Barking Rocks News Flash. Friday night, October 16th we will be listening to Beatlegras.  They are accomplished musicians that blend Beatles music and bluegrass style in a way that Ringo would totally dig. Doors open at 7:00 for a little socializing (wine drinking) and the show will begin about 8:00. Rumor has it that Rhett is coming to sit in on a song or two. We only sell about 100 tickets so it will be very intimate.  Secure your $15 seat by dropping by the winery (preferred) or calling 817-579-0007.

Whole Foods Market/Highland Park. Match craft beer with great food. Wednesday, October 14, 2-4:00 p.m. (4100 Lomo Alto & Lemmon) Garrett Oliver, Brewmaster of Brooklyn Brewery, author and international beer guru, will be at the store to answer all of your beer and brewing questions. Garrett will be cooking and pairing four of his brews with delicious foods as well.

Rahr and Sons Brewery and the Greyhound Adoption League of Texas.  Wrap up Greyhound Awareness Month Saturday, Oct 17 1:00-3:00pm with an afternoon beer tasting. Cost is $5 per person which includes a souvenir pint glass and 3 full beer tastings.  A portion of the proceeds benefit The Greyhound Adoption League of Texas.Click here for more information or call 972-503-GALT.  Rahr and Sons Brewery is located at 701 Galveston Avenue in Fort Worth.

Five Sixty by Wolfang Puck. New New Happy Hour Concept. “Sip and See” takes on a whole new meaning with the launch of Five Sixty by Wolfgang Puck’s happy hour on Monday, October 12.Dallas’ restaurant with a view will serve beverages and bites at happy hour prices on weekday evenings. Monday through Friday, from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m., Five Sixty will offer a changing food menu of various “chef’s choice” items in the restaurant’s bar and lounge atop Reunion Tower. Drink offerings will include a list of five choices comprised of beer, wine and cocktails. This is a happy hour designed to keep guests smiling with each of the five tapas-sized plates and five varying drink options priced at $5.60 each.

It’s A Grind Coffee House. Fairgoers receive 10 percent off soothing tea drinks (”Soothies”) with fair ticket stub or photo of consumption of greasy goodness. To receive the discount all customers must do is show their State Fair of Texas ticket stub or a photo of them consuming deep-fried delicacies (photos will be added to the It’s A Grind Facebook page). “Soothies” are made with real fruit puree and green tea, which has been shown in studies to help aid in digestion. They are available in three flavors: Mango Mania, Strawberry Banana and Wildberry. Fairgoers can simply ride the DART rail system Green Line from the Fair Park to the Baylor Medical station (It’s A Grind’s Dallas’ location) to get their “Soothie” to help ease the pain!”

Sevy’s Scotch Club. On our beautiful covered patio, from 5:00-7:00 pm on Monday, October 19th. We will feature five great single malts with specially selected food pairings for each.  $44.95 per person, plus tax and gratuity.  Reservations required, seating is limited.  Contact Jimmy, Stefaan, or Amy M. at SevysCatering@aol.com, or 214-265-7389.

I know these wine videos don’t appeal to every reader, but I have a soft spot in my heart for wine makers in Texas. Twelve years ago I found myself standing in a barn outside of McKinney with some folks from the Texas Agriculture Department and a handful of area farmers. The Agriculture Department was touring the state and encouraging farmers to consider grapes as a cash crop.  Many  “seasoned” farmers scratched their heads and snickered–they’d never heard such heresy. Most of them went back to their fields and planted whatever crop fit their comfort level. However, a few took the challenge and now successfully grow and sell grapes.

Texas has a long way to go in the grape growing business. Currently there are only about 4,000 acres dedicated  to grapes. But the farmers who have devoted themselves to the task are producing some marvelous raw product.

I say all of this because after watching  these videos produced  by Andrew Chalk, I fell for Gabe Parker of Homestead Winery in Invanhoe, Texas. I love the deft touch of his hands as they move through the grapes. I adore his Texas accent that flowers his explanation of  the ancient wine making process of fermentation taking place on the High Plains, AVA Tempranillo grapes.

Gabe slays me again when he compares and contrasts the process with his Cabernet.

In the video above, Gabe Parker, owner of Homestead Winery, discusses the winery’s La Bodega de Mitchell sherry with Andrew Chalk. Below, is Chalk’s report on the sherry production at Homestead Winery.

Every now and again, you discover a really memorable wine. It usually happens when you least expect it. Such was the case on Labor Day when I decided to spend the day traveling the Munson Wine Trail and started at Homestead Winery in Ivanhoe. The visit started typically enough. We were taken through the range of Homestead wines from dry whites to, reds, to sweet wines. The surprise came right at the end when owner Gabe Parker said, “Have you tried our sherry?” That caught my attention. Outside its traditional home in Spain,  a wine labeled ‘sherry’ is usually a bad wine cut with cheap brandy to mask its ‘unsaleability’ (Ed. note: new word, Kirk.).

Gabe was insistent and thrust a glass of a pale brown liquid into my hand. It was the right color for an Oloroso sherry certainly, but that is the easiest characteristic of a wine to replicate (just play around with the Deputy Dawg  Chemistry Set for a bit). I smelled it and discovered a nutty, slightly orangey nose of genuine Oloroso sherry. One sip and the caramel and earthy flavors of sherry wrapped in complex patterns around my tongue. There is a hint in the nose and the mouth of the spirit used in fortification. This wine is definitely sweet, but not cloying. How can they do this, I wonder, without the sine qua non of sherry production, the solera?

A solera is an elaborate chain (or stack) of barrels in which, each year, part of one barrel is transferred to the next and the oldest liquid is poured off and bottled. A little reflection allows one to conclude that under this system there is always some of the earliest wine in the solera. A little math allows one to conclude that the average age of the wine bottled at the end asymptotically approaches a fixed value (if all else is constant). The important point is that since it contains so many vintages, and is aged so long, that the flavor is immensely complex and little affected by vintage variations in climate or harvesting practices. The wine truly develops a house style that depends in part on the exact details (such as its length) of the solera process. Sherry is not the only beverage aged this way but it is the best known.

“We have a solera,” says Gabe matter-of-factly. Dr. Roy Mitchell, Homestead’s winemaker, started it in 1973. (That’s when Lynyrd Skynyrd released Free Bird and a new AMC Javelin set you back $2,900.) Homestead’s sherry produced is currently pretty much at the peak of the ageing quality that can be expected from that solera. It started life as blend of several grapes (mostly Chardonnay, Chenin Blanc and Sauvignon Blanc) and was made into table wine. Next, it was fortified with a fairly prosaic brandy. Then it was aged for several years, sometimes as long as a decade, either in bottles or in sealed wooden barrels. The fruit declined and an oxidized, nutty quality developed in the wine. At this point, the wine would be written off as table wine. But, if one is making sherry, the wine is now ready to enter the solera. Homestead’s solera consists of five levels, each one an American Oak barrel made by a cooper in Missouri who also supplies establishments in Portugal and Spain. At Homestead, only a third of a barrel of sherry is removed each year, so annual production is miniscule (less than 100 cases).

The winemaker behind this 30-plus year project is the well-respected Dr. Roy Mitchell. Mitchell, now a retired chemistry professor, was one of the pioneers of the Texas wine industry and worked with wineries such as Llano Estacado, Cap Rock, and Pheasant Ridge. He taught at Grayson County College’s Viticulture and Enology program and Gabe Parker estimates that Mitchell has taught over half of the winemakers in Texas. His sherry is just one of many of his wines that have won prizes.

Homestead Winery at Ivanhoe is open Fridays through Sundays. The tasting room is an old schoolhouse. Its diminutive size suggests that childhood obesity may have been less of a problem 50 years ago. Homestead also has a winery in Grapevine and a tasting room in downtown Denison. Check out a video report here.

In this video Benjamin Calais, owner/winemaker of Calais Winery, talks with Andrew Chalk about the challenges of making wine in Texas.

