MEMORIAL DAY OPENS UP A SUMMER OF WHITES AND ROSES AND MORE
We celebrate and memorialize those who protect and defend us this weekend. It will be a great three-day weekend to spend time honoring those who gave their all and also enjoy a relaxing break. This Holiday also signals a time of coming hot Summer weather and changes in our living conditions. The weather has been warm to hot, but the Summer heat is coming. The onslaught of heat means lighter clothing, lighter foods, and especially light wines. Fashion dictates lighter clothing with darks acceptable after Labor Day this fall. In addition, our foods transition to light Summer salads, fresh fruits, lively veggies, and iced drinks. Chilled wines such as most white wines and Roses’ fit the fare very well. Some people also enjoy the buttery oaked Chardonnay even though it is heavier than an unoaked Chardonnay.
With Sumer comes a lot of fun in waters at pools, the beaches, and lakes. Glass bottles are forbidden at most of these venues. Wineries recognize this and are reverting to wines in cans. Beer and sodas no longer have a monopoly on cans. Texas wineries have come forward with their cans of wines for your enjoyment on the water and golf courses. The first Texas Winery to have canned wine is Fiesta Winery with its sweet white wine and a Rose’. Messina Hof Winery has three canned wine products on the market, being a dry Rose’, a sweet Beau, and a Peach Moscato. Chris Brundrett of William Chris Vineyards and Andrew Sides of Lost Draw Cellars decided to take on the canned wine scene and formed Yes We Can Wine. Their first canned wine was Sway Rosé. This Texas-grown canned dry rosé wine is from the Texas High Plains. Kiepersol Winery near Tyler, has released their first canned wine called Flight. This bubbly and dry rosé has 2.4% RS (residual sugar) and is derived from grapes from their estate vineyard. Their other canned wine, Fizzy Vit was born out of a collaboration with Spoetzl Brewery in Shiner, Texas. The original Fizzy Vit married the passions of brewing and winemaking in Texas taking Shiner yeast, that has made the iconic Texas brand for over a century, and using it to kick off a secondary fermentation resulting in the “fizz” in the Vit. Infinite Monkey Theorem with a winery in n Austin has popular canned wines in Texas, consisting of white, Dry Hopped Sauvignon Blanc – Hints of citrus (grapefruit and lychee), Red (Merlot), Rosé, Dry Hopped Pear Cider, and Bubble Universe (Riesling)
Most of these canned wines are available in local retail stores this Summer such as HEB Grocery Stores and SPEC’s.
Please celebrate this Memorial Day weekend responsibly. Do NOT drink and drive, If you drink, have either a designated drive or UBER home. I want you to be able to read my June WINE WALK!
Special Local Winery Concerts
Make plans to ease into the Summer with friends while attending weekend concerts at local wineries. Four wineries invite you to visit them to enjoy their wines and the special concerts they have line up for your entertainment. Concerts include:
• May 28th – Vance King presents an Elvis Tribute Concert at Wild Stallion Vineyards off West Rayford Road south of The Woodlands.
• May 28th – JP Kendrick provides an acoustic guitar concert at Blue Epiphany Winery at 400 Bryant Road in Conroe starting at 6 pm.
• May 29th – Greg Day Concert starting at 3 pm at Whitley Vineyards in Montgomery.
• May 29th – Adam Grant presents a Garth Brooks Tribute Concert at Bernhardt Winery for the Memorial Day Weekend Sunday affair, starting at 6:30 pm.
Most wineries will charge a concert fee to offset the cost of the entertainment.
