After being opened for two years, this small
family boutique winery is producing some good local handcrafted wines.
What began as a hobby for owners Rick and Patty Wendt is now an upcoming winery
business. They have about four acres of grapes planted in the estate,
plus a few peach trees. The varietals include: Merlot, Black Spanish,
Marechal Foch, and Blanc du Bois. The vines range from two to six years
old. Other grapes/juices used to make their wines are sourced from around
Texas and California. This may be the only vineyard in Texas trying out
Marechal Foch. They have a lengthy menu of offerings to sample in their
tasting room. At this time there were
ten available to try. You will get a fairly good range from whites to reds with
some dry, but their focus is on more sweet wines, as they are focused more on
producing what they like. Most of their wines will be in the 375ml
bottle. One unusual notable one was the “bubbly” cabernet
sauvignon. It was made that way on purpose as Rick experimented with
champagne yeast on this one. It’s actually quite good and fruit
forward. The Blanc du Bois is quite tasty when chilled.
You’ll also be fortunate to try a vertical of their Black Spanish ports from
2008 to 2011. A fine example of how Texas climate can change the flavor
of the same grape annually depending on our wonderful weather conditions. Unfortunately, in years past they offered a
peach wine as well however, the last freeze of 2013 didn’t fare well for their
peach crop, so there was no peach wine for us to try on this visit. Rick
likes to experiment and try different things with wines, so check back from
time to time to see what he has created. This place has a great panoramic
view of the countryside. The owners have a back area where you can enjoy live
music and events and a lake view. They are a great couple to chat and sip
with, so go ahead and travel that gravel road and sip a spell.
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