Bent Oak Winery - Cedar Park, Texas

What a pleasure it was to enjoy the grand opening  day of this winery on October 10!  It's great to be able to capture that first day's energy and enthusiasm from the staff.  Winemaker, John Catalano, is very knowledgeable about grapes and winemaking.  He has 15 years of wine making experience under his belt.  In just a few short moments after talking with him, it doesn't take long to see his enthusiasm and passion for what he is doing.  John also started out planting vines in his own backyard.  On the wall of the tasting room, you can see cuttings of Syrah vines that lasted about six seasons.  They add nice decor to the tasting area.  Currently, he now has a couple of rows of Tempranillo that he's nurturing in his backyard.  At the winery, grapes are sourced from both California and Texas with a focus on small batch wine production in house.  For opening day, there were four wines available for tasting.  There are nicely written notes about each wine on 8 x 11 cards for you to reference during your tasting session.  The first white was a 2014 Chardonnay from the Russian River Valley.  It's very crisp with notes of citrus - an excellent chilled wine!  The other white is a 2015 Blanc du Bois.  Sourced from Palacios Vineyards near Brenham, Texas, this dry Blanc du Bois will make you love this often over looked varietal.  Aging this wine in both stainless steel and American Oak has given this floral wine the best of both worlds.  You'll love the apricot and vanilla notes in the Blanc du Bois as well.  For the reds, there is a Cabernet Sauvignon from Sonoma, which is a nice light, easy drinking cabernet that most would enjoy.  The other red is a Zinfandel with 15% Petite Sirah added, which is also from Sonoma. The addition of the Petite Sirah gives what would have been a mild Zinfandel a little extra boldness.  It's still smooth and easy to drink.  In the winery, John has a bin of Tempranillo and Sangiovese from the Texas High Plains that he's currently fermenting.  We were able to barrel taste some 2015 Merlot sourced from East Texas.  Although it's early, that Merlot  really holds promise for good flavors and aromas. It's good to see a winery return to Cedar Park after a long dry spell.  Area wine lovers should be pleased to have one close by to get a good winery fix!

www.bentoakwinery.com

Chardonnay -2008; Cakebread Cellars; Rutherford, California

Sometimes you come across a nice surprise in the wine cellar...something you don't recall buying and cannot recall where you got it from or when. As you study the label and try to contemplate how the wine fairy dropped it off, you get excited about what lies in store for the tasting adventure.  Well, we’ll take those pleasant treats however they come! When we poured the first glass of this aged white wine, we noted the depth of its yellow color, which was exciting! Inhaling the aroma we noted lemon and pear. On the palate an elegant medley of melon and apple delight the taste buds. There is a light oakiness with just a hint of vanilla. It’s a nicely crisp chardonnay when chilled that tapers off with some acidity on the finish. Enjoy this lovely wine all on its own or pair with vegetable,  shellfish, or poultry dishes. Relish it if you can find this vintage. Until the next surprise wine find…

www.cakebread.com

Strawberry Wine - NV; Maydelle Country Wines; Rusk, Texas

What a pleasant after dinner treat.  This strawberry wine is both elegant and delightful.  With a brilliant raspberry color that pops in the glass it is likewise a pleasure to admire. The bright, fresh strawberry flavors shine in this wine, really highlighting the ripe fruit's finest notes. Sip once, twice, and thrice to indulge your senses and enjoy the ruby fruit of summer past. The optimum refreshing  experience seems to be chilled at 50 degrees Fahrenheit. This wine is great to enjoy on its own as dessert, but also pairs nicely with homemade vanilla ice cream.  Enjoy this one on the back porch and indulge in the beauty of mother nature's fruitful blessings!

www.maydellewines.com

Wild Thing Old Vine Zinfandel – 2013; Carol Shelton Wines; Sonoma County, California

Oh man!  Are you in for a real treat with this Zinfandel.  First of all, you’re getting a Zinfandel from Mendocino and Sonoma County.  Already, the expectations are up a few notches.  Second of all, this “old vine” variety is pretty old by American standards – 50 years! The expectations of good, quality, concentrated flavors are even higher. Lastly, just open it and enjoy the cherry and raspberry aroma of this superb wine.  What all could be in this Zinfandel bottle, you ponder?  It’s actually mix of 80% Zinfandel,14% Carignane, 5% Petite Sirah, 1% Alicante Bouschet sourced from 75% Mendocino County, 24% Sonoma County, 1% Lodi.  Now that you have the full disclosure, start sipping and enjoying the intense flavors and great mouth feel of this well structured wine.  You’ll get some initial cracked pepper senses along with hints of vanilla. You’ll note moderate tannins with a lingering spiciness that enjoys sticking around a while. Like it? Have some more as this one may actually make you a Zin lover in case you haven’t found that right Zinfandel blend to meet your high expectations. You'll even note the bottle looks very cool and is quite fitting for Fall's celebrations with the old gnarly vine painted on it in lovely Autumnal shades. Sip, Enjoy...Repeat!

www.carolshelton.com

Hahne Estates Winery – Johnson City, Texas

If you’ve never met owner Gary Hahne before, then you’re in for a real treat. Besides his wine making history, he always has great stories to tell about the Hill Country and LBJ Ranch.  His family has good history to one of the states famous politicians, Lyndon B. Johnson.  Gary has many tall and true tales that makes a good story telling experience while sipping his wines. You can also view much of his family’s history with the Johnsons as can be seen with some unique photographs that are displayed on the wall.  Besides the family history, he has a good selection of wine to try out.  Right now, he’s getting his grapes from just about anywhere he can.  In Stonewall, he is planning on planting a vineyard starting with an acre of Nero d’Avola.  This is one of the hot and dry Italian varietals that has a potential to do well in the Hill County’s climate.  There are currently five wines available in his new tasting room that opened up back in July.  For the whites, you’ll start off with the Blanco.  It’s a Viognier blend with nice intense favors.  The Blanco River artwork on the label is quite spectacular.  The Opa is a dry Rose` that is a blend of Riesling, Thurgaw, and Spatburgunder (aka Pinot Noir).  A very nice chilled Rose` to have for those extended summer fall months in Texas.  The label depiction is a pencil drawing version of Gary’s grandfather on a horse.  The actually picture is on the wall.  Yes, his “Opa” actually did what you see on the label and, of course, there’s a good story Gary will tell you about that one as well.  The Texanti is Gary’s take on Chianti style wines - good fruit flavors for this Sangiovese blend.  Gary’s take on a Bordeaux style wine is called Texas Tapestry.  It’s a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Tempranillo, and Nero d’Avola.  It’s quite bold, has good tannins, and well balanced.  The addition of Nero d’Avola is his unique take on this classic red blend.  He might be on to something here.  The last wine is Armadillo WH.  The WH stands for World Headquarters.  It’s a sweet Cab, but with only 1% residual sugar - quite nice to have in the afternoon.  It’s a real treat to have a true local making wine in the Texas Hill Country.  The great and interesting stories Gary tells just adds to that unique experience that you won’t find elsewhere.  Stop by his shop along Johnson City’s square on your next wine trek thru these parts. You’ll have a pleasant time here sipping and chatting with Gary. Enjoy!

www.hahneestateswinery.com