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Texas wines finally making a mark on domestic front
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| Inwood Estates Vineyards barrel room in their Dallas winery ages their Texas-grown wines to produce classic wines with great finesse. |
By Ron Saikowski
Houston Wine Walk
Wine legend, Robert Mondavi, was impressed with Texas and its wines. He said in the foreword to “The Wine Roads of Texas” by Wes Marshall in 2002, “I see distinct parallels between the Napa Valley in the middle of the last center and Texas, as this century begins.”
Texas is on the verge of becoming a great wine state. In the last 10 years, Oregon and Washington have become noted for producing great wines. Texas is beginning to get that same recognition, but on a much smaller scale since few Texas wines make it out of the state. Texans consume almost all of the one million cases of Texas-produced wines produced each year.
As wine production increases in Texas, other states will begin to recognize what great Texas wines we make as we begin to export our surplus Texas wines. Internationally known wine guru, Robert Parker, in his recently released book added a chapter called “The Other 47,” being the states besides California, Oregon and Washington. Several Texas Wineries were among the “Top 60.” One of those top Texas Wineries is Inwood Estates Vineyards in the Dallas area. DAN & ROSEMARY GATLIN began growing grapes in 1981. They now have four vineyards and an impressive winery operation producing wines of character & finesse.
Houston is ringed with wineries that produce unique wines. Our Houston Wine Walk will be centered on those wineries and the local Houston wine events. We will explore a local winery each week as we journey through this ring of wineries which include HAAK WINERY in Santa Fe, CIRCLE S WINERY in Sugar Land, WIMBERLY VALLEY WINERY in Spring, BERNHARDT WINERY in Plantersville, COLONY CELLARS in Waller, PLEASANT HILL WINERY and WINDY HILL WINERY in Brenham, PURPLE POSSUM WINERY in Navasota, MESSINA HOF WINERY & RESORT in Bryan and YEPEZ WINERY in Baytown.
Houston is also host to several large wine events such as WINE & FOOD WEEK IN THE WOODLANDS along with numerous shorter events and wine tastings featuring wine makers from through out the world. Although the number of wine tastings vary per week, there are at least three and sometimes as many as 30 wine tastings per week which feature a wine maker. Upcoming events include:
Nov. 16 – Join the crew on the FANTASEA (116-foot yacht) for a 2-and-a-half hour cruise in Galveston Bay featuring wine and food pairings during this special yachting experience. Cost is $69.95 per adult (plus tax). Call (281) 538-9600.
Nov. 16 – Haak Winery in Sante Fe will be hosting a Zydeco Festival. For information on this and other winery events, go to www.haakwine.com.
Nov. 20 – The French-American Chamber of Commerce will be hosting its 25th Annual Beaujolais Festival at the Hyatt Regency Imperial Ballroom to celebrate the annual rite of their wine releases. Advance tickets are $50 per adult. Call (713) 960-0575.
Dec. 19 – Bernhardt Winery will be hosting a Christmas celebration of luminaries from 5 to 10 p.m. with an evening concert featuring Kevin Black and others. Hay rides will also be provided.
Houston Wine Walk will feature at least one of RON’S WINE PICKS of the week and a Houston restaurant where you can pair Texas wines with the eatery’s choice foods.
This week’s featured wine is INWOOD ESTATES VINEYARDS TEMPRANILLO-CABERNET. This full-bodied, inky red wine is as big as most wine drinkers expect in a classic wine. This wine smacks of blackberries, currants, strawberries and cherries. The GATLINS grow both the Tempranillo and Cabernet Sauvignon grapes in their vineyards in Yoakum County in West Texas.
This special wine has a special price of $39.95 per bottle and can be found in several SPEC’s stores and in the wine section at H-E-B Central Markets in the Houston Area. This wine is also found in restaurants such as Vic & Anthony’s, Fleming’s, Kirby’s, Four Seasons, Tony’s and several other restaurants in the Houston area.
Do you have wine-related news? Contact Ron Saikowski at rsaikowski@comcast.net. Saikowski covers wine-related news around the Houston area and is in the process of opening his own winery in Conroe.
Texas is on the verge of becoming a great wine state. In the last 10 years, Oregon and Washington have become noted for producing great wines. Texas is beginning to get that same recognition, but on a much smaller scale since few Texas wines make it out of the state. Texans consume almost all of the one million cases of Texas-produced wines produced each year.
As wine production increases in Texas, other states will begin to recognize what great Texas wines we make as we begin to export our surplus Texas wines. Internationally known wine guru, Robert Parker, in his recently released book added a chapter called “The Other 47,” being the states besides California, Oregon and Washington. Several Texas Wineries were among the “Top 60.” One of those top Texas Wineries is Inwood Estates Vineyards in the Dallas area. DAN & ROSEMARY GATLIN began growing grapes in 1981. They now have four vineyards and an impressive winery operation producing wines of character & finesse.
Houston is ringed with wineries that produce unique wines. Our Houston Wine Walk will be centered on those wineries and the local Houston wine events. We will explore a local winery each week as we journey through this ring of wineries which include HAAK WINERY in Santa Fe, CIRCLE S WINERY in Sugar Land, WIMBERLY VALLEY WINERY in Spring, BERNHARDT WINERY in Plantersville, COLONY CELLARS in Waller, PLEASANT HILL WINERY and WINDY HILL WINERY in Brenham, PURPLE POSSUM WINERY in Navasota, MESSINA HOF WINERY & RESORT in Bryan and YEPEZ WINERY in Baytown.
Houston is also host to several large wine events such as WINE & FOOD WEEK IN THE WOODLANDS along with numerous shorter events and wine tastings featuring wine makers from through out the world. Although the number of wine tastings vary per week, there are at least three and sometimes as many as 30 wine tastings per week which feature a wine maker. Upcoming events include:
Nov. 16 – Join the crew on the FANTASEA (116-foot yacht) for a 2-and-a-half hour cruise in Galveston Bay featuring wine and food pairings during this special yachting experience. Cost is $69.95 per adult (plus tax). Call (281) 538-9600.
Nov. 16 – Haak Winery in Sante Fe will be hosting a Zydeco Festival. For information on this and other winery events, go to www.haakwine.com.
Nov. 20 – The French-American Chamber of Commerce will be hosting its 25th Annual Beaujolais Festival at the Hyatt Regency Imperial Ballroom to celebrate the annual rite of their wine releases. Advance tickets are $50 per adult. Call (713) 960-0575.
Dec. 19 – Bernhardt Winery will be hosting a Christmas celebration of luminaries from 5 to 10 p.m. with an evening concert featuring Kevin Black and others. Hay rides will also be provided.
Houston Wine Walk will feature at least one of RON’S WINE PICKS of the week and a Houston restaurant where you can pair Texas wines with the eatery’s choice foods.
This week’s featured wine is INWOOD ESTATES VINEYARDS TEMPRANILLO-CABERNET. This full-bodied, inky red wine is as big as most wine drinkers expect in a classic wine. This wine smacks of blackberries, currants, strawberries and cherries. The GATLINS grow both the Tempranillo and Cabernet Sauvignon grapes in their vineyards in Yoakum County in West Texas.
This special wine has a special price of $39.95 per bottle and can be found in several SPEC’s stores and in the wine section at H-E-B Central Markets in the Houston Area. This wine is also found in restaurants such as Vic & Anthony’s, Fleming’s, Kirby’s, Four Seasons, Tony’s and several other restaurants in the Houston area.
Do you have wine-related news? Contact Ron Saikowski at rsaikowski@comcast.net. Saikowski covers wine-related news around the Houston area and is in the process of opening his own winery in Conroe.
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