Families are welcome to enjoy activities such as the annual GrapeStomp,  a special kids only zone, live music on six stages and mini excursions on the Grapevine Vintage Railroad. 

Big kids, like me, will enjoy the Buick People’s Choice Wine Tasting Classic, featuring Texas wine favorites voted on by participants in the largest consumer judged wine competition.  Three pavilions will showcase the wine, two pouring wine from around the state, one dedicated specifically to Grapevine wine, and I am looking forward to purple feet from the GrapeStomp competition.  The culinary agenda is packed with demonstrations from some of Dallas’ favorite chefs, including Joanne Bondy, Brian Olenjack, Katie Natale, Paula Lambert and Royal Chef, Darren McGrady.

Want to visit the wine country but out of NetJets units? Or don’t want to bear the cost of getting the G50 out of mothballs in the Arizona desert? Easy. Tour the wine country in Dallas where there are now four commercial wineries that have banded together in a joint promotion called the Dallas Wine Trail. The idea is that you travel from one winery to the other, taste three wines at each, talk to the winemakers, and tour the winemaking facilities. For $39 you get the tasting, light food at each location, a souvenir glass and a bottle of one of the wineries wines to take home.

First stop was throbbing downtown Lakewood to visit Times Ten Cellars. This winery sells almost entirely California wine. However, a new development is the coming on stream of their own Texas vineyard “Cathedral Mountain Vineyard” in Alpine Texas (that is so far away it’s closer to Chihuahua than Dallas). It is planted to what appears to be a risk-aversion strategy: Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc reflect Bordeaux. Syrah and Grenache reflect the Rhone region of France and Tempranillo reflects Spain. We tasted the first vintage from Central Mountain Vineyard which includes all of these grapes (see tasting notes below the jump). The food consisted of sandwich rolls filled with either tuna salad or ham. Pretty tasty.

Next stop was at Calais Winery in the neutron bomb test zone known as Deep Ellum. This is the newest of the four wineries on the tour having been formed by Frenchman Benjamin Calais, with exquisite timing, just prior to the economic crash of 2008. To date, all of their wines have been made with California fruit shipped under dry ice for fermentation and aged at their winery in Dallas. However, change is afoot. On the day of the tour, he and his wife had got back barely 24 hours earlier from Newsom Vineyards in Plains, West Texas having spent 48 hours, virtually without sleep, hand picking and crushing fruit left on the vines after mechanical harvesting was completed. Newsom Vineyards is the source of most of the top-ranked Tempranillo wines from the state and Calais and his wife had to go through this hand-picking ordeal because there is a queue of some 50 wineries ahead of him for the fruit. He told me how he had planned to make a Rosé like the Tempranillo Rosados from Spain but gave up when he saw the color of Texas fruit immediately after crushing. The pigmentation was so dark he realized he would be making an inky red monster whatever his best-laid plans. The food match was Scardello’s cheeses although I had to leave before any serious sampling so I just grabbed a slice of the Empire Bakery bread.

The third stop was FUQUA Winery. This winery is focused mainly on California fruit and all three wines we tasted were majority California wine. The food here was the most varied of anywhere on the tour. Rex’s Fresh Seafood provided shrimp paste on crackers that tasted truly shrimpy but unfortunately had some chili’s in that made them incompatible with the wine. Kathleen’s Sky Diner (neé Kathleen’s Art Café) provided half a dozen toppings for bruschetta, an organic meat producer from Oklahoma provided succulent mouth-sized portions of various cuts of beef and Paula Lambert, representing her own firm, Mozzarella Company, served six cheeses including three very worthy chevres.

The final stop was Inwood Estate Vineyards. Here the emphasis is certainly not on ambience. Inwood Estate Vineyards produces wine exclusively from Texas fruit. The winery has a separate label, xxx, for its non-Texas wines. For the tour, they pulled out all the stops, serving their latest flagship offerings of Tempranillo-Cabernet blends, Tempranillo and the limited release ‘Magellan’, a blend of the five Bordeaux varieties and Tempranillo.

Perhaps it was a cult following, perhaps just because it was later in the day, but Inwood Estates was packed. The food had suffered. Maybe it had started as a hors d’oeuvres plate but by now it resembled a grainy movie of 1945 Dresden, with red specks. I passed.
The next Dallas Wine Trail will be publicized here on SideDish. I highly recommend it if you can take part.

Until then, jump for my geeky tasting notes.

Andrew Chalk’s Geeky  Tasting Notes

All of the wines on the tour are available at the wineries and all permit ordering over the Internet via their web sites if you wish. So, since some of you may wonder what wines I have been talking about, here are my geeky notes on all 12:

Times Ten Cellars

2007 Cathedral Mountain Vineyard, Vino de terra Alta. Red Blend, Texas

A blend of 33% Tempranillo, 33% Syrah, 2437% Grenache, 3% Cabernet Sauvignon and 3% Cabernet Franc.

The nose has spiciness, Tempranillo fruit and red fruits. The taste is thin on the mid-palette, slightly sweet with a short to medium finish. So many varieties in the blend leave the varietal character of this wine a mystery.

Drink now, maybe with BBQ.

This is the first year for wine from this young vineyard. I think we are beta testing the vineyard. The vines, and the winemaker, need time to get the best from each other.   80/100

2006 Cabernet Sauvignon, Central Coast, California

The nose has raspberries and liquorice. The taste is of sweet, open fruit (typical warm-climate characteristics). The wine is simple with soft tannins.

Drink now.79/100

2007 Gewurztraminer, Monterey County, California

The nose has peaches and  lychees. The taste repeats the peaches in the nose. However, the fruit is thin and too monotonic in its flavors. Short finish.

Serve with a fruit dessert. E.g. a fruit tart or pie. 82/100

Calais Winery

2008 Pinot Gris, California

The nose is perfumy and light. Just very unobjectionable rather than distinct.

Serve as a summer afternoon aperitif. 77/100

2007 La Cuvée Principale, Chardonnay, California

That’s ‘Main St.’ to non French speakers. Calais names his wines after the streets that surround his winery. I wonder what he will name after the biggest landmark in the area ‘The Parking Meter”.

This wine is made from California grapes from the Lodi region. They are packed in dry ice to suspend fermentation on their journey to Texas. He crushes (what remains uncrushed from the 1500 mile journey) and ages the wine in his winery. No oak is used for aging.

The nose is dominated by a vineous quality, a negative one that is. The taste is similar with little varietal character.

This wine needs oak. 78/100

2006 La Cuvée de Commerce, Cabernet Sauvignon (85%), Syrah (15%)

The nose exhibits the Syrah with bacon scent qualities. In the mouth the wine has Cabernet fruit with tough tannins and steminess. The wine has a medium finish.

Serve with lamb or BBQ. 80/100

FUQUA Winery

2007 FUQUA Chardonnay, California

A small amount of Viognier added. No oak used in aging.

The nose is a faint lemony character. Possibly some perfumy aromatics from the Viognier going on here. In the mouth there is a taste of lychees. Good acid.

Serve with lobster. 80/100

2005 Pinot Noir, Mendocino

From the Potter valley AVA.

The nose is classic Pinot Noir fruit with a light to medium intensity. In the mouth the fruit is astoundingly forward, especially for a four-year old wine.

Serve with pork. 82/100

2006 Tempranillo, vat No. 3, California

Some Texas fruit also used. I am seeking more information on the provinence of this wine.

The nose has hints of Tempranillo fruit. The taste is an absolute model of balance. There is fruit, but this is not a fruit bomb. There is acid. But this is not acidic. There is tannin, but this is not tannic. I can see why this wine won a double gold medal at the San Francisco International Wine Competition. The best-balanced wine of the 12 on offer on the tour. 91/100

Inwood Estates Vineyards

2005 Tempranillo/Cabernet, Texas

The nose is Tempranillo fruit, cherries and raspberries. In the mouth this is a chewy wine with good grip and a long finish. I have tasted several examples of this and don’t remember it being this good. Possibly bottle age is bringing it on.

