Celebrate the Texas Harvest
Texas grapes will be coming into many Texas wineries over the next few weeks after a past week of rain. The Gulf Coast Harvest of Blanc du Bois was finished around the first week of July thank to Hurricane Beryl, with the harvest starting in the second week of June. Normally the first grapes from the Texas interior being the classic grapes, vitis vinifera, are the Chardonnay grapes with the thin-skinned reds coming into the wineries from the vineyards. The last grapes to be harvested are the thick-skinned grapes like Cabernet Sauvignon. I predict out Texas harvest will be finished before the first week in October which is normal for end of grape harvest.
Texas wineries will be celebrating with Harvest celebrations. Below are a few of the winery celebrations:
• Messina Hof Winery in Bryan celebrates the grape harvest every weekend in August. This ticketed event will feature grape harvests, meals, grape-stomping contests, and more. For more information, on this 47th Annual Harvest Celebration, go to www.MessinaHof.com.
• Bernhardt Winery holds its Grape Stomp Festival on August 10th from noon to 6 pm and is free to attend and enjoy. Wine tastings, grape stomps and train tours through the vineyards are nominal in cost. For more information, go to www.BernhardtWinery.com.
• Texas Hill Country Wineries invite you to a multitude of Harvest Celebrations which can be found at www.TexasWineTrail.com. It does pay to plan ahead to attend the various grape stomps, wine tastings, concerts, and wine dinners in the nation’s second most popular wine country destination. For instance, Pedernales Cellars is also hosting a Harvest Picnic on Saturday, August. 17th from 10 a.m. to 5p.m. where guests can enjoy a BBQ lunch and glass of wine. You can also participate in a “Grape Stamp” where they will use corks to stamp fabric paint onto a Pedernales t-shirt. Once the harvest of grapes is in and the wines have fermented, celebrate Texas wines with October being designated as Texas Wine Month.
Expanding Your Wine Palette
People ask me how to develop your palette on wines. I have several opportunities for you to have an evening of tasting diverse, but outstanding wines. The best way to expand and educate that palette is to taste a diversity of wines while also getting an education on each wine. Your first opportunity is September 20th at Bayway Cadillac of The Woodlands located on the east side of I-45 at 16785, I-45. There will be sixty or so premium wines for you to experience at a variety of wine tasting stations manned by wine experts providing their take on each wine’s characteristics. Did I also mention that outstanding Chefs will be pairing foods with those wines? A limited number of tickets for this palette pleaser are still available through Food and Vine Time as a part of their expanded Food and Wine Week in The Woodlands Don’t forget their Market Street Stroll moved to October 17th. This event runs for four hours starting at 5pm. and will be held during the cooler time of the year in lieu of in June during WINE and FOOD WEEK in THE WOODLANDS.