Blue Lotus Winery – Seguin, Texas

Along the Guadalupe River Valley, is a new winery that has staked its claim in the Texas vineyard and wine industry.  This isn’t your typical Cabernet or Chardonnay shop, but something more distinct and different for the wine explorer. Opened for about a year, Michael and Melissa Poole also serve mead under Texas Mead Works.  You have the option of selecting five or 10 wines for tasting.  There are plenty of wines to choose from, so we would suggest the 10 wine tasting so that you can try out the meads as well.  Grapes are sourced from the Texas High Plains, except for the Black Spanish which is estate grown, and the Carmenere and Primitovo grapes come from New Mexico.  The estate vineyard has a variety of grapes being grown that include: Black Spanish, Blanc du Bois, Lake Emerald, Lomanto, Norton, Roucaneuf, Champanel and Mortenson.  These grapes have proven resistant to the diseases that tend to plague vineyards in these parts of the U.S.  Eventually, the Pooles hope to produce 100% Texas grape wines.  Their mead is sourced from a honey farm near Rogers, Texas.  The grape wines are fermented in stainless steel and aged in French and American oak barrel. There were six wines available for tasting during our visit.  Among the whites are: Grande Blanc (multi-blend), Malvasia Bianca, Viognier and Late Harvest Riesling. The Riesling is sweet, but not syrupy sweet, and quite flavorful. The reds include: Primitivo, Carmenere, and Black Lotus.  The reds are relatively young, but should continue to get better with some age. The meads list is quite extensive, but if you must choose we suggest starting with the dry mead.  It will be more palatable for those that aren’t into sweet wines.  The Minstrel’s mead is quite good and is a blend of different floral aromas.  You may also want to dive into the Cyser which is a well balanced honey/apple blend.  It is very delicious and would make a great dessert wine.  And if you like the Blackberry mead, you’ll be pleased to know that there is a “port” version coming out in several months.  We sampled some that was about to be barreled and it was awesome!  The winery has a tasting room under construction on the front of the estate that they hope to open in the near future.  You’ll definitely remember the wines you had here as they are a little less traditional and more unique. The owners are also really good company and seem to be enjoying their work as they continue to expand their business.

www.bluelotuswinery.com