Serve with lamb, steak, game. 90/100

2007 Tempranillo, “Cornelius”, Texas

This is 100% Texas high plains fruit. Viticulture by Neal Newsom on a vineyard co-owned by he and Inwood Estates.

The nose is unduly plumy. This appears to be bottle variation as I have not noticed it before. In the mouth this wine is made in a highly extracted style. There are grippy tannins and a medium finish.

Serve with lamb, steak, game. 86/100

2006 ‘Magellan’, Texas

A blend of the five Bordeaux varieties (Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Petit Verdot and Malbec) with Tempranillo. Winemaker Dan Gatlin see this as an iconic and icon-busting wine in Texas oenological history but we will have to wait to find out.

The nose is, at present, subdued with tight-knit fruit. In the mouth the wine is a tannic creature. Black cherry and an all-encompassing minerality dominate. However, this very serious wine is inscrutable at this time. Check back in five years but I suspect it will last much longer. Could Dan Gatlin become the Randy Dunn of Texas? 91+/100

Grand Tasting Part Deux
Explore the Dallas Wineries on Labor Day Weekend
Saturday September 5, 2009
11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

Be a pioneer as this is a true wine trail.All the Dallas wineries are about a 15 minute drive from each other.They are all between Mockingbird and downtown Dallas.

Find your way to each winery where your admission price will include:
3 tastings at each of the 4 wineries a crystal “Dallas Wine Trail” wine glass to use and keep light food at each winery and  a bottle of premium wine to take home. All for only $39 in advance or $45 at the door, if any tickets are left available.Tickets available here.

As we were sipping and learning, a group of 21 wine professionals were behind the scenes in other banquet room taking tests and competing for the Texas’ Best Sommelier contest. The winner will be announced tonight at the Grand Tasting.

“Management of a Beverage Program” starts in a little while and will be followed by seminars on “Aperitifs”,  “Cool Climate Australia”, Texas Wine”, and Napa Valley (Floor vs Hill Side). If you have any questions for any of the speakers, send me an e-mail. Otherwise, there is always Twitter (DSideDish) if you need immediate gratification.

Master Sommeliers Drew Hendricks and James Tidwell like beer.

Last night the 5th Annual Texas Sommelier Conference (TexSom)  kicked off at the Four Seasons Resort & Club in Las Colinas. Master Sommeliers Drew Hendricks, James Tidwell, and Guy Stout, the chief organizers, welcomed 21 other Master Sommeliers to the conference by putting them in a bus and taking them to Southfork for a barbecue. I was invited to join them and I must say I felt like I was crashing a very private party. These sommeliers and their wine industry friends are a refreshingly tight group and were obviously happy to be back in each others’ company. The Texas Sommelier Association has provided an effective association for wine people to promote professional wine service standards, outline paths for wine education, and to raise public awareness about what sommeliers do. In their spare time, they are party animals. Check out the photos from last night.

Best White Wine – Sweet division
Haak Vineyards & Winery Madeira Blanc du Bois (Texas) 2006
18% Alcohol, 10% R.S. $39.95
24 months in new American Oak, then placed in neutral barrels and aged in a Estufa (heated cellar) for 6 more months prior to bottling. This wine is reminiscent of dried apricots and peaches fused with almond, vanilla with a touch of honey.

Best Red Wine – Dry division
Inwood Estate Vineyards Tempranillo Cabernet blend (Texas High Plains) 2005
14.3% Alcohol, 0% R.S. $39.50
30 months in French Oak. Full-bodied, inky blend of 65% Tempranillo and 35% Cabernet grapes from the Newsom Vineyard in Texas High Plains near the Texas-New Mexico border. Red fruit flavors juxtaposed with the dark flavors of blackberry, black currant and cassis and a lingering chocolate, nutty finish.

Best Red Wine – Sweet division
Sandstone Cellars IV Red Port-style wine (Mason County Texas) 2006,
19.5% Alcohol, 12% R.S. $40.00
12 months barrel aged and 12 months in tank. This is a vintage style port, with a bouquet of boysenberry, chocolate, crème brule, and wintergreen mint. The palate is a wintergreen mint, boysenberry, crème brule, licorice, orange peel, wintergreen, and Turkish coffee on the finish.

The GO TEXAN DrinkLocalWine.com conference in Dallas this weekend featured a tasting of 45 Texas wines. All were 100% Texas fruit. The range incorporated over 20 grape varieties in styles that ranged from very sweet to bone dry. Here are my personal favorites. The scores are mine as well.

2006 Haak Vineyards & Winery Madeira Blanc du Bois. Not remotely like a Madeira, just a very well-made and interesting sweet dessert wine. Treacle on the nose and molasses in the mouth. Good with desserts containing fruit like tarts and crepes. (86/100)

2006 Inwood Estate Vineyards, Magellan. A blend of the five Bordeaux red varieties (Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Petit Verdot and Malbec) and Spanish star Tempranillo. A massive, chunky undeveloped behemoth of a wine that needs to be put away for five years or so. I think that only then will we discover its ultimate character. Very complex, the restrained nose has hints of raspberry (Tempranillo influence?) and likewise there is raspberry in the taste. This wine is almost chewy in the mouth. The winemaker’s objective is so independent in its thinking that the final results could eventually establish him as either the Mozart or the Pied Piper of Texas red wine making – depending on results. Liquid Frank Gehry. (86+/100).

2008 Landon Winery Tempranillo. I hope this wine is indicative of where this winery intends to go in the next few years. There is clearly-defined Tempranillo fruit in the nose and a medium-bodied mouth feel of varietal fruit and soft tannins. Good for drinking now but will keep for 3-5 years. I would serve this with red meat. The fruit is from West Texas although the winery is conveniently located just a ten-hour rush-hour drive up Central Expressway in McKinney. Landon has historically been one of the worst offenders for importing out-of-state grapes from which they turned out mediocre wine. Hopefully this represents The New Landon. (84/100)

2008 Brennan Vineyards Viognier. This is the white grape variety that seems to be doing best in Texas and nobody illustrates the potential better than Brennan Vineyards. Classic Viognier floral nose leads to tastes of pineapple. A good choice with chicken, spicy food such as Thai or Indian, or fish. Brennan is becoming something of a Viognier expert, growing vines not only for their own use but also selling fruit to other wineries in the state. (85/100).

2008 Becker Vineyards Viognier. I remember the first time I tasted Becker Viognier. It changed my whole perspective on the winery. It was a blind tasting of 10 Viogniers in which all of the other wines came from California. I placed the Becker third. No mean achievement for a Texas wine. This wine has pineapple and lychee in the nose and pineapple in the taste. Same food recommendation as the Brennan (above) but this one may be better for quaffing on account of its fruitiness. (86/100)

2008 Tara Vineyards “Angel’s Kiss”. A Blanc du Bois that may have some Chardonnay blended in. A sweet white that should be served as a dessert wine in lieu of Muscat. The main element in the taste is Peach. (84/100)

The web site www.DrinkLocalWine.org exhorts consumers to drink local wine. This weekend the organization held its first annual conference and it happened to be here in Dallas with an emphasis on Texas wine.

However, it can be hard to recognize local wine. If you are at the liquor store and pick up a bottle of wine with the name of a Texas winery on the label the connection with Texas may be almost non-existent. It may actually come from grapes that were not grown in Texas. It may be fermented outside Texas. It may be aged outside Texas. In fact it may even have been labeled outside Texas. In other words, a completely finished wine is imported into Texas and the label says the name of a Texas winery. But none of the viticulture or viniculture had anything to do with Texas. How is the consumer to know where the grapes came from and where the wine was made?

Maybe the small print on the back label saying ‘Vinted and Bottled by…” is an assurance that the wine was at least made locally even if the fruit came from elsewhere. Not so fast. The weasel phrase “Vinted and Bottled by…” means that only 10% of the wine in the bottle need come from the winery. The rest can be blended in from anywhere.

What about “Made and Bottled by…”.  Isn’t that the phrase that assures local production? No. It means the same as “Vinted and Bottled by…”.

