A GREAT TEXAS WHITE WINE – VIOGNIER
Texas heat begs a great chilled white wine. Texas makes some outstanding white wines with one white wine being one of the best, being Viognier. This lovely white wine is medium in body with tones of tangerine, peach, and mango with bouquet of honeysuckle and roses. This grape is believed to have originated in Croatia and taken by Roman soldiers to what is now the northern part of the Rhone region in southwest France. This wine pairs wonderfully with foods flavored with almonds, citrus, stewed fruits, and aromatic herbs like tarragon and basil. Texas consistently makes some of the BEST Viognier in the world earning Double Gold Medals and acclaim from people all over the world. Although this wine is grown in other areas like California, blind taste tests consistently place this Texas white wine in the top. Sixteen Viogniers from Texas France, and California were blind-tasted a few years ago. The committee consensus was the top six wines were all from Texas. This consistency of quality in Texas wines can be easily found in Viogniers from various Texas wineries like:
• Alamosa Vineyards
• Becker Vineyards
• Bingham Family Vineyards
• Brennan Vineyards
• Cross Timbers Winery
• Flat Creek Winery
• Grape Creek Vineyards
• Kiepersol Estates Winery
• Landon Winery
• Llano Estacado Winery
• Lone Oak Winery
• McPherson Cellars
• Messina Hof Winery
• Pedernales cellars
• Perissos Vineyard and Winery
• Ron Yates Winery
This luscious white deserves to be enjoyed with friends with or without food. It is an outstanding Summer Sipper when served chilled or even over ice. It is light and has an oily feel in the mouth, making it a great thirst quencher. Some of the above Texas Viogniers are available at HEB Grocery, SPEC’s, and Total Wine.
If you want to experiment, this wine is a great base for your fruit-laden Sangria that you can make in a larger pitcher with slices of orange, peach, apple, and tangerine.
Texas Wine in Texas Restaurants
The Cabernet Grill in Fredericksburg in the Texas Hill Country has perhaps the largest wine menu of Texas wines in the world. They have 18 Texas wines by the glass with Texas wine by the bottle from 52 Texas wineries. The Cabernet Grill is known for its world class foods paired with outstanding Texas wines. This is a must-visit place in the Texas Hill Country with reservations recommended!
USA TODAY BEST Wine Region in the Country
USA TODAY is hosting a fan-favorite contest to select the top wine regions in the country. The Voting continues online at www.10best.com. By the way, The Cabernet Grill is also in the running to be the top wine country restaurant. At the time of writing this article, the Texas Hill Country was ranked sixth by popularity and Cabernet Grill ranked number three in voter popularity.
