Flanigan's Distillery & Winery - Bertram, Texas

Nothing like an early 20^th century building in a small town to help set the mood for your wine tasting experience.  “Iron Star Hall” is the location of owner’s Kevin and Dana Flanigan’s winery.  Over the years, the two building sites have been a lumber store and post office.  It also served as a setting for the movie, “Newton Boys”.  The interior is quite spectacular and does have that 1920’s feel and look of the movie set hotel and bar. They’ve been opened since September of 2016 during the last Oatmeal festival and have been serving up some good wine & spirits along with some great story telling.  There are currently five wines available for tasting.  During your tasting session, Kevin will guide you through his sommelier experience and make sure that your sight, smell, and tasting experience is well done.  Along the way, he may tell you some interesting stories and jokes to help keep things lively.  The 2015 Viaggio is a dry white blend of 50% Muscat Blanc and 50% Muscat Canelli.  It’s loaded with citrus aromas and some tartaric acids.  Ironically, as you let it linger, it does smooth out for a nice finish.  The 2015 Rose’ is made from Mourvedre.  It has honey and cranberry notes and is perfect for these 100+ degree days in Texas.  The Bear is a 50/50 Merlot and Sangiovese blend using old world style techniques.  It is tannic with a long finish.  The Slainte is a new world style of 35% Malbec, 35% Mourvèdre, 9% Petite Sirah, 12% Petite Sirah, 6% Tannat, and 3% Alicante Bouschet.  Everything but the kitchen sink, right? It is quite fruit forward with some tobacco notes and is well balanced.   Last is the Marmalada.  It’s a sweet blend of Chenin Blanc, Viognier and Merlot.  Chilled, this makes a great light bodied wine that is smooth and refreshing and delightful for summertime sipping.  In addition to the wine tasting, there is a spirit tasting to do, as well.  Trust us, Kevin won’t let you out without trying them.  We might have to setup a separate blog for these, but you will get the level of quality tasting experience as you do with the wine and some good stories from Kevin.  This is a nice addition to the Bertram area and is worth the stop on your way out to the Hill Country.  Cheers!

www.flaniganswineandspirits.com