How About “Produced and Bottled by…”? That is closer to what we want but only 75% of the wine must be made by the winery and none of the grapes need come from the winery.

Surely if the label on the front of the bottle says “Texas Wine” that at least assures us that the underlying fruit comes Texas. Again, things are not what they seem. Up to 25% of the grapes on a wine labeled “Texas” can come from outside Texas. That kind of alien percentage is more than enough to totally dominate the character of a wine. Other wine growing areas are much stricter: an American Viticultural Area (AVA) specifies a minimum of 85% and Oregon 95% (since 2007).

One phrase which will guarantee that the winery grew all the grapes in the specified location and made the wine on its property is “Estate Bottled”, sometimes written as “grown, produced and bottled by…”.

What if the label does not name the origin of the grapes but does say “For sale in Texas only..”. Doesn’t that mean it is a Texas grown and made wine? Absolutely not. This is the cruelest misdirection of all. Under Federal Law a wine sold across state lines must list the viticultural area of origin. However, if a wine is sold only in one state the law grants a waiver of this labeling requirement. In the case of Texas, as long as the phrase “For sale in Texas only” appears on the label, the grapes can be from anywhere. While this exemption was created to provide regulatory relief to small wineries it is almost invariably used to allow the use of out-of-state juice by an in state winemaker. As such it confuses the consumer and should be modified to still require reporting of the origins of the grapes.

With such an unnecessarily complicated and contradictory set of laws regarding grape origin and wine making labeling it is no wonder even the experts get confused. At this weekend’s conference one of the panelists praised a Texas wine that won a medal when, in point of fact, most of the fruit in that wine originated in California.

This truth-in-labeling issue is acute for the Texas wine industry. If consumers feel that Texas wineries are just labelers of other state’s wine, they will eschew Texas wine for “the real thing”. This will penalize the many Texas wineries who use exclusively Texas grapes and label them clearly. At the present time the trend is for more and more out-of-state fruit to be used. The industry needs to act soon to place the origin of the grapes on the front label of all wines produced in Texas so that consumers have confidence in the provenance of the product. It should also consider following the example of wineries such as Inwood Estate Winery which has created a completely separate label for its out-of-state wines.

With annual grape harvest celebrations kicking off around most of the state in August and September, many Texans are planning their next Texas wine trail tour. The Texas Department of Agriculture is making it easier for wine enthusiasts to plan the perfect wine weekend with its new Texas Wine Trail page (www.gotexanwine.org/texaswinetrails/) on the popular GO TEXAN wine Web site (www.gotexanwine.org) .

“Texas is one of the fastest-growing wine destinations in the country,” Agriculture Commissioner Todd Staples said. “The Texas wine industry and our Texas wine trails are an important part of our state’s agriculture tourism and economic health. Nearly 1 million visitors each year enjoy discovering the Texas wine industry.”

The Texas Wine Trail page provides a list of the Lone Star State’s eight individual wine trails, and with just one click, consumers can visit each trail’s Web page to find trail descriptions, maps, upcoming events and other related links.

Texas is home to eight wine trails:
-Cross Timbers Wine Trail: www.crosstimberswinetrail.com
-Dallas Wine Trail: www.dallaswinetrail.com
-Fredericksburg Wine Road 290: www.wineroad290.com
-Grapevine Wine Trail: www.grapevinewinetrail.com
-Munson Wine Trail: www.munsonwinetrail.com
-Texas Bluebonnet Wine Trail: www.texasbluebonnetwinetrail.com
-Texas Hill Country Wine Trail: www.texaswinetrail.com
-Way Out Wineries Road Trips: www.wayoutwineries.org

The conference will include three seminars, focusing on trends in Texas wine, the distinctive grapes that Texans are using to make those wines, and how consumers can work to get more regional wines in stores and restaurants. The final event of the day will be a Texas Twitter Tasting, moderated by Russ Kane of Vintage Texas, where participants will “be able to taste some of the state’s top wines and blog or Twitter at the same time.” Full schedule here.

Then on Sunday and Monday, August 16 and 17th, the Wine & Food Foundation of Texas and the Texas Sommelier Association will host the Annual Texas Sommelier Conference (TexSom), at the Four Seasons Hotel in Las Colinas.

The general public is invited to attend five classes on Sunday, August 16th and the grand tasting on Monday evening, August 17 where wine professionals and the public meet to taste world-class wines and witness the  announcement of Texas’ Best Sommelier 2009.

Each class offers at least six wines to taste and lasts one hour and fifteen minutes. Courses open to the public include: Pinot Noir, Sake, Austria, Rioja, and Northern Rhone.

Speakers include some of the nation’s top wine professionals: Master Sommeliers (MS), Certified Wine Educators, one Master of Wine (MW) and other respected wine educators.

A separate set of courses, designed exclusively for the trade and media, are offered on Monday. Click here to register for both the public and trade sessions.

Jump for schedule and more details.
Public registration for the entire day is $75, or courses may be taken individually. Trade/media-only courses provide a deeper level of expertise to industry professionals, including those working toward their Master Sommelier certification.

While the courses are conducted, the competition for Texas’ Best Sommelier runs behind the scenes. The prize for the winner includes round-trip tickets, tuition, and scholarship money to be used for a Court of Master Sommeliers certification program.

The Four Seasons Resort and Club in Las Colinas in located in Irving, between Dallas and Fort Worth at 4150 North MacArthur Boulevard, Irving, Texas 75038.

CONFERENCE CALENDAR

Sunday, August 16 – (PUBLIC SESSIONS)
9 a.m. to 5:15 p.m. Courses include Pinot Noir, Sake, Austria, Rioja, and Northern Rhone. ALL-DAY PASS ONLY $75. Individual courses run $25 each. Lunch at the Four Seasons may be purchased for $45.

Monday, August 17 – (LIMITED TO MEDIA AND TRADE)
9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Courses include Management of a Beverage Program, Aperitifs, Cooler-climate Australia, Texas, and The Napa Valley (valley floor versus hillside). Registration is free, and lunch at the Four Seasons may be purchased for $45.

7 p.m. to 10 p.m.: Grand tasting – OPEN TO ALL, $65 per person.

The TexSom Conference Background

TexSom and the Texas’ Best Sommelier Competition was founded by James Tidwell, MS, CWE, Sommelier at the Four Seasons Resort and Club in Las Colinas; Drew Hendricks, MS, CWE, Director of Beverage Education for Pappas Restaurants in Houston; and Guy Stout, MS, Education Director for Southern/Glazer’s Distributors.

FOR MORE INFORMATION on the TexSom Conference or the Texas Sommelier Association, visit www.texsom.com.

FOR MORE INFORMATION on The Wine & Food Foundation of Texas visit www.winefoodfoundation.org.

The San Francisco International Wine Competition, the largest, most influential international wine competition in America, is judged by a prestigious panel of nationally recognized wine experts.  The 2009 competition has just been completed and our FUQUA 2006 Tempranillo won a DOUBLE GOLD Medal.

“This is really a big deal for us” said Lee Fuqua.  “Not many people ever win a Double Gold Medal.”  Gold medals are hard to come by.  Getting several panel members to agree to award a particular wine is difficult.  On those rare occasions when all five wine experts at the table judges a wine to be worthy of a gold medal, the wine is distinguished as a “Double Gold Medal” winner and is tossed into the “Best of Show” Sweepstakes award. 

Congrats Lee and Julia!!

The FUQUA Winery Tasting Room is open Saturday from 12:00 noon until 7:00 p.m. and Sunday from 12:00 noon until 5:00 p.m.  Tastings are free.  The Tempranillo is priced at $27.95 a bottle.  I am also a huge fan of their Unoaked Chardonnay.

