Hilmy Cellars – Frederickburg, Texas

This latest winery to open its doors on the Texas Hill Country’s famous 290 winery highway is making a mark from the onset.  The owner, Eric Hilmy, strives for quality vineyard farming to produce quality wines.  The current selection of wines include:  Doo•Zwa•zō (Chardonnay/Chenin Blanc blend), a single vineyard Muscat Canelli (so good, you’ll need a few bottles),a Tempranillo blend, a Tempranillo with fruit harvested from Lost Draw Vineyards on the Texas High Plains, and a soon to be released proprietary white called Persephone.  They are an all star line up.  The estate also has a vineyard in the back growing Sangiovese. The vines are maturing nicely and should soon be producing some estate wine.  The tasting room is spacious and airy.  The design is sleek and modern yet warm and inviting with large leather seats and colorful artwork on display along with pots of orchids and a nice selection of wine inspired books for sale. You won’t feel cluttered or cramped as you sip your glass of wine while checking out some of the local art or leisurely chatting with friends as you hang out and enjoy the cool vibes, relaxed atmosphere and great wines. Make this new place a stop on your next trip out to the Hill Country, you won’t be disappointed!

http://www.hilmywine.com/

Hibiscus Flower Wine – Texas Star Winery; Richards, Texas

It may have one of the loveliest Rosé like colors around, but this wine will be one of the more unusual ones to add to your collection. The winery went way out on a limb, more specifically, a hibiscus branch to craft this very unique wine. Made from the hibiscus flower, don’t expect your typical fruit or grape flavor taste. It really does not taste like any other wine. Instead, this light semi sweet wine may have you noting more herbal flavors than fruit notes. The aroma is nice and not overpowering. We recommend serving it chilled for a nice afternoon cold beverage instead of iced hibiscus tea. For someone who has everything, we bet this is one they won’t already have!

http://www.texasstarwinery.com/

Perissos Vineyards and Winery - Burnet, Texas

Owners, Seth and Laura Martin, have established a bit of a wine lovers paradise on their Texas Hill Country estate.  Surrounded by picturesque rows of vineyards, the beautiful hill country setting makes this an ideal place to start one's own family-owned business.  Their grape growing and wine making adventure started out of their Austin home many years ago.  Like some of you, they experimented with growing their own grape vines and making their own wine.  Well, one thing led to another and here they are running a successful vineyard and winery.  They first started back in 2005 and have up to 13 acres of Tempranillo, Viognier, Petite Syrah, and Tannat varietals to name a few.  Many of their wines come from their estate grown grapes and all wines are 100% Texas grapes. Their first public vintage released about three years ago was wonderful.  If you missed their initial releases, don't worry.  Their current wine selection is worthy of at least a couple of cases for you to enjoy at home and with friends and family. The 2011 harvest was very small due to the biblical Texas drought of that year, but grapes are expected to yield a very high quality wine.  You might want to think about dedicating a wine cellar just for 2011 vintages!  Business has been much better than expected since they first opened.  Perissos has quickly made a quality name for themselves. We can see a very bright future for them in the Texas wine industry.  They have a winery that is very welcoming and makes you feel like family when you are there. Stop by and say, “Hi” and try some of their wines. We think you will agree that they sure know how to make Texas grapes into fine wine!

www.perissosvineyards.com

Blanc du Bois – 2009; Yepez Vineyard; Baytown, Texas

The estate grown vineyard serves as the source for this sweet estate Blanc du Bois.  It may taste sweeter to the palette than other Blanc du Bois wines.  Also, you will notice a subtle “spice” flavor to the wine, and some pineapple notes too. The aroma is strong and the color a pale golden yellow.  This wine chills nicely and can be served with whatever you like, but it’s also just fine as is.  It is a nice dessert wine, especially after a spicy meal.

www.yepezvineyard.com

Wimberley Valley Winery – Driftwood, Texas

The winery was started back in 1983.  Many Texas wine lovers probably remember tasting their wines in historic Old Town Spring, Texas.  Now, thanks to more “modern” Texas wine laws and few ordinance changes for the county and precinct, they now have a tasting room where it all began.  Sweet and fruit wine lovers can definitely find something they like here.  Some of the fruit wines are seasonal, so keep a “wine nose” out for them.  The Christmas Cuvee is something you’ll surely want to have with family and friends for the holidays.  The new tasting room facility has an excellent décor that’ll make you feel welcomed with lots of comfortable chairs for lounging and sharing your thoughts over a few glasses.   Outside, you might notice some miniature horses grazing the lands.  That’s just part of the “homey and country” feel of the place. The pace of things out here in the country is slower, so relax and stop to smell the wine and roses.

http://www.wimberleyvalleywinery.com/