Friday, January 31, 2014
Dancing Bee Winery – Rogers, Texas
There’s been a honey farm located here since
2001. For the last two years, a winery…or meadery…has been producing
some great quality meads from local honey of the Walker Honey
Farm. Owned by Janice and Clint Walker, they currently serve three
varieties of meads from dry to traditional sweet. The semi-sweet mead is
lightly oaked and quite delicious. In addition, they also make
melomel (meads with fruit). You’ll have quite a selection
of fruit flavors to choose from raspberry to citrus, to apple and
blackberry. All of their melomels are very good. Depending
on the time of year, they also carry specialty meads. During this
stop they had a cranberry/orange mead (Merry Texmas) which tasted similar to a
classic Christmas cuvee. Also, there was a spiced apple mead
call Mulled Harvest which was quite tasty and fitting for this time of year. If
you want an extra special mead, then do try the Metheglin named The Beered
One. Made with honey & hops, it pours and looks like wine, but
smells and tastes like beer. It was new for us, but quite a nice
surprise. So, give it a try! The grape wine lovers have not been
left out at this place. They also make a Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon,
Tempranillo, White Blend, and Chardonnay. For the grape wines, they currently
purchase juices from other wineries to make their wine, because they are
currently waiting on their vineyard to mature. On their plot, they
have planted Black Spanish and Blanc du Bois which they hope to use as a source
to make their own wines in the near future. Any mead lover would love
this place for sure. And for grape wine lovers who just haven’t
developed a taste for mead, this place may be the one to finally try
out. Honey varietals can change from year to year depending on the
flowers bees visit. So check back yearly and you’ll likely get something
tasting different even with the same name...kind of like
grapes! By the way, they do have some great tasting honey for
sale too! This place makes a great stop to try out something new and likewise
do some holiday shopping for gifts.
Sunday, January 26, 2014
Gewürztraminer - NV; Amwell Valley Vineyard; Ringoes, New Jersey
This dry Gewürztraminer has a little
aromatic scent, but a very deep uniform copper color. Its color is an eye catcher, so take your
time staring at it a while. It has a
slight petrol flavor, but also some grapefruit or peach as well. The wine has a slight nutty finish at the
end. We think it would pair well with sliced apples, cheese and nuts.
Monday, January 20, 2014
Almond Sparkling Wine – Su Vino Winery, Grapevine Texas
This almond infused sparkling wine packs a
great flavor to it. Its creamy and nutty taste is quite delicious. You can
smell the almond essence on the nose, while sipping the lovely soft nutty
flavor that enhances this sparker. This semi-sweet wine is actually made from
Woodbridge Champaign Cellars in Woodbridge, California. The wine is well
balanced and in our case, aged quite well for a few years. Give this one a high
five as you welcome in a new year!
Wednesday, January 15, 2014
Rohan Meadery - La Grange, Tx
It
seems like Meaderies are popping up as fast as wineries. Meads have had resurgence in the U.S with
production almost doubling over the last 10 years. Rohan Meadery started out in 2010 offering
meads at various festivals by owner John Rohan and his wife, but now has a shop
of their own for all to come and enjoy.
They have quite a full range of meads to taste from dry to sweet. Everything is made locally at their
shop. They like to source pesticide-free
honey. It can be hard to highlight just
a few, as all were quite good. You
definitely can’t go wrong with the wildflower meads. They just have that all encompassing aroma
and taste that a wine lover would expect in a good wine. The berry meads are really great. The berry flavor is quite delicious and not
overpowered by the honey. The cranberry
mead is super awesome! You may walk out
with several of those bottles and we understand this is seasonal mead, so stop
in to try it before it is gone. Do try their special wassel which they gladly
also provide recipes for in the tasting room. It is very fitting for a chilly
night during the holiday season. The
folks here are quite friendly and are very helpful with any questions during your
tasting session. Their big white dog
will be happy to sit with you as you enjoy the patio or country side with a
glass of mead.
Friday, January 10, 2014
Sauvignon Blanc – 2006; Root 1 Wine; Casablanca valley, Chile
The straw-green color is an eye catcher with this
white wine - a good sign of a well aged white.
It has very sharp aromas of fresh citrus fruits and pears. The wine is a
lovely semi dry white, with a good crisp and refreshing taste. It is fairly
well balanced with a slight acidity, some minerality and a good ripe fruit,
refreshing finish. Not bad at all. Some nice grilled veggies would be good with
this one as well as poultry and fish dishes.
This wine would also go well with appetizers and a lovely cheese, fruit
and cracker plate. Give it a try sometime as this lovely wine from Chile is
modestly priced and pleasing!
Rose of Syrah – 2007; Orfila Vineyards & Winery; Escondido, California
Named, "Hibiscus" Rose of Syrah, this wine
is not only a fine addition to have in your collection, but also a special
treat to enjoy with friends. The wine is made from estate grown grapes and the
vineyard is located in the San Pasqual Valley. It has a wonderful, uniform and solid
rose color that is about as perfect as can be. The beautiful and exotic aromas
are pleasantly enticing. After the
first few sips, it tastes like a perfectly rich fully ripened apple, with a
bright sweet fruit flavor followed by just a hint of tart crispness. The
tasting profile encompasses full fruity flavors and a slight tartness towards
the end, hence the nod to how a perfect apple tastes. You may be
kicking yourself for not buying more bottles when you were there, but your taste
buds will be happy enjoying this beautiful wine you do have. Enjoy!
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