This past Monday and Tuesday (June 8 & 9), 23 other Texans and I judged over 500 wines during the 26th Annual Lone Star International Wine Competition. I’m probably going to hear “It’s a tough job, but….” However, the sober and serious judges consisted of sommeliers (Paul Botamer of Fearing’s, Michael Flynn of Mansion on Turtle Creek, Hunter Hammett of Pyramid Restaurant, and Luigi Santos of Bob’s Steak and Chop House in Grapevine), restaurant owners, retailers, wine distributors and a number of wine writers and bloggers (Alfonso Cevola, Jeff Siegel, Renie Steves and Russ Kane), under the direction of Co-Chairs Barbara Werley MS of Pappas Bros. Steakhouse and Michael Zerbach. The wines were divided into over 30 categories and tasted blind. No, we weren’t wearing blindfolds. We were given anywhere from three to 12 glasses at a time with no knowledge of what we were tasting except the grape variety and vintage of the wines. Then, each panel of five judges would vote on whether each wine rated a gold, silver, bronze or no medal. Arguments insued, fisticuffs were avoided. At the end, 26 gold, 81 silver, and 172 bronze medals were awarded to wines from 14 states and several foreign countries. In addition, we voted for the Texas Rising Star Award which recognizes a white and a red wine from Texas wineries less than three years old. I would love to tell you the winners, but you’ll have to await the official announcement from the Texas Wine and Grapegrowers Association on June 19th. I will tell you that I learned one important lesson…Texas is producing some delicious wines. So, GO TEXAN.

Nice work TWGGA. Looking forward to the Drink Local Wine Conference in Dallas on August 15th.

UPDATE: Results were released late this afternoon. New this year was a category for Texas wineries that have been in business for three years or less.  Titled the Texas Vintner’s Rising Star Award, it was sponsored by owner and long time wine maker of Messina Hof Winery & Resort, Paul Bonarrigo.  It was awarded to recognize fine Texas wine made from new, up and coming wine makers and encourage more new wineries to enter their products.  There were six new wineries that fit the criteria.  An award was presented for the best red wine and the best white wine, which were judged separately on the final day of judging.  This year’s winners of the Texas Vintner’s Rising Star Awards were KE Cellars (Tyler) for their 4 U Syrah, 2007 red table wine and Enoch’s Stomp Vineyard & Winery (north of Longview) for their Blanc du Bois Off-Dry white, 2008. WAY TO GO EAST TEXAS!

Texas has over 170 wineries throughout the state, with more popping up every day.  I hate to admit that I thought Texas wine was still in a development stage, so it was a pleasure to taste some of the award winning wine being made right in our backyard.  Follow the jump for more on the wineries.

Favorites from the day included Cuvee d’Elme, from Calais Winery.  An elegant blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Cabernet Franc.  Subtle fruit forward flavors from the Merlot blend with the structure and balance of Cabernet Sauvignon to create a classic Claret. 

Always a great go to for the summer is Times Ten Cellars Rose.  Easy drinking, food friendly, and incredibly refreshing for our Dallas summer days, this is a perfect patio wine with a wallet friendly price.

I was so intrigued by Fuqua Winery, and their owners Lee and Julia Fuqua, that I ventured to their tasting room (behind the Home Depot on Lemmon Ave.) to taste a few more of their wines on Sunday.  Lee believes his role in the winery is as a caretaker of great fruit, which he babysits from vine to wine. He is doing this job well making a clean, crisp, French style Chardonnay; a light, fruit forward Pinot Noir and a killer Tempranillo, filled with black fruit, vanilla, tobacco and leather.  This wine is incredible, smooth and refined, yet dynamic and intense.   And it recently won the gold medal at the Dallas Morning News Wine Competition. 

  Talks are already starting for the next wine trail, possibly later this summer.  Cheers to continued success making wine in Big D!

Dallas Wine Trail
Drink Dallas at Dallas Wine Trail’s First event
May 23rd 2009 @ Times Ten Cellars
(Dallas,TX, 5/5/2009) – We are pleased to announce the inaugural event of the newly
created Dallas Wine Trail. The Dallas Wine Trail is a new wine trail that includes the four
wineries located in Dallas, TX:
CALAIS Winery
FUQUA Winery
Inwood Estates
Times Ten Cellars
The goal of the wine trail is bring together the 4 wineries to promote the wines made
within Dallas city limits. Awareness about the wineries and also the quality of the wine
produced will be our major focuses.
To achieve that, we will organize events were the people can taste the different wines
paired with some local food.
For our first event, May 23rd 2009, we will bring all the wineries together at Times Ten
Cellars, 6324 Prospect Ave, Dallas, TX 75214. The event will go from 11AM to 5PM,
each winery pouring 3 wines making the total wines tasted to 12 wines.
Each participant will receive a gift bag including:
- A bottle of wine of one of the participating wineries
- A reusable 6 bottles wine carrier
- A beautiful 19oz Dallas Wine Trail glass
- Food catered by Il Cane Rosso Napoletena
Personnel from each winery will be present and available to explain the winery’s
philosophy, wine profiles and production method used for each wine.
All the wines poured will also be available for sale to drink onsite or offsite.
We strongly encourage the people to reuse the bag in the future, Go Green, Drink Local
Tickets are available online on preorder at http://www.dallaswinetrail.com/ for $45 and
at $50 at the door.
Drink Dallas.
CALAIS Winery: 3000 Commerce St
FUQUA Winery: 3737 Atwell St, Suite #103
Inwood Estates: 1350 Manufacturing St, Suite #209
Times Ten Cellars: 6324 Prospect Avenue
Dallas Wine Trail:
http://www.dallaswinetrail.com/
Dallas Wineries:
http://www.calaiswinery.com/
http://www.fuquawines.com/
http://www.inwoodwines.com/
http://www.timestencellars.com/
Il Cane Rosso Pizza:
http://www.ilcanerosso

The conference will include three seminars, focusing on trends in Texas wine, the distinctive grapes that Texans are using to make those wines, and how consumers can work to get more regional wines in stores and restaurants. The final event of the day will be a Texas Twitter Tasting, moderated by Russ Kane of Vintage Texas, where participants will “be able to taste some of the state’s top wines and blog or Twitter at the same time.” Jeez, blog and Twitter at the same time? Would that be a Blitter? More details coming.

UDPATE: The conference is open to the public. There will be some kind of registration fee, but that’s still TBD.

Me: Lee, why didn’t you just make it easy on all of us and just answer the question?

Lee: I didn’t like the way the guy asked the question.

Me: Yeah, but it looks like you’re being a jerk too by not answering the question. Even I know your grapes come from California. What gives?

Lee: It’s not a secret and it’s not a big deal. All of the grapes are Tempranillo–the Texas grapes are from the high plains and the other fruit is from Santa Barbara, California. I’m a real person and I follow all of the rules. Every wine writer in Dallas knows what I use. I just don’t like the way the guy asked the question. It says on the front page of my web page what kind of grapes I use and it has said that for eight years.

Peace out. Men will be boys.

THE DALLAS MORNING NEWS WINE COMPETITION
CELEBRATES 25th YEAR WITH 156 GOLDS
Winners announced from 2009 Dallas Morning News Wine Competition

DALLAS (April 16, 2009) – In February of this year, 3,146 wines came to Dallas from 31 states and 20 countries to compete in The Dallas Morning News Wine Competition. Winners of the 25th annual competition were announced today with 1,487 wines awarded medals.

An impressive group of 56 wine critics, distributors, importers and sommeliers formed the judging panels this year, awarding 156 gold, 542 silver, and 789 bronze medals.

Traditionally producing more wine, the west coast came through with the highest number of U.S. medals. California claimed the top spot bringing in 87. Next in line was Washington State with 110 followed by Oregon with 45. Other states given their props include Missouri with 14 medal-winners, New York at 19, Texas took 29 and Virginia received 21. Medals were also awarded to wines from Iowa, Colorado, Connecticut, Idaho, Illinois, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Tennessee and Wisconsin.

Internationally, Australia brought the most medals home totaling 80, New Zealand was next with 36, Italy and France brought in 29 each and 28 went to Spain. Other international winners include Argentina, Austria, Canada, Chile, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Mexico, Portugal, South Africa, and South Korea.

