12-year Anniversary!

Last July marked a dozen years at this. Never planned it that way, but glad that things have continued.  We still see new varietals being planted and making Texas their new home. On the global stage, places like England are beginning to rival other regions with their bubbles.  We have seen how well some decades old Texas wines have aged from vintages that many considered unlikely. Breaking out a 2008 Viviano from Llano Estacado Winery was a real treat! We might have a few well aged surprises for the upcoming year, too.  Texas does produce World Class wines! Speaking of great vintages for Texas, it looks like 2022 might be reminiscent of 2011 with the super extreme heat and drought – time will tell. We always get excited about potentially exceptional wine years. On the winery side, we have seen a number of them start to embrace the keg wine model. It’s the same great wine you typically get in a bottle - just bring your growler for a refill like they do in the old country. Speaking of new wineries, look at how Mason, Texas has changed in recent years. Having gone from just one winery when we first visited in 2008 to at least 10 if you include Voca. This makes Mason a new cool wine destination. Additionally, have you noticed how Johnson City has been gaining new tasting rooms, too?  The future continues to look bright for new wines to try, wineries to visit, and wine trail and travel adventures to be explored and told. Looking back across the dozen years, we can say we have enjoyed a lot of places and tried to visit as many different wineries as possible. We have also met many wonderful wine friends along and way and are as grateful for those friendships. We likewise believe it is important to test the potential that our finer wines have for longer aging and cellaring and will continue to shine a light on that aspect of many wines discovered along our travels.  Though the past couple of years have caused us to slow down on some of the traveling and exploring, we have continued to support “local” wineries and grape farmers through a lot of wine purchases (thank goodness for shipping) and have enjoyed many a fine wine and food pairing at home during the pandemic. As we look ahead in the coming year, we hope we can begin to leave the pandemic behind us and venture forth into many more wineries to continue to help celebrate and cheer on the many wonderful people working hard to produce some amazing products. Cheers!