Most of my trips to the Texas Hill Country wineries are on Fridays or Saturdays.  Being Christmas week, and being off of work for the whole Holiday season, I decided to go on a Tuesday this time.  The bad news is that many of the wineries from Johnson City to Fredericksburg – especially the smaller ones – are closed on Tuesdays.  The good news is, I got to try two new wineries, and a couple of ones I’ve been to in the past.  (Note: I was on vacation after Christmas, and have been sick since getting home, so I got behind in my posting.  SORRY!)

I have visited Pedernales Cellars a number of times before, but normally they are my last stop on my way back to Austin.  This time I decided to start there for a change. Pedernales is known for their award winning Tempranillos, having won Double Gold for their 2012 Reserve Tempranillo in San Francisco.  That was an outstanding wine, and the 2013 promises to be as good.  This winery offers both a regular and a Reserve tasting.  I’ve done the Reserve tasting twice in the past, and it is well worth the $25 tasting fee.  This visit, I did the normal $15 tasting. Owner/Winemaker David Kuhlken has a very nice selection to sample, consisting of a 1^st vintage 2014 Vermentino (grapefruit & florals – $30), a 2^nd vintage 2014 Viognier Reserve – Bingham (honey, rose, peach, vanilla, toast – $40), a 2014 Texas Dry Rose (Tempranillo/Mourvedre proprietary blend – dry with a crisp pear 7 cherry taste – $30).  The two reds are a 2012 Texas Valhalla – a blend of Montepulciano, Aglianico and Tempranillo (plum, strawberry, spice, and light chocolate – $40), and the spectacular 2013 Tempranillo Reserve (tobacco, cherry, blackberry, and dark chocolate – $50).  The next taste was a 2014 Moscato, a light off-dry dessert wine at 3% residual sugar (peach, green apple, apricot, pear – $30).  Finally, they shared their Stonewall Holiday Glogg.  Based on a Swedish recipe, this spiced tawny-style Port was served with a ginger cookie, and would be great mulled (nutmeg, cinnamon, cardamom, and cloves – $20).  One tip about Pedernales’ Wine Club is that the prices remain constant at $69 or $79 per quarter. Many other clubs will fluctuate their price based on wine prices.  Many thanks to Victoria for her expertise (as well as a winery tour) and to newcomer, Jose for his assistance!

Next we stopped at a delightful newer  (2013)tasting room, Alexander Vineyards, just east of Fredericksburg.  Claude Alexander has brought true French, German, and soon Italian imports to Texas Hill Country.  Claude selects the varietals and blends to put his name/label on, and is doing a fantastic job!  Claude, along with Jayne Osborne were a delight to talk with.  OK – for some of you, these are not Texas wines, so you may not really think they belong in Texas, but Claude travels to Europe to sample the barrels and to create the blends he wants, to put his name on the wines, and he is in Fredericksburg with his quaint tasting room, so I highly recommend giving these fine wines a try.  Within the next two years, Alexander Vineyards will have about 40 delightful wines and champagnes available.  Our tasting started with three champagnes (Grand Cru Brut – 6 g. RS – 91 pts – 100% Blanc de blanc – $50; Extra Brut – 3 g. RS – 92 pts. – $70; and Rose – 86% Chardonnay, 14% Pinot Noir – $70).  Next was a silky smooth Bordeaux Rose (60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 40% Merlot – $18).  This rose would go great with turkey, crab, BBQ, and I have had it with halibut cordon bleu and steamed trout!  While enjoying their excellent charcuterie plate (rabbit & pork cheek pate, 2 sausages, 3 cheeses, & 2 chutneys), we moved on to the rest of the wines.  The White Graves (55% Semillon, 45% Sauvignon Blanc – 93 pts. – $28) is “white on the nose and red in the mouth.”  This was selected as the 2^nd best white Bordeaux in France, best in Graves.  A delicious white wine for red wine lovers. Then, it was on to the reds!  The 2013 Graves (55% Merlot, 45% Cabernet Sauvignon – $33) is very soft, approachable, and drinkable now.  The 2012 Grand Cru St. Emilion (75% Merlot, 25% Cabernet Franc – $44) is very young, well balanced, and will set up well with up to 20-30 years of storage.  This would be excellent with ribeye, quail, etc.  Lastly, we enjoyed a spectacular 2011 Sauternes dessert wine (100% Semillon – 9^th vintage – 2500 bottle production – $33).   A perfect “OMG”, this was selected as the best Sauternes in San Francisco in 2014.  Alexander Vineyards is here to stay, and is a great place to expand your palette with an excellent cross-section of European wines.  Claude plans to plant local grapes soon, and will build on to his tasting facilities as he gets more great wines.  Eventually he plans to add B&B cottages, as well.  A fantastic find!

Our third stop was the newly opened Armadillo’s Leap. This is the new lower-end arm of Pedernales Cellars, with mostly non-Texas grapes.  Fitting with the lesser quality of wines compared to other wineries, Armadillo’s Leap offers a 6-wine tasting with a glass to keep, for only $10 – and with healthy pours!  The wines offered were:

• Sparkling Muscat: 0% RS, but feels like a light dessert wine – $30  

  

  
  

• 2013 Viognier – Roussanne: a slightly funky wine that must be served with food, such as shrimp salad or a spicy pork tenderloin – $20
  
• 2013 Viognier “Table White”: a smooth, drinkable wine to have with Tex-Mex – $15
  
• “Red”: A 100% Tempranillo, an everyday kind of wine – $25
  
• BFF: A sec, secret blend red, with plum, strawberry, chocolate, and very soft tannins – $20
  
• Muscat: a slightly light pure Muscat with 4% RS, with Mandarin orange, pear, and green apple flavors – $18
  

Our 4^th and final stop of the day was at another of the great, newer wineries – Lewis Wines. This was my 4^th visit to Lewis Wines, and as usual, it did not disappoint.  Doug Lewis and Duncan McNabb have something special going on here.  In my

opinion, they have some great wines, and have a lot of potential to become exceptional.  With their new tasting room and patio, they can handle the crowds that are pouring in.  Featuring 100% Texas wines with a primarily Spanish and Portuguese style, we started with the delightful 2014 Swim Spot, a crisp blend of primarily Blanc du Bois – a perfect summer wine – $14.  Next, we enjoyed the lovely 2014 Mourvedre Rose, a truly boutique wine, with only 157 cases produced – $30.  From there, it was on to a wonderful quartet of Temranillos:

• 2012 Newsome (High Plains) Tempranillo, with slight leather, this is a very drinkable wine, and will peak in 3-5 years – $30
  
• 2012 Parr Tempranillo, a smooth leathery Tempranillo – very delicious – $32
  
• 2012 Lost Draw Tempranillo, deliciously smoky with hints of tobacco – $35
  
• 2012 Texas Tempranillo, a smooth blend of 46% Lost Draw, 25% Newsome, 19% Parr, and 10% Bingham – $28.
  

We finished up at Lewis with both the 2011 and 2012 Round Mountain Estate, a fantastic blend of 82% Tempranillo and 18% Touriga Nacional – %50.  As usual, a delightful tasting at Lewis Wines!

Thank you to all of these wineries for another wonderful day of tasting in our Texas Hill Country.  I look forward to more visits to yours and other area wineries, as the list continues to grow!

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Lastly… grab a glass of wine, and ENJOY!!!