EDITOR’S NOTE: Following is the list of the gold-medal winners, listed in tasting order, including category, winery name, appellation, wine type and vintage.

GOLD-MEDAL WINNERS
2009 Dallas Morning News Wine Competition

FORTIFIED WINES

Muscat (white, non sparkling)
Portal, Douro DOC, Reserva, Moscatel 2000

Muscat, Black/Red
Quady, California, Elysium, Black Muscat 2007

Port, Ruby – traditional grape varieties
Presidential, Porto DOC, Ruby NV

Port, Ruby – other grape varieties
South Coast Winery, South Coast, Black Jack Port NV

Port, Vintage – traditional grape varieties
Truett Hurst, California, Old Vine, Dessert Wine 2005

Sherry, Sweet – other grape varieties
Rancho de Philo, California, Cucamonga Valley, Triple Cream Sherry NV

Fortified Dessert Wine other
Rotta, California, Black Monukka Dessert Wine 2004

Fortified Fruit Wine
Eola Hills, American, Vin D’Ete Raspberry NV

SPARKLING WINES

Blanc de Blancs NV, traditional method, other grape varieties
Lucien Albrecht, Cremant d’Alsace AOC, Blanc de Blancs, Brut NV

Brut NV, traditional method, traditional grape varieties
Piper-Heidsieck, Champagne AOC, Brut NV

Brut NV, traditional method, other grape varieties
Korbel, California, Methode Champenoise, Brut NV

Blanc de Blancs Vintage 2004 and later, traditional method, traditional grape varieties
Gruet Winery, New Mexico, Methode Champenoise, Blanc de Blancs 2004

Dry Vintage 2004 and later, traditional method, other grape varieties
Saint – Hilaire, Blanquette de Limoux AOC, Method Traditionelle, Estate Bottled, Extra Dry 2004

Natural Vintage, 2003 and earlier, traditional method, traditional grape varieties
Gloria Ferrer, Carneros, Late Disgorged, Cuvee Brut 1998

Brut Rose, Vintage 2003 and earlier, traditional method
Gruet Winery, New Mexico, Methode Champenoise, Grand Rose 2002

Dry, bulk process
Landon Winery, American, Cuvee Sec NV

Sparkling, bulk process, other grape varieties/Spumante
Ballatore, California, Gran Spumante NV

RED TABLE WINES

Cabernet Franc
R & B Cellars, El Dorado, Counterpoint, Cabernet Franc 2006
Raymond Burr, Sonoma County, Cabernet Franc 2006

Cabernet Sauvignon, Vintage 2007 or later
Smoking Loon, California, Cabernet Sauvignon 2007

Cabernet Sauvignon, Vintage 2006
B Cellars, Napa Valley, Oakville, Cabernet Sauvignon 2006
Basel Cellars, Columbia Valley, Mirage Vineyard, Cabernet Sauvignon 2006
Bell, Napa Valley, Unfiltered, Talianna, Cabernet Sauvignon 80%-Syrah 20% 2006
Hess, Napa Valley, Allomi Vineyard, Estate Grown, Cabernet Sauvignon 2006
Martin Ray, Napa/Mendocino/Sonoma Counties, Cabernet Sauvignon 2006
Robert Craig, Napa Valley, Affinity, Cabernet Sauvignon 2006
Sebastiani, Sonoma County, Cabernet Sauvignon 2006
Solaire by Robert Mondavi, Central Coast, Cabernet Sauvignon 2006

Cabernet Sauvignon, Vintage 2005
Chalk Hill, Sonoma County, Chalk Hill, Estate Bottled, Cabernet Sauvignon 2005
Clos du Bois, Alexander Valley, Marlstone, 89% Cabernet Sauvignon-5% Malbec-3% Cabernet Franc-3% Merlot 2005
Livingston Moffett, Napa Valley, Stanley’s Selection, Cabernet Sauvignon 2005
Mount Veeder Winery, Napa Valley, Cabernet Sauvignon 2005
Peju, Napa Valley, Cabernet Sauvignon 2005
Terremoto Cellars, Napa Valley, Oak Knoll District, Asbill Vineyard, Cabernet Sauvignon 2005
Trefethen Family Vineyards, Napa Valley, Oak Knoll District, Cabernet Sauvignon 2005

Cabernet Sauvignon, Vintage 2004
Black Stallion Winery, Napa Valley, Cabernet Sauvignon 2004
Martin Ray, Sonoma Mountain, Cabernet Sauvignon 2004

Gamay Noir (Valdiguie)
J. Lohr Estates, Monterey, Wildflower, Valdiguie 2008

Grenache
La Cereza, California, Temecula Valley, Garnacha 2005

Lemberger
Olympic Cellars Winery, Horse Heaven Hills, Dungeness Red, Lemberger 2007

Merlot, Non Vintage
Beach Dogs, South Eastern Australia, Merlot NV

Merlot, Vintage 2007 or later
Banrock Station, South Eastern Australia, Merlot 2007
Black Box Wines, California, Merlot 2007
Longboard Vineyards, Russian River Valley, Dakine, Merlot 2007

Merlot, Vintage 2006
1867, Virginia, Meritage 2006
Domaine Laurier, Sonoma County, Reserve, Merlot 2006
Vin du Lac of Chelan, Columbia Valley, Barrel Select, Merlot 2006

Merlot, Vintage 2005 or earlier
Artesa, California, 63% Sonoma County/37% Napa County, Merlot 2005

Nebbiolo
Dezzani Tradizione, Barolo DOCG, Roncaglie 2003

Norton
Chrysalis Vineyards, Virginia, Locksley Reserve, Norton 2005

Petite Sirah
Mettler Family Vineyards, Lodi, Petite Sirah 2005
Ravenswood Winery, California, Vintner’s Blend, Petite Sirah 2006
Zina Hyde Cunningham, Lake County, Petite Sirah 2005

Pinot Noir, Vintage 2007 or later
Kenneth Volk Vineyards, Santa Maria Valley, Santa Maria Cuvee, Pinot Noir 2007
Rodney Strong, Sonoma County, Russian River Valley, Estate Vineyards, Pinot Noir 2007
Solena, Willamette Valley, Grand Cuvee, Pinot Noir 2007
Vision Cellars, Santa Lucia Highlands, Garys’ Vineyard, Pinot Noir 2007

Pinot Noir, Vintage 2006
Brassfield Estate Winery, High Valley, High Serenity Ranch, Estate Bottled, Pinot Noir 2006
Byron, Santa Maria Valley, Nielson Vineyard, Estate Bottled & Produced, Pinot Noir 2006
Duck Pond Fries Family Cellars, Oregon, Willamette Valley, St. Jory Vineyard, Pinot Noir 2006
Dutton-Goldfield, Sonoma Coast, McDougall Vineyard, Pinot Noir 2006
Jargon, California, Pinot Noir 2006
Le Cadeau Vineyard, Oregon, Willamette Valley, Cote Est, Pinot Noir 2006
Vision Cellars, Santa Lucia Highlands, Rosella’s Vineyard, Pinot Noir 2006

Pinot Noir, Vintage 2005
Mark Moretti Winery, Anderson Valley, Hein Vineyard, Pinot Noir 2005

Sangiovese
Martin & Weyrich, Paso Robles, Il Palio, Sangiovese 2005
South Coast Winery, South Coast, Wild Horse Peak Mountain Vineyards, Thunderbolt Block,
Sangiovese 2005

Syrah/Shiraz, Vintage 2007 or later
McGuigan, Barossa Valley, The Shortlist, Shiraz 2007
Salena Estate, South Australia, Reserve, Accolade, Shiraz 2007

Syrah/Shiraz, Vintage 2006
Chaddsford, Pennsylvania, 25th Vintage, Syrah 2006
J. Lohr Estates, Paso Robles, South Ridge, Syrah 2006
Little Vineyards, Sonoma Valley, Syrah 2006
Rolling Estate Wines, Central Ranges, Shiraz 2006
Toasted Head, Dunnigan Hills, Shiraz 2006

