Blue Ostrich Winery & Vineyard – Saint Jo, Texas

Yes, readers, this place was once an ostrich ranch. However, economic conditions changed and the owners looked at other ways of using the land and facilities.  What better thing to do than to convert operations into a vineyard and winery!  This new upstart vineyard and winery is helping to establish the northern frontiers of Texas into a recognized grape producing region.  The vines have been in place for about a year and total just over 2000.  Most of the varietals are Tempranillo, Viognier and Cabernet along with a few test rows.  The current selection of wines available at the winery come from grapes sourced in Texas. Two of the wines, Syrah and Cielo, have already won awards from the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo International Wine Competition.  The Viognier and Roussanne are a great way to start your tasting session.  Both do Texas proud.  The Meritage and Tempranillo are some of the reds that you may want to fill up your cellar with.  Do have a glass of wine while you’re here.  The scenery of rolling hills of North Texas near the border here with the backdrop of young vines is spectacular!  Plus, the owners welcome you with some fine hospitality and good company and will gladly share the history of their business and their former ostrich farm stories with you.  The viticulturist and winemaker are doing a fine job.  We can’t wait to return when they start producing the estate vintages!

www.blueostrich.net

Late Harvest Riesling – 2006; Chaddsford Winery, Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania

This white dessert wine has aged quite nicely in the cellar.  Initial tastes may seem like this one verges on a port style, though the alcohol content is really not that high.  It is sweet and serene yet not a heavy syrupy dessert wine.  It does a have a nice crisp finish.  You’ll sense the aromas of apricot, pears, and a hint of peaches and honey.  This particular sweet Riesling would go well with just about any after dinner meal, and would go nicely with fruit and lighter cheese plates. We likewise believe there is ample beauty in relishing this one alone as dessert itself.  Enjoy this one sparingly though, as who knows how often the right conditions will occur again to produce this one.

www.chaddsford.com

Cowtown Winery – Forth Worth, Texas

You just can’t visit Fort Worth without checking out the Stockyards area and now you’ll have a good excuse to check out a good winery while you’re there to boot partner!  It may be a small production facility, but with about 20 different wines to choose from, you’ll certainly find something to quench your thirst.  The juices are from California grapes and the wines are made at the facility.  The oaked wines are very lightly oaked.   There is about an even split between the dry and sweet wine selection.  There are a few wines that have already won awards.  You will find a fair number of different fruit wines on the menu and we suggest you give them a try. The wine bar is a cozy long rectangular shop, putting you close to the wines on the shelf.  The staff is friendly and very helpful, so ask all the questions you have. The Stockyards has many traditional beer and steak places to hang out, so this is a nice addition for the wine lovers to enjoy while in town.

www.cowtownwinery.com

Dry Riesling – 2011; Chateau Ste Michelle; Woodinville, Washington

This dry Riesling from the Columbia Valley is yet another fine product of Chateau Ste Michelle. It comes across as crisp and fresh with flavors of apple and peach. The finish is very clean with a slight mineral note. The slight effervescence doesn’t detract from the quality of this wine, but just adds something extra to the aromatic and sensory experience. This wine would make a great compliment to a juicy lemon chicken dish or even your favorite bay scallop entrée. It would pair nicely with hors d’oeuvres. So, dig in! This one is worth sharing and enjoying with your food while you drink.

www.ste-michelle.com

Kiepersol Estates Winery – Tyler, Texas

The founder of the estate is demonstrating what it’s like to achieve the American dream.  Coming to this country with little money, he chose East Texas as the site for a vineyard and winery.  Initial planting started in 1998 and has now grown to 60 acres and 14 varietals.  The fruits of his labor have literally grown to become a successful business and a recognized winery and vineyard from East Texas.  Both red and white varietals can be found here.  As most Texas grape growers know, red grapes other than Black Spanish can be quite a challenge if not near impossible to maintain in East Texas.  However, hard work and determination has shown that it can be done. The first vintages came out in 2000.  All of the wines available for tasting are well balanced with tannins taking a back seat.  There is about an equal selection of dry and sweet to red and white to blush wines.  With almost two dozen wines to select from, there is something here for everyone. For the sweet whites, you’ll definitely want to try the White Zinfandel along with your favorite cake dessert.  The Kiepersol Vit has a mango aroma that gives it a tropical feel.  For dry whites, you can’t go wrong with their Viognier or Semillion.  Both are crisp and complex yet easy enough for anyone to enjoy.  Syrah lovers will be very pleased with their 2008 and 2007 selections!  The most memorable tasting notes for the reds are the 2008 Cabernet and Barrel No 33.  For deep bold and dry wine lovers, those two are for you!  Don’t forget to save room for the port.  It is a tawny style port and….well….wow!  We look forward to featuring in more detail these and other wines we picked up from the winery in future blogs.  Don’t let the fact that you have to drive through a housing area dissuade you…there really is a lovely winery waiting at the end of the road for you to enjoy. The estate also has a very fine high end restaurant and Bed and Breakfast.  This place has a lot to offer its wine lovers. And did we mention the view from the tasting room?  You’ll just have to go and check it out for yourself and see!  Go early enough in the day to be able to sit and enjoy the spectacular view with your glass of wine.

www.kiepersol.com

Apple Wine – Weinhof Winery; Forestburg, TX

With a delightfully golden color, this apple wine makes a tasty treat for any day.  The bouquet is lovely, fruity and bright. This is a sweet fruit wine, yet not syrupy sweet. A glass of this and you may never go back to apple cider.  Weinhof has done the apple orchard justice with this one. It might also go well for breakfast, as well.  Go ahead, give it a try!

www.weinhofwinery.com

Happy 2nd Year Anniversary!

Happy Anniversary! Yesterday marked our second year of winery and wine blogging. Two years down and going on our third. So far, 65 wines and 79 wineries have been featured. We've also added something extra to our blogs recently with two special editions; Olive Oils and a Book review....woohoo! There are still many more wonderful wineries to visit and great wines to try.


Sometimes we're asked about posting the “best of”, “top picks”, or “favorites”. Well, all these wineries are unique and special as well as the wines. No two are the really the same. Each posting is about that particular wine or winery and no other. To rate one over the other might tend to take something away from their special appeal. Likewise, everyone’s tastes and preferences vary, so we try to feature wines that appeal to a broad range, with something sweet for our newer wine drinkers to something in a drier, specific varietal for our more sophisticated drinkers. However, feel free to post your own comments on which ones you liked the best and make a toast! (Not to say we don’t have our favorites and our top 5 and 10 wineries in our minds, but for now, we’re trying to remain unbiased. We may be inclined to begin rating them on a particular scale in the future.)

On a side note, one could say that we've now gone "ankle deep" in trying out our own mini vineyard. And when we say mini, we mean a very tiny plot. We're not even close to trying out wine making yet, but who knows. We might just one day start our own production vineyard & winery… If so, we'd have to have the other wine bloggers come out and write about it. Ours would be way too biased :)

We’re looking forward to an exciting third year. Here's a toast to all the wine and winery postings during our second year! We have thoroughly enjoyed the road trips to the different wineries and the different events we have experienced this past year that have enabled us to share some of the experience with you. We may be expanding on some of the adventure and local flavors as well in the future. Cheers!