"Winter Escape" on the San Gabriel Wine Trail

Yesterday, the wineries on the San Gabriel Wine Trail hosted their "Winter Escape". Wine lovers boarded buses, vans and limos to tour and taste the offerings at five Texas wineries and one wine bar. The crowd was estimated at well over 300 participants with each person receiving a souvenier glass, a wine bottle carrying bag and three tastings at each location complemented with free food pairings. Live music at two of the locations added to the fun.
We started at Inwood Estates in Florence where Dan Gatlin, the proprietor, was on-site to answer questions and show the facility. They have been making wine in Texas since 1981 and are well-known for their outstanding Tempranillo and Tempranillo blends. From here, we walked to the adjacent property, The Vineyard at Florence. Dan is the winemaker for this label, as well, for neighbor/owner Kambrah Garland and her partner Kris Davis. These ladies have created a beautiful space with their Villa Firenze. This building has a large tasting room, a cafe, spa, art gallery and event rooms. There are also free-standing villas overlooking the vineyards for overnight stays.

From here, we went to Salado Wine Company. This is a new winery and they are still waiting for government approval for their labels so we were not able to sample their own wines. They instead served three wines from other Texas producers from their wine shop. The next stop was down the road at the Salado Creek Winery where we were offered a Pinot Grigio blend, Cabernet and a sweet red wine blend.

Then it was time to head south to the Georgetown Winery. Winemaker and owner, Dan Marek, was there pouring his White Merlot, Cabernet and Chocolate-Cherry Port-styled wine. The Texas music was playing and the crowd was a rambunctious mix of locals and trail-goers. Our last stop was the Silver & Stone Restaurant and Wine Bar located on the 4th floor of a building in historic Georgetown. Groups of people from the wine trail took their final three tastings outside on the terrace patio with views of the town.

The weather was fantastic, the trail-goers were excited to try the wines and a wonderful time was had by all with whom I spoke.

Comments

Lust Zinfandel 2007

My husband loves this wine so he purchased quite a few bottles at a recent Michael~David dinner that we had attended. Last night, I decided to open a bottle to serve with dinner. I was making a roasted southwestern pork tenderloin, sweet potato fries (w/ chipolte ketchup) and a salad consisting of baby lettuce (fresh from my garden) with strawberries, red bell peppers, red onions and walnuts tossed with a white balsamic-raspberry vinaigrette. This turned out to be a great pairing. It is a bold wine that really stood up to the strong chipolte seasoning while complementing the fruit flavors. I opened the bottle a 1/2 hour before I served it as I have found this wine to be more enjoyable when I do so. The Lust Zinfandel by Michael~David 2007 was a dark purple color with a ruby rim. It has intense aromas of very ripe mixed berries and baking spices-both allspice and ginger with hints of cedar. It has flavors of creme de cassis, milk chocolate and also more of the baking

An Immersive Introduction into the World of Asolo Prosecco

Dinner Views at Osteria Alla Baracca. I was very excited to visit the Asolo DOCG Prosecco region at the end of May on a press trip as it is an Italian area that I have not previously traveled through. Asolo is located in the Province of Treviso at the foot of Monte Grappa in the high hills to the west of the Piave River with views of the Dolomites. The grapes are grown in 17 communes surrounding the town of Asolo. The days were very warm while I was there but I needed a sweater or light jacket on most evenings due to the diurnal swing that makes it a great area for grape growing. Wines from the Master Class Tasting. Asolo was elevated to the DOCG level in 2009. The majority of the Prosecco that I have found in Houston is Prosecco DOC which is mostly from very large producers. Asolo was separated from this category and the region was given this higher status because there are terroir elements that make it distinctive in the world of Prosecco. The Sant'Anna Vineyard. Many of the vin

The Salta Tour 2012

Vine Connections and Pioneer Wine Company hosted a seminar and tasting event for Houston's wine trade and media at Backstreet Cafe yesterday. All but two of the wines were from the Salta Province of Argentina. Salta is the most northern wine region in Argentina lying close to the Bolivian border. The climate is very extreme due to the high altitude. Plantings start at 5,000 feet above sea level and climb to 9,000 feet, making these vineyards the highest in the world. The intense sunlight the area receives helps to create grapes with more anthocyanins, these are the color pigments which result in softer tannins, lower astringency and more intense flavor. The wines produced are extremely pure, concentrated and terroir specific. Torrontes Riojano which is considered the best of the three Torrontes clones is the most widely planted grape with plantings of Malbec, Cabernet Sauvignon and Tannat increasing. The seminar started with a tasting of four Torrontes wines, three from diff

Wine Life - Houston

Search This Blog