Everyone is being significantly impacted by the Corona Virus. The entire world is frozen in its actions, completely caught off guard by the sudden changes implemented by governments around the world. Concerts, rodeos, March Madness, fairs and so much more are cancelled/postponed. What is a Texas Wine Lover to do? Luckily, there are some actions that you can take to bridge these mandatory shutdowns in our world. Try some of these escapes:
• Buy Texas wines at HEB, Kroger’s or SPEC’s for your enjoyment. Take a posed picture of your Texas wine along with food pairing to post in Facebook. Better yet, email your pictures to me at [email protected] for possible inclusion in next week’s wine column. Submitting your picture gives me permission to publish.
• Buy wine online and have it shipped to your home from a myriad of Texas wineries. Many Texas wineries are enticing sales with the offer of free shipping. Some are giving discounts if buying four bottles or more, especially if it amounts to a case or more. Several wineries are going online with videoed wine tastings on YOUTUBE for you to enjoy and listen to with family while sipping on your Texas wines.
• Now is a great time to start planning a trip to visit Texas wineries once the pandemic is gone. Places like Fredericksburg or Comfort in the Texas Hill Country look forward to working with you for future accommodations on your trip(s). Most of Texas wineries are dog friendly. The key is not to overload yourself with a quantity of winery visits. Quality is what matters. Check out the various Texas Wine Trails. Regretfully, the Texas Bluebonnet Wine Trail is postponed for now due to the Corona pandemic.
• Contact the various wineries to see if their tasting rooms are open. I know several of these winery tasting rooms are open. With the day-to-day changes in how tight the reins are closed to control on public access in a pandemic world, please contact the winery the day when you wish to visit. You will encounter very tight cleanliness.
I look forward to hearing of your adventures on the Texas Winery scene.
New Wine Trail Opens in Montgomery, Walker, and Polk Counties
A new wine trail has just formed consisting of eight wineries to the north of Houston called the Sam Houston Wine Trail. I guess it is called that because the general area where the wineries are located is where that famous Texas Hero Sam Houston lived most of his life in Texas. The wineries include in alphabetical order:
• Blue Epiphany Winery at 400 Bryan Road on the north side of Conroe
• Golden Oak Micro Cellar at 1124 Jones Road in New Waverly
• H-Wines Domaine des Hospitalieres with its primary located at 14343 Liberty Street in Montgomery and a secondary location at 110 Pinto Lane in Coldspring
• Knox Circle Winery – Froggy Wines at 104 Knox Circle in Huntsville
• Tempe Creek Vineyards and Farms at 307 Dickens Ranch Road in Livingston
• Teysha Vineyard at 577 Dodge Oakhurst Road in Huntsville
• Tosca Winery at 231 Hostetter Road in New Waverly
• West Sandy Creek Winery at 1773 FM 1791 Road in Richards.
These eight wineries are the nucleus of a wine trail which was opening up just when the Corona pandemic hit. These wineries are active until the pandemic shut down their public operations. I will have more on this wine trail in the future, but you can find information on the various wineries at www.SamHoustonWineTrail.com. I hope you will post on FaceBook and other social media your Texas wine experiences!