Thoughts on Texas Wines
While sipping on a splendid glass of McPherson Red Blend, I thought to myself, “this is an outstanding wines so why share it with others?” I want it just for me and then I remembered that wines are best when shared. I also thought that Texas needs to share with the world in a braggart manner our great wines. It was 49 years ago that Texas’ first winery started after Prohibition had ended 43 years earlier. Our wines were satisfactory, but nothing a true Texan could brag about. In 1980, we had three new wineries since Prohibition ended. In 2005, we had 50. Then things happened quickly and with a magical wisp of the wand, Texas wineries grew to over 1,000 in number and were producing outstanding wines. As a native Texan, I think we should be proud of our Texas wines. A few months ago, the San Francisco Wine Competition again noticed how great Texas wines are. Under mostly California wine judges, Texas wines took six Best of Show, 29 Double Gold Medals, 69 Gold Medals, and oodles of Silver medals. I agree with those California wines judges! Texas makes some pretty good wines!
Texas grows outstanding grapes and makes a lot of award-winning wines. Texas has a lot to be proud of. We can go to our H. E. B. Grocery or Kroger’s and now purchase outstanding wines. We do some decent Chardonnay, but our Viognier is world class consistently earning the highest accolades at wine competitions. Our Blanc du Bois grapes are world class with Texas leading the way in the production of Blanc du Bois which is a hybrid white gr ape grown along the Gulf Coast. We are known for our outstanding red like Tempranillo, Mouvedere’ Sangiovese, and Sagrantino. Becker Winery near Fredericksburg makes some great reds including their Cabernet Sauvignon Syrah blend. The Bonarrigo Family at Messina Hof Winery is the world’s largest producer of Sagrantino grapes in the world! This third generation Family in Texas consistently produces award winning wines. They are now making a sparkling Sagrantino Rose’ wine that is catching a lot of attention. Texas is starting to produce sizable quantities of quality sparkling wines with Heath Winery in the Texas Hill Country producing some amazing wines. Wineries like Bending Branch and Kerrville Hills are leading the country in a process known as “flash détente” which produces wines with outstanding fruit extraction. The crushed grapes consisting of grape juice, pulp, sins, and seeds are heated to a temperature of around 185 degrees F which will cause the flavonoid/ester pods to explode providing enhanced fruit injection into the wines. This hot mess is then cooled to around 80 degrees so the process of fermentation can then proceed.
Rose’ wines are another great Texas wine type. A Rose’ is a red wine grape that is processed similar to a white wine grape except it allows for a few hours of skin contact time to pick up a little color. The result is a pinkish wine with loads of fruit and is usually consumed chilled. I highly recommend a glass of McPherson Mouvedere Rose”.
Whatever your style of wine you enjoy, you can find it in Texas. Remember! The best wines are found at the wineries since the retail stores require lots of cases of wines to be committed for sale at their stores. Texas wines have become of age and quality!
