Ancellotta – 2007; Vinicola Don Guerino; Alto Feliz, Serra Gaucha, Brazil

Haven’t heard of Ancellotta wine before?  Then you will be pleasantly surprised.  This strong fruit forward aromatic red wine from Brazil pairs well with hearty meat dishes. It is well balanced with a medium finish.  There is some earthiness to the taste, yet the tannins aren’t overpowering. Little oak is noticeable in this well aged wine.  The grapes remind you of Cabernet Sauvignon, and impart a nice rich depth.  Hold up a glass to the light and you’ll notice its unique and intense red coloring.  Cabernet Sauvignon wine lovers would be pleased with this wine as with most hard-core red wine drinkers.  The beauty of this wine is that it hits the sweet spot for most red wine drinkers, as this is not too oaky or tannic, not acidic, not too dry and has a great depth to the fruit flavor.  It’s a real winner and we highly recommend you seek this one out to try and put in your cellar. Why have another Cabernet Sauvignon, if you can try something new?

www.donguerino.com.br

Sandstone Cellars Winery – Mason, Texas

Founded 2004, proprietors Scott Haupert and Manny Silerio have established a great wine jewel in this small hill country town.  They source grapes only from the vineyards of Mason County, so you’re getting some local wine, in the truest sense of the “buy local” movement.  The ~1600 feet elevation out there makes for a great cool night environment for the vines.  Don Pullum is the wine magician that turns these grapes into great tasting Texas wines.  There are no whites in the tasting selection, but seriously….we drove all the way out here for their famous reds!  Where to start and where to end is hard, because they are all so good. You should definitely try the Touriga blend – bold, full bodied and dry, but not overwhelming on the tannins.  The Zinfandel blend is a lighter red with a nice garnet color. The Syrah blend is simply wonderful and will surely make all Syrah wine lovers smile with joy!  One of the more unique and odd wines is their Cider Dessert wine or “apple-cider-port” wine, as they refer to it. This unique addition to the lineup was due in part to the severe Texas drought of 2011. With fewer local grapes available that year, the idea came to try something completely new, using a different Texas fruit.  Sourced from apples in the Texas Panhandle, it is quite smooth and sweet, and would compliment your apple pie dessert or make a lovely cooking wine. The two port style wines available, Touriga and Touriga/Mourvedre blends are lovely sweet red dessert wines.  They impart flavors from their dry wine cousins plus the “punch” you get with a well fortified port.  The winery also offers many other Texas wines for sale. The proprietors choose to focus on Texas art in the form of wine and paintings, pottery, sculpture and jewelry by featured artist Bill Worrell, making this an interesting gem in Mason worth checking out.  Mr. Worrell’s work is featured on many of their wine labels, too. Next door is a wine bar that was opened for visitors who wish to rest a while and stick around to enjoy the wine and atmosphere while visiting. The wine bar is located in the second oldest building of Mason.  On the other side of the winery, is the town’s famous Santos Taqueria restaurant, founded prior to the winery. Do try!  Scott also chatted with us about more wineries opening up in the Mason area. These additional wineries will surely draw an ever increasing mass of oenophiles to the area. We look forward to more great wine visits to Mason in the future and additional updates on how the region progresses and grows. Did we mention that we have a 2005 Sandstone Cellars red in our wine library?  We got that one from our “early” wine traveling days.  We’ll save that one for a special edition posting

www.sandstonecellarswinery.com

Rosso Spumante – Ballatore Cellars; Modesto, California

This red Italian style sparkling wine is a pretty good sparkler with a nice sweet taste.  It has a very distinct ruby color and aromas of blackberries and cherries.  It is quite refreshing and crisp with a good amount of sweetness. Overall, it is well balanced and comes across with a clean finish.  The wine is well worth while beyond the inexpensive price point. Impress your friends who are new to sparkling wines.  It’s a good start when trying out the sparkling wine category.  Cheers!

www.ballatore.com

Windy Hill Winery – Brenham, Texas

Located down the road from Washington-on-the-Brazos is a small boutique winery worthy of a stop on your next Brenham trip.  Owners August and Linda Meitzen planted their first vines back in 2000.  Brother Dave has his hands in things, as well.  The winery opened in 2005 and has been serving Texas grape varietals ever since.  The tasting room is quite spacious, with ample indoor seating with tables and chairs. There is also a nice deck out back where you can enjoy live music as you relax sipping a glass of your favorite Windy Hill wine.  The hosts are hospitable and make you feel very welcome.  We visited this place back in 2007 during the unofficial blogging days. It was nice to return after 6 years and see all the changes that have occurred. The red and white wines made here, such as the Chardonnay, Cabernet, Syrah, and Tempranillos, had their grapes sourced near Lodi, California.  The “good stuff” is grown locally. Blanc du Bois and Black Spanish varietals are grown on the estate. The Yellow Rose is a semi sweet Blanc du Bois that is quite wonderful and robust.  It is not syrupy sweet or tart. The bouquet has subtle notes of citrus and nectarine. For a good sweet red Muscadine try Dave’s Sweet Red wine.  We were pleasantly surprised by the great tasting Blanc du Bois sparkling wine. That wine would make a great Texas style “champagne” toast.  There is also a Muscadine sparkling wine call Bubbly Daves that’s likewise fun to sip. We look forward to the near future release of the Lady Lavender wine – a white wine infused with lavender.  For the sweet wine lovers of native grapes, this place is for you!  Get out and enjoy the bluebonnets and lovely wildflowers painting the spring landscape a multicolored rainbow and make your way over to the winery.  Enjoy the fruits of the vine as you relax and remember how nice it feels to enjoy the warmer temperatures again. Cheers!

www.windywinery.com