prominences to the north from a perch high on an eastward-pointing finger of the Edwards Plateau: My personal piece of Texas. If I let my mind override my eyes, I can “see” the defining moment presented before me. The initiation predates me as well as the past generations of people that call themselves Texans.
The Beginning: Eons ago its genesis was in a vast and desolate inland sea predating human consciousness; a wet and hostile place. At an unhurriedly, nearly immeasurable pace over millions of years, the shells of countless creatures were deposited. I see their vestigial remains in fossil records at my feet. They are often conjoined with red sandy minerals brought from estuarial flows from even older continental shores. From time unfathomable, the land of limestone ledges and red sandy soils were exuded from their murky depths by powerful forces into the light of the Texas sun as if looking for purpose.
More at: http://vintagetexas.com/blog/?p=790
I sit here thinking about where the Texas wine experience began. The spring sun warms my face as I gaze out over freshly greened prominences to the north from a perch high on an eastward-pointing finger of the Edwards Plateau: My personal piece of Texas. If I let my mind override my eyes, I can “see” the defining moment presented before me. The initiation predates me as well as the past generations of people that call themselves Texans.
The Beginning: Eons ago its genesis was in a vast and desolate inland sea predating human consciousness; a wet and hostile place. At an unhurriedly, nearly immeasurable pace over millions of years, the shells of countless creatures were deposited. I see their vestigial remains in fossil records at my feet. They are often conjoined with red sandy minerals brought from estuarial flows from even older continental shores. From time unfathomable, the land of limestone ledges and red sandy soils were exuded from their murky depths by powerful forces into the light of the Texas sun as if looking for purpose.
More at: http://vintagetexas.com/blog/?p=790
Friday, May 8, 2009
VintageTexas Highlights of 2009
VintageTexas Highlights of 2009
Drinking a Bit of Texas History
“As Texans and settler transplants have realized for over the past hundred and fifty years, parts of Texas have been this county’s last frontier. Its empty landscape first attracted cattle drives, ranches and eventually farmsteads to this desolate and, at times, hostile place. Eventually, seemingly simple yet significant innovations like windmills and barbed wire helped make the Texas High Plains into an agricultural powerhouse. The Newsoms, Binghams, Reddys, Wilmeths, Tallants, Martins, Youngs and others are the pioneer families; the experimenting vinicultures that are reaching out to clutch the future of Texas grape growing. With each year, a new lesson is learned, a small change is made, and a new varietal is planted. When proven, these new lessons won’t be hoarded, but rather will be shared in the same communal spirit that was very apparent around the dinner table.”
More at: http://vintagetexas.com/blog/?p=777
Drinking a Bit of Texas History
“As Texans and settler transplants have realized for over the past hundred and fifty years, parts of Texas have been this county’s last frontier. Its empty landscape first attracted cattle drives, ranches and eventually farmsteads to this desolate and, at times, hostile place. Eventually, seemingly simple yet significant innovations like windmills and barbed wire helped make the Texas High Plains into an agricultural powerhouse. The Newsoms, Binghams, Reddys, Wilmeths, Tallants, Martins, Youngs and others are the pioneer families; the experimenting vinicultures that are reaching out to clutch the future of Texas grape growing. With each year, a new lesson is learned, a small change is made, and a new varietal is planted. When proven, these new lessons won’t be hoarded, but rather will be shared in the same communal spirit that was very apparent around the dinner table.”
More at: http://vintagetexas.com/blog/?p=777
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
First “Local Wine” Conference features VintageTexas moderated Texas Twitter Tast-Off
DrinkLocalWine.com To Host First “Local Wine” Conference
GO TEXAN Proudly Sponsors DrinkLocalWine.com Conference Dedicated to Regional Wines
Russ Kane of VintageTexas to Moderate Texas Twitter Tast-Off
DrinkLocalWine.com, the Web site that focuses on North American wine that isn’t made in California and the Pacific Northwest, will hold its first-ever conference and tasting on Aug. 15 in Dallas. Called the GO TEXAN DrinkLocalWine.com Conference, the event will focus on Texas wine, featuring some of the state’s best wines, top winemakers, and leading growers.
The conference follows the success of the Web site’s Regional Wine Week last fall, in which more than 40 wine bloggers, writers and columnists from the U.S. and Canada wrote about their favorite regional wines, ranging from Ontario to New York to Florida to Texas to Colorado.
“The conference is the natural extension of Regional Wine Week,” says Jeff Siegel, co-founder of DrinkLocalWine.com and author of the popular blog, The Wine Curmudgeon (www.winecurmudgeon.com), as well as wine columnist for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram and Dallas’ Advocate magazines. “It will give consumers a first-hand look at quality regional wine.”
