A continuation of a Saturday afternoon wine tasting out Texas Hwy 290, west of Austin – the 2nd most visited wine area in the country. My previous post talked about William Chris and Kuhlman Cellars.
Our rainy Saturday afternoon wine tasting in the Texas Hill Country continued at Four Point O (4.0) Cellars. This facility is a tasting room for three reputable Texas wineries. The first is Brennan Vineyards, Pat and Trellise Brennan’s 37 acre winery in Comanche, Texas.
Brennan is best known for their Tempranillo and Viognier, as well as an excellent white blend, their medium bodied Reserve Lily (Chardonnay 42%, Muscat of Alexandria 38%, Chenin Blanc 10%, Riesling 6%, Grenache 4%) and a delightful Mourvedre dry rose.
The second winery represented at Four Point O is Gene Estes’ Lost Oak Winery , from Burleson, TX. Lost Oak is known primarily for their dry, semi-sweet, and sweet whites, with Blanc du Bois, Muscats/Muscatos, Rieslings, Viognier, and blends, with a few red blends and Tempranillo, plus a “Holiday wine” (which they could not tell me what all was in the blend), a mildly spicy treat with a Tempranillo base.
The third (and my favorite) winery available at Four Point O is McPherson Cellars. With their winery located in Lubbock in a former Coca Cola bottling plant, the McPherson family has over 40 years of winemaking experience. Kim McPherson has won over 450 medals in competitions within Texas, the U.S., and Internationally, with his offerings of wines from Spanish, French, and Italian varietals. Their flagship wine is a traditional Italian “DBS” (Dolcetto, Barbera, and Sangiovese) – a warm, earthy, wonderful blend – think of a nice Chianti (without the Fava Beans…).
The Four Point O tasting room was very crowded, due to the rain, leaving the outside tent completely empty (except for the music entertainer). During the wait for a tasting, there is a nice sampling of
flavored mustards, olive oils, sauces, etc. to sample, as well as some wonderful cheeses from Veldhuizen Cheese. The tastings at Four Point O offer a nice choice of three tasting menus ($12 for 6 wines) – “Light and Sweet,” “Cellar Selection,” and “All Red.” In addition to the three wineries mentioned above, there are also a few selections that Todd Webster (Winemaker at Brennan Vineyards) has made for the 4.0 label, including a 2012 Syrah and 2013 Tempranillo. A delightful tasting room, which I have visited four times!
Our final tasting of the day was another excellent example of Texas wines done right – Messina Hof Hill Country Winery. Messina Hof is
based in Bryan, TX, with a Four Diamond Resort there, and this tasting room and B&B in the Fredericksburg (Hill Country) area. The Messina Hof name comes from the family origins of Paul and Merrill Bonarrigo (Messina, Sicily and Hof, Germany), and have strong ties to Texas A&M University, with a few “Aggie Network” wines available.
Messina Hof is well set up for the maximum flexibility for wine tasters. For $10, you get 5 wooden tokens to use for tasting. Most wines are one token, with their high end “Paulo” and their Limited Release wines needing two tokens. The tasting menu gives you 40 options, from whites, sparkling, rose, reds, dessert, and port wines. I ended up trying 10 wines, with no disappointments.
Some of the highlights I tried were the Bell Brothers Zinfandel (09), with a light bell pepper and cherry taste, The Texas Sparkling Rose (fresh strawberries), a newly released Petit Verdot (14), a soft yet bold wine with a deep color, and an excellent Papa Paulo Port, which would pair perfectly with dark chocolate (provided) and a Cuban cigar (not provided…). But to me, the star of the tasting was their 204 Paulo Sagrantino. A spectacular $60 wine that would be fantastic with a spicy marinara pasta or a great pizza. Messina Hof is definitely a great place to spend an hour or more, with this wide variety of tasting options.
As I have said a few times before, although I am a huge fan of Napa and Sonoma wines, I continue to be amazed by the quickly improving quality of our Texas Hill Country wines. The number of new wineries is growing all the time, and I continue to hear of additional wineries in the area that I need to try. I am always looking for my next favorite local winery, so please continue to send me suggestions via email or Facebook!
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Lastly… grab a glass of wine, and ENJOY!!!
