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Messin’ with Texas Wine Country

Posted in Reviews, Adventures | Saturday, May 31st, 2008 | Trackback

Say “Texas” in a word association test and the one thing that probably does not automatically spring to mind is “wine.” “Longhorns,” “cowboys” and “oil,” sure, but probably not wine.

And that’s a shame because Texas is now the U.S.’s number five grape producer, with 220 family-owned vineyards taking up 3,700 acres, according to GoTexanWine.org. The Texan wine industry provides more than 8,000 of the state’s jobs. Texas even boasts an important wine pioneer among its natives. Texan Viticulturist Thomas Munson developed phylloxera-resistant rootstock, which helped save the European wine industry from that dreaded bug threatened to destroy it. Munson is honored in France with his own statues.

Still, wine growing is a nascent business in the state, with most its wineries less than two decades old. That’s no doubt part of the reason that we don’t associate Texas with wine. The other is that most Texas wineries are still small farms that produce limited batches, most al of which are enjoyed within the state.

Not that Texas doesn’t have a history of wine-making. In fact, wine-making in Texas goes back to Spanish times. But, like elsewhere in the country, the 14th amendment and prohibition pretty much wiped the industry out.

I visited a number of wineries on recent trip through the Texas Hill Country, two of which I’ll talk about here. I drove from San Antonio (home of The Alamo) up State Highway 281, through Johnson City (home of the American president of the same name), Marble Falls, Lampasas, and Mineral Wells to Bridgeport and Wichita Falls, stopping here and there along the way. Lovely bit of country riddled with cowboy history, legend and lore.

Texas Hills Vineyards
stop was Texas Hills Vineyards, near Johnson City, about 100 clicks north of San Antonio. Owned by Gary and Kathy Gilstrap, along with their son, Dale Rassett, THV, as we’ll dub it, has been producing award-winning wines for a little over a decade.

The tasting room, up a little drive next to the green vineyard, is convivial and friendly. Most Texans still don’t know much about wine (though I reckon most Californians don’t really, either), so it falls upon those working the tasting room to educate, and this they do well.

When I approached the counter, the woman there asked if I should prefer to taste dry or sweet wines. This I found interesting. In California and elsewhere, sweet dessert wines are usually considered an afterthought in the tasting order. Further conversation revealed that most sweet wines grow well in the Texan climate, and are also quite popular with the locals, who are used to other sweet liquors, such and bourbon whiskey, and soft drinks, like Coca-Cola and sweet iced tea. For all it’s rootin’-tootin’ history, Texas, or many parts of it, is not all that friendly to alcohol, and many counties there are still “dry,” a fact that no doubt has not helped Texas’ wine industry.

Not having much of a sweet tooth, I chose dry wines. THV estate grapes include Pinot Grigio, Sangiovese, Moscato, Chardonnay, Merlot, and Chenin Blanc. They also buy grapes from other local vineyards to make their Cinque Vino Rosso, Kick Butt Cab and Vino Dolce dessert wine.

2006 Due Bianco
Rating: ? ? ½
A blend of 21 percent Pinot Grigio and 70 percent Chardonnay, this crisp, light little number offers citrus and melon notes but has a slight finish and a rather steely nose. I was surprised that with so much Chard I didn’t get a creamier feel and more oak, but I rather liked that. I hate too much oak. A good, everyday wine with oysters and such.

2004 Cinque Vino Rosso
Rating: ? ? ?
A very interesting little blend of – no kidding – Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Ruby Cab, Sangiovese and Syrah. Usually you don’t see so much blending of Frog grapes with Eye-tie grapes, but hey, it’s the 21st century and anything goes. The result of this mutt: Pretty good. Lots of berry and black fruit notes with a little pepper on the back end. There’s also a good back-story to this wine. It was originally dubbed “Tres Pisano” and contained only three grapes. Then Gallo, which produces a wine called “Tre Paesano” threatened to sue for copyright infringement. So they added two more grapes and changed the name. Gotta love the wine business.

2005 Syrah
Rating: ? ?
Being a Syrah lover I had to try this one. I can’t say I was blown away, but I wasn’t disappointed, either. Certainly better than the syrup they’re mass producing in Australia these days under the rubric Shiraz. This Syrah has a slight but distinctive fruit nose, cream flavors and a short but definite finish.

2005 Kick Butt Cab
Rating: ? ? 1/2
A good food wine, KBC here has a strong, alcoholic nose, and seems to have just the right amount of tannins and spice from being aged in American oak. It’s funny, THV’s website brags that KBC is made from 22-year-old vines. Sorry, ya’ll, but you don’t get to brag about the age of your vines unless they are older than me!

Brushy Creek Vineyards
Winegrower Les Constable is the brains behind Brushy Creek Vineyards in Alvord, a few hours Northwest of Fort Worth, just off of US 287. A jolly elder gentleman who reminded me of 19th century “Old Saint Nick” Christmas illustrations, Constable’s goal is, as he puts it, “to make the very best wines that Texas can make.” 

It’s a trial and error process. A retired technology professional, Constable has been producing wines for about a decade. He currently grows or works with no less than 36 different grape varieties and produces some 30 wines, mostly in small batches, trying to figure out which will work best in the warm, sometimes humid Texas climate. Unlike coastal California or Northern France, Texas doesn’t usually have the morning chill that gapes of French provenance like so well. And while the afternoons are often hot, they’re not as dry for much of the year. So making California and French-style wines it tricky.

That’s why Constable is experimenting with grapes native to areas of the world whose climates are closer to that of Texas than to France or California: the Black Sea area, Hungary, Romania, parts of Spain and so forth. Smart guy, Constable.

2007 Rkatsitely
Rating: ? ? ? 1/2
Rkat-a-what?! Right, that’s what I said. Rkatsitely is a white Black Sea grape, and in Constable’s hand makes a wine that is surprisingly like Chablis – a little metallic, a little citrusy but also a little velvety. This is a total quaffer. Just don’t try to pronounce it. I later drank a bottle with my Texan cousins over dinner: We barbequed their prize pig, Stedman.  Rkatsitely, I can tell you, is great with barbequed Stedman.

NV Mirage Table Wine
Rating: **
This highly drinkable table vino is 50/50 Shiraz and Mourvedre. Slightly tawny in color with an earthy nose, this is a good any-time-of-day wine.

NV Three Friends
Rating: ? ?
A blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Shiraz and Mourvedre, this one has a dull ruby color and was a little fruitier and fuller than the Mirage. Very fruit forward, yet dry, with a short finish.

2006 Tempranillo
Rating: ? ? ?
Another of Constable’s risk-takers, this Spanish varietal is proving to be a good choice for the Texan soil. With a dense, tawny color and a caramel nose, this wine has a hint of spice as it touches the palate. It’s velvety up front with a tannic finish that should go well with most meat dishes. I definitely got the feeling, though, that after about another year or so in the bottle it would be good for another half spade on our rating scale, maybe even a full spade.

Texas’ wine industry certainly has a ways to go (note that while I visited several wineries, I saw fit only to buy from, and write about, two). But with chaps like Constable taking chances, it’s certainly on its way.