Peach Wine – Weinhof Winery

Texans love their peaches and everything peach.  You can rest assured that Weinhof winery makes a delicious peach wine that lives up to that Texan reputation. This lovely fruit wine is not syrupy sweet, but wonderfully scented like a juicy peach.  The wine has been “de-fuzzed” of peach skin; yet the scent of it lingers deliciously to get your saliva glands going!  The wine is rich and very flavorful. With just one sip, you will be hard pressed not to like this just as much as some Texas Hill Country peach cider.  Try mixing it with vanilla ice cream sometime.  It will surely give a whole new meaning to peach ice cream!  We happened to open this peach wine on a hot January day and loved reminiscing about those warm summer days and peach festival time in the hill country.  That helped make things seemed that much cooler!

www.weinhofwinery.com

Pleasant Hill Winery – Brenham, Texas

While Brenham may be known for Blue Bell ice cream, wine lovers should know that there are a few good wineries nearby that are worth the stop and valuable sipping time.  Located just on the south side of town, Please Hill Winery has been crafting wine in the area for fifteen years.  Owners Bob and Jeanne Cottle started out with some experimental vines on his ponderosa with Lake Emerald grapes.  They currently source grapes from vineyards in Huntsville, the Davis Mountains, and Lubbock areas.  Everything from “A to Z” is done on site.  Some of the whites you’ll enjoy are the Sauvignon Blanc, Fume Blanc and Collina Bianca. The Collina Rossa is a nice light Cabernet/Zinfandel blend.  If you can get your hands on the 2006 Cabernet, hold on to it.  Those vines were unfortunately a casualty of Texas fires.  The port style wines are quite nice. Of the three available, the Portejas Blanco and Tawny Rosso Forte really stand out.  They are just slightly fortified, so you will get more of the natural  wine “kick” in these ports than a well fortified one.  The award winning ports will be great for holiday events.  Feel free to enjoy a glass of wine here as you take in the lovely rolling hills of Brenham.  You’ll realize why Texas does have special places to enjoy.

www.pleasanthillwinery.com

Rosé of Cabernet – 2005; Bell Mountain Vineyards; Fredericksburg, Texas

This off-dry wine has a pleasant bouquet like a good rosé should have. It’s good enough to rival most Cabernet Sauvignons.  Its color has almost a light ruby tint.  Served chilled or at room temperature, the taste and aroma are equally pleasant.  Though you could serve this wine before or after a meal, the bold wine lover will just jump right in and have it with a good steak! This one is something you might want to keep in mind as we head towards Valentine’s Day, with the lovely color and cabernet flavors that are well suited for pastas and heartier meals.

www.bellmountainwine.com

Clear Creek Winery, Vineyard, & Resort – Kemah, Texas

Owner David Skinner has kicked off this new winery in the Kemah community.  Many boardwalk visitors may have remembered the D’Vine wine place.  You’ll still see some of the previous D’Vine wine bottles available.  He bought that business back in 2007 and started a new winery with plans for a larger production facility of up to 100,000 cases per year (yes, you can say “wow”).  The grapes are sourced from various appellations of California.  Some of his wines have already won awards at the Finger Lakes International Wine Competition.  There are a lot of wines for tasting available, so pace yourself accordingly.  The tasting fee is per taste and ranges from $2 to $4 per taste. There are a few oaked wines, but mostly unoaked in the selection.  Veteran wine connoisseurs will notice that some of the wines tend to be from younger grapes and have not aged very long before bottling.  The zinfandel Reserve is one of the early Clear Creek labels and has one of the better finishes for red wine lovers.  We found the Sauvignon Blanc to be quite crisp and refreshing. Overwhelmingly, the white wines were quite nice. Fruit wine lovers will love this place as there is just about every combination of fruit wine available. Last but not least, their port is something you’ll want to savor at the end of your tasting. They feature some chocolate and fruit port combinations. There is also a fine bistro next to the winery that’s worth a visit.  This is a nice upscale edition to the Kemah Boardwalk.  It will be interesting to see how the wines evolve over the coming years.

www.clearcreekvineyard.com