Syrah/Shiraz, Vintage 2005
The Gate, McLaren Vale, Shiraz 2005

Syrah/Shiraz, Vintage 2004 or earlier
Gloria Ferrer, Carneros, Estate Grown & Bottled, Syrah 2004

Tempranillo
Fuqua, For Sale in Texas Only, Vat No. 3, Tempranillo 2006

Zinfandel, Non Vintage
Barefoot, California, Lodi, Zinfandel NV

Zinfandel, Vintage 2007 or later
Edmeades, Mendocino County, Zinfandel 2007
Sextant, Paso Robles, Wheelhouse, Zinfandel 2007

Zinfandel, Vintage 2006
Cameron Hughes, Amador County, Lot 88, Ancient Vines, Zinfandel 2006
Limerick Lane, Russian River Valley, Collins Vineyard, Estate Bottled, Unfiltered, Zinfandel 2006

Zinfandel, Vintage 2005
Haywood Estate, Sonoma Valley, Los Chamizal Vineyard, Rocky Terrace, Zinfandel 2005

Red Meritage or Bordeaux Blend
Challenger Ridge, Yakima Valley, Gordon 2006
Jacuzzi Family Vineyards, Carneros, Estate, Valeriano 2006
La Storia, Alexander Valley, Estate Bottled, Meritage 2004
Montes, Chile, Colchagua Valley, Apalta Vineyard, Limited Selection, Cabernet Sauvignon 70%-
Carmenere 30% 2007
Seduction, Napa Valley 2006
Tsillan Cellars, Columbia Valley, Bellissima Rossa, 50% Cabernet Sauvignon –
23% Cabernet Franc – 27 % Merlot 2006
Valley of the Moon, Sonoma County, Cuvee de la Luna 2005

Dry Red Table Wine Blends
Bouke, North Fork of Long Island, Red Table Wine 2007
Epiphany, Santa Barbara County, Gypsy 2005
Middle Sister, California, Rebel Red NV
Paige 23, Santa Barbara County, Tarantula Tinto 2006

Cabernet Sauvignon/Shiraz (Syrah) Blends
B Cellars, Napa Valley, Blend 25, Cabernet Sauvignon – Syrah 2005

Sweet Red Table Wine Blends
Breitenbach, American, Roadhouse Red NV

Red Rhone Style Blend
Eberle, Paso Robles, Cotes-du-Robles 2007
Ventana Vineyards, Monterey, Arroyo Seco, Estate Grown, Rubystone, 62% Grenache-38%
Syrah 2006

All other red varietal wines
Benincasa, Montefalco Sagrantino DOCG 2003
Bianchi, Paso Robles, San Juan Vineyards, Signature Selection, Refosco 2006

WHITE TABLE WINES

Albariño
Gran Vinum, Rías Baixas DO, Albarino 2007

Chardonnay, Vintage 2007
A by Acacia, California, Chardonnay 2007
Ambroise Jay Anatole, Monterey County, Chardonnay 2007
Benziger Family Winery, Carneros, Sangiacomo Vineyard, Chardonnay 2007
Del Rio Vineyards, Oregon, Rogue Valley, Chardonnay 2007
Glen Carlou, Paarl, Chardonnay 2007
Hardys, South Australia, Nottage Hill, Chardonnay 2007
Kim Crawford, New Zealand, Unoaked Chardonnay 2007
Lake Sonoma Winery, Russian River Valley, Chardonnay 2007
Sharpe Hill, Southeastern New England, Chardonnay 2007
Three Rivers Winery of Walla Walla, Columbia Valley, Chardonnay 2007
Trivento, Argentina, Mendoza, Golden Reserve, Chardonnay 2007
Twin Fin, California, Chardonnay 2007

Chenin Blanc, 0 to 1.0% residual sugar
Herding Cats, South Africa, Western Cape, Chenin Blanc-Chardonnay 2008

Riesling, 0 – .7% residual sugar
Ludwig, Monterey, Sweetwater Vineyard, Riesling 2007
Omaka Springs Estates, Marlborough, Riesling 2005
Petaluma, Australia, Clare Valley, Hanlin Hill, Riesling 2007

Riesling, 1.6 – 3% residual sugar
Gunderloch, Rheinhessen, Jean Baptiste, Riesling Kabinett 2007
Hogue, Columbia Valley, Riesling 2007
Ventana Vineyards, Monterey, Arroyo Seco, Estate Grown, Riesling 2007

Riesling, 3.1 – 6.0% residual sugar
Urban, Mosel, Nik. Weis Selection, Riesling 2007
Vertikal, Mosel, Piesporter Goldtropchen, Special Collection, Riesling Auslese 2006

Pinot Gris
Dusted Valley Vintners, Columbia Valley, Boomtown, Pinot Gris 2007
Fetzer Vineyards, California, Valley Oaks, Pinot Grigio 2007
McManis Family Vineyards, California, Pinot Grigio 2007
Milbrandt Vineyards, Washington, Columbia Valley, Traditions, Pinot Gris 2007
Mirassou, California, Pinot Grigio 2007
Roslyn Family Vineyards, Washington State, Columbia Valley, Pinot Gris 2007
Running Hare Vineyard, American, Pinot Grigio NV
Spy Valley, Marlborough, Pinot Gris 2008

Roussanne
Line Shack, California, San Antonio Valley, Roussanne 2007
Truchard, Napa Valley, Carneros, Roussanne 2007

Sauvignon Blanc, Dry, Vintage 2008 or later
Gunn Estate, Marlborough, Sauvignon Blanc 2008
Mud House, New Zealand, Marlborough, Sauvignon Blanc 2008
Robert Hall, Paso Robles, Sauvignon Blanc 2008

Sauvignon Blanc, Dry, Vintage 2007
Boulder Bank, Marlborough, Nick Goldschmidt, Sauvignon Blanc 2007
Chateau Chevalier, Napa Valley, Spring Mountain District, Sauvignon Blanc 2007
Cinquain Cellars, Monterey, Baja Viento Vineyard, Sauvignon Blanc 2007
Dashwood, Marlborough, Sauvignon Blanc 2007
Wildhurst Vineyards, Lake County, Reserve, Sauvignon Blanc 2007

Semillon, Dry
Casa Madero, Parras Valley, Estate Grown & Bottled, Semillon 2008

Torrontes
Elsa Bianchi, Mendoza, San Rafael, Torrontes 2008

Vidal
Rustle Hill Winery, Illinois, Semi Dry Vidal Blanc NV

Dry White Table Wine Blends, 0 – .7% residual sugar
Folie a Deux, California, Menage a Trois White 2007
Promisqous, California, White NV
Tangent, Central Coast, Ecclestone 2007

White Rhone blends
Curtis Heritage Series, Central Coast, Heritage Blanc, 55% Viognier-27% Roussanne-18%
Marsanne 2007

All other white varietal wines, 0 – .7% residual sugar
Vatistas, Monemvasia, Malagouzia 2007

All other white non-vinifera varietal wines
Schilling Bridge Winery, Nebraska, Edelweiss 2008

LATE HARVEST AND OTHER NON-FORTIFIED DESSERT WINES

Gewürztraminer, Late Harvest, 6.1% and above residual sugar
Eola Hills, Oregon, Late Harvest, Vin D’Epice, Gewurztraminer 2006

Ice Wine, specify varietal
Jackson-Triggs, Niagara Peninsula VQA, Delaine Vineyard, Niagara Estate, Riesling Icewine 2007

BLUSH, PINK AND ROSE TABLE WINES

Blush wines, Blended generic
Schilling Bridge Winery, Nebraska, Women Gone Wine 2008

Rose, Rhone Style
Robert Hall, Paso Robles, Hall Ranch, Rose de Robles 2008

Rose, Varietal other
Eagle Castle Winery, California, Paso Robles, Syrah Rosé 2008

SOFT TABLE WINES UNDER 10% ALCOHOL

All varietals not listed, under 10% alcohol
Martin & Weyrich, California, Moscato Allegro 2007

VERMOUTH, NATURAL FRUIT WINES AND FLAVORED WINES

Cherry
Tabor Hill, Michigan, Cherry NV

They had 3,146 entries from 20 countries and 31 states.
There were only 156 Gold Medals awarded.  Only two Texas wineries won a Gold Medal. FUQUA Winery of Dallas, Texas, was one of them. Gold Medal winner – FUQUA 2006 Tempranillo.  Available only at the winery.
Come by the winery and taste it for free.