Texas is the fifth-largest wine producing state in the country, with 177 wineries and 280 commercial vineyards. The Texas industry has made important strides this decade, focusing on Italian, Spanish and Mediterranean varietals. As presenting sponsor, the Texas Department of Agriculture’s GO TEXAN program sees the conference as an opportunity to tell the Texas wine story.
More on Conference, Tastings and Texas Twitter Taste-Off at:
http://vintagetexas.com/blog/?p=757
GO TEXAN Proudly Sponsors DrinkLocalWine.com Conference Dedicated to Regional Wines
Russ Kane of VintageTexas to Moderate Texas Twitter Tast-Off
DrinkLocalWine.com, the Web site that focuses on North American wine that isn’t made in California and the Pacific Northwest, will hold its first-ever conference and tasting on Aug. 15 in Dallas. Called the GO TEXAN DrinkLocalWine.com Conference, the event will focus on Texas wine, featuring some of the state’s best wines, top winemakers, and leading growers.
The conference follows the success of the Web site’s Regional Wine Week last fall, in which more than 40 wine bloggers, writers and columnists from the U.S. and Canada wrote about their favorite regional wines, ranging from Ontario to New York to Florida to Texas to Colorado.
“The conference is the natural extension of Regional Wine Week,” says Jeff Siegel, co-founder of DrinkLocalWine.com and author of the popular blog, The Wine Curmudgeon (www.winecurmudgeon.com), as well as wine columnist for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram and Dallas’ Advocate magazines. “It will give consumers a first-hand look at quality regional wine.”
Texas is the fifth-largest wine producing state in the country, with 177 wineries and 280 commercial vineyards. The Texas industry has made important strides this decade, focusing on Italian, Spanish and Mediterranean varietals. As presenting sponsor, the Texas Department of Agriculture’s GO TEXAN program sees the conference as an opportunity to tell the Texas wine story.
More on Conference, Tastings and Texas Twitter Taste-Off at:
http://vintagetexas.com/blog/?p=757
Sunday, May 3, 2009
Sienna Sip and Stroll: Pinot Gringos and All Their “Trick Wines”
Sienna Sip and Stroll: Pinot Gringos and All Their “Trick Wines”
Entry 2 from the Grand Wine and Food Affair
I was aware at the Grand Wine and Food Affair’s grand tasting held the previous evening that summer was arriving in the Houston area. It came with a big wet clap of thunder while I was pouring my “Pick Six” Texas wines (http://vintagetexas.com/blog/?p=738). If budding of wildflowers signaled the lead-up to the Hill Country Wine and Food Festival, the debut of hot heavy Houston weather usually means the best Not-So-Lil’ festival in Southeast Texas is at hand.
When I arrived at the Saturday Sienna Sip and Stroll under heavy moisture-laden air, I was glad that I had come appropriately dressed; shorts, cool cotton shirt with its tail hanging, and a large straw Panama hat with umbrella in tote. When I arrived, I peeked into the three large white tents that dotted the open Sienna Plantation grounds in Missouri City confirming they were full of delectable gastronomic delights and titillating wines. Next to the Sip and Stroll tent city were two additional smaller tents. One was dubbed “The Cigar Club” where attendees met with world class cigar makers. These cigar aficionados even got to toke with black clad Kinky Friedman, Texas’s eclectic singer, songwriter, novelist, humorist, columnist and politician.
More at: http://vintagetexas.com/blog/?p=748
Entry 2 from the Grand Wine and Food Affair
I was aware at the Grand Wine and Food Affair’s grand tasting held the previous evening that summer was arriving in the Houston area. It came with a big wet clap of thunder while I was pouring my “Pick Six” Texas wines (http://vintagetexas.com/blog/?p=738). If budding of wildflowers signaled the lead-up to the Hill Country Wine and Food Festival, the debut of hot heavy Houston weather usually means the best Not-So-Lil’ festival in Southeast Texas is at hand.
When I arrived at the Saturday Sienna Sip and Stroll under heavy moisture-laden air, I was glad that I had come appropriately dressed; shorts, cool cotton shirt with its tail hanging, and a large straw Panama hat with umbrella in tote. When I arrived, I peeked into the three large white tents that dotted the open Sienna Plantation grounds in Missouri City confirming they were full of delectable gastronomic delights and titillating wines. Next to the Sip and Stroll tent city were two additional smaller tents. One was dubbed “The Cigar Club” where attendees met with world class cigar makers. These cigar aficionados even got to toke with black clad Kinky Friedman, Texas’s eclectic singer, songwriter, novelist, humorist, columnist and politician.
More at: http://vintagetexas.com/blog/?p=748
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