Way to go, FUQUA. They make their award-winning wine in a tiny spot behind HOme Depot on Lemmon. (Tell them you want the SideDish discount. 214-769-1147.)

17th Annual Blessing of the Vines & New Vintage Wine and Gallery Trail – 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., beginning at Delaney Vineyards at 2000 Champagne Blvd.
An abundance of fun-filled activities will pack the entire weekend, including two entertaining Jazz Wine Trains, the ceremonial Blessing of the Vines and New Release Wines, the Lancaster Gallery Art Show, and the captivating wine trail, which incorporates an assortment of unique art galleries in Historic Downtown Grapevine and wine-related activities.

April 17 & 18
The one-of-a-kind wine tasting experience begins with the remarkable New Vintage Jazz Wine Train.  The popular Jazz Wine Train will run on two evenings – April 17 and 18 – onboard the Grapevine Vintage Railroad, located at Grapevine’s historic Cotton Belt Depot at 705 S. Main Street. The captivating excursion features several Grapevine wines, various delectable foods and live jazz entertainment in each passenger car.  The Jazz Wine Train departs both evenings at 6:40 p.m. and returns at 9:30 p.m.  Tickets are $55 per person (space limited, reservations required).

April 18
On Saturday, April 18, start the day at Delaney Vineyards as hundreds of wine enthusiasts gather to take part in the Blessing of the Vines and New Vintage Wines, a centuries-old European ceremony to ensure robust vines and savory grapes.  The ceremony begins with a colorful procession through the largest vineyard in North Texas, comprised of Grapevine dignitaries, the Knights of Columbus, Mariachis, and the general public. A complimentary wine tasting with live entertainment will follow.  The New Vintage Wine Trail begins at 11 a.m. and will run through 5 p.m., offering a memorable journey to experience first-hand the many unique winery tasting rooms of Grapevine. Passports, which include tastings at each winery, are $45 per person.
To purchase tickets or for information on New Vintage hotel packages, visit www.GrapevineTexasUSA.com.

Didja know Texas Independence Day is right around the corner? (Of course you did, you’re planning to go get tacos like we discussed here). Another thing to do? Drink Texas wines. Lisa, otherwise known as C&S on DallasEats, otherwise known as our resident wine chick (not to mention the author of an upcoming book on Texas wines) did the legwork for you. Keep reading:

Hey Dishers!

It’s been a while since our last visit (yes, I’ve missed you terribly!), and if you’re wondering what’s been happening in the world of Texas wine, this is the perfect time to catch up. You see, Monday is Texas Independence Day, the anniversary of the adoption of our Declaration of Independence at Washington-on-the-Brazos in 1836. What better way to pay tribute to our founding fathers than by toasting them with glass of our state’s finest?

Jump for info on local winemakers and a sneak preview of two new wine posters from the Texas Department of Agriculture (much cuter than they sound).

Hey Dishers!

It’s been a while since our last visit (yes, I’ve missed you terribly!), and if you’re wondering what’s been happening in the world of Texas wine, this is the perfect time to catch up. You see, Monday is Texas Independence Day, the anniversary of the adoption of our Declaration of Independence at Washington-on-the-Brazos in 1836. What better way to pay tribute to our founding fathers than by toasting them with glass of our state’s finest?

“Wine is history in a bottle,” says Bobby Champion Jr., Wine Marketing Coordinator for the Texas Department of Agriculture. “Long before Texas became a state, Spanish missionaries were making wine from native Mustang grapes near El Paso. Today’s Texas wine industry emerged in the 1970’s through the work of a handful of pioneers.” Decades later, our growing number of grape-growers and winemakers continue to embody the independent spirit that sets Texans apart from the crowd. In honor of this occasion, Bobby has offered us a special preview of two new wine posters from the TDA – pretty cute, huh?

And speaking of trail-blazers, did you know there’s a new wine trail in town? Today we’ll highlight three members of this as-yet-to-be-named Dallas trail. Conveniently located within minutes of each other, visiting these wineries would make for a relaxing mini-getaway in the space of an afternoon. Enjoy – and be sure and visit each winery’s website for hours of operation and information on upcoming events.

Fuqua Winery
3737 Atwell St., Suite 203
214-769-1147

“We put a little bit of Texas in everything!”

Lee Foster Fuqua’s love of wine began with the gift of a wine appreciation class from his wife Julia early in their marriage. Years of hard-core collecting eventually ignited the desire try his hand at winemaking, and he enrolled in the respected T.V. Munson School of Viticulture and Enology here in North Texas. He graduated with honors, and has been making wine ever since.

In December 2007, Lee realized the dream of opening a winery of his own. At Fuqua Winery’s (pronounced FEW-quay) cozy tasting room off Lemmon Avenue in Dallas, you can sample his award-winning, hand-crafted wines and meet the winemaker himself. So far, response from the public and the food and wine community has been overwhelmingly positive. Of the experience, Lee says, “The hours are long, but the benefit is that we get good wine to drink!” Lucky for all of us, he’s willing to share.

Try: 2005 Texas Red Reserve
Made from Newsom Vineyards fruit and aged for 36 months in French oak, this full-bodied Tempranillo/Cabernet blend represents the top of the line at Fuqua.

Calais Winery
3000 Commerce St.
214-453-2548

“The people here are pretty laid-back, kind of like the South of France.”

Benjamin Calais is the new kid on the block. This blue-eyed native of Northern France came to Dallas with a job in the IT industry, but when the job was done, he decided to stay. He liked what he’d seen of our town so far, and was intrigued by the idea of exploring his passion for winemaking right here in the Lone Star State. In October of last year, he opened Calais Winery in the heart of Deep Ellum.

“I’m kind of a traditional European,” Benjamin says of his winemaking style. He combines classic techniques with a few twists to tailor his wines to the Texas palate and our hot-and-spicy regional cuisine. His wines are named for streets in his neighborhood: La Cuvée d’Elme, La Cuvée du Commerce and La Cuvée Principale (that’s main in French). At the time of this interview, he was considering what to name his fourth creation. May we suggest La Cuvée Centrale?

Try: La Cuvée Principale 2007
This dry, crisp Chardonnay is unoaked, allowing hints of tropical fruit and citrus to shine through.

Inwood Estates Vineyards
1350 Manufacturing St., Suite 209
214-902-9452

“We don’t need New Yorkers to tell us what’s good.”

Tucked away in an unassuming corner of the Design District, Dan Gatlin is making some of the most remarkable wine in Texas. Immersed in the beverage business from an early age – his family founded Hasty liquor stores – Dan watched the American wine industry grow and mature from a unique perspective. In 1981, he planted his first vineyard in Texas and began his own journey in grape-growing and winemaking.

Dan believes that Texas’ distinctive soil and climate, our terroir, is our most vital asset. Rather than try to cultivate popular grapes and mimic the style of others in the country, he chose to focus on lesser-known varieties that would showcase our state’s individual character. “Our vision is always a little bit different,” he explains. For example, Inwood Estates is one of the few wineries in the country making wine from the Palomino grape, a native Spanish variety. Made from exclusively Texas-grown fruit, Inwood’s 2006 Palomino-Chardonnay sold out fast, and the 2007 version will be ready in December. In the meantime, stop by the winery to sample the rest of Dan’s exceptional lineup, and to shake hands with a true Texas trailblazer.

Try: 2007 Cornelious
Aged in new oak with a fruit-forward character, this 100% Tempranillo varietal wine is named for Neal Newsom of Newsom Vineyards.

(Photos by Lara Bierner and Lisa Petty)