Writing down Calais for the anniversary trip in November...

I've been to all of those except Calais, which I will visit next weekend. I will second your opinions, as I concur.

Cool. Let me know what y'all think about it. It kind of felt like finding a place before it got really well known. He is a young guy and he is building everything by hand.

Calais
Lewis
Perrisso's

These are the best. William & Chris has some great options too, Skeleton Key is pretty darn good.

You should put Westcave Cellars on your list of place to try. Just west of Austin

I used to like Perrissos, but the last time we were there, everything tasted like sanitizing solution. I got a clean glass, put some water in it, and that taste wasn't in the glass, so it had to be in the wine. I don't know when I'll go back, which is a shame, because they had made very good wines in the past.

Calais is awesome. The winemaker clearly knows what he's doing, and I love his attitude about making wine. The Roussanne is the most unusual interpretation I've tasted, but I really liked it. All the reds were excellent as well.

Awesome. Glad you liked it.

Yeah, I am hoping Perrissos just hit a bad spell. I know if I had tried anything on their current tasting menu, I likely wouldn't have joined their club. I just bought a case of the 2012 Anglianico a few months ago. It's what made me join in the first place. Their older estate wines are good.

I'll be out in the Johnson City area this weekend and plan to check out a couple wineries. Any updated experiences or recs? This thread has been quite useful so far.

I have visited a few more since my last post. To your specific question, I would still suggest you make appointments at Lewis and William Chris. If you like Tempranillo, Lewis is hard to beat in my opinion. I visited there this weekend, and the tasting menu is heavy on Temps and very light on whites. IIRC, they are going to be releasing a rousanne and viognier here in a few weeks, but they only have two whites available now and only one on the tasting menu. But still, I really enjoy their atmosphere and the people that are there. They like to explain the wine and will answer any question you have. So if you want to try some great Temps, check them out. It may be a members only wine but ask if they have a bottle of the Round Mountain open for you to taste.

Also, William Chris. They are really just one the best I have found out that way. There was only one of their wines on the tasting menu I did not like (I think it was the Hunter blend). What is odd is the guy serving us admitted they picked the grapes too soon. I was surprised they owned it. Maybe they think it will calm down in the bottle. But they also try new things with unique varietals for their area, like carignan, which makes it a fun experience. Their property is nice as well.

Becker- I took my mom here a few weeks ago for her birthday. She likes sweeter wines so I figured Becker or Messina Hoff would be our best bet to find something she would enjoy. I usually have a hard time finding Becker wines I like, but I appreciate their variety. If you have a large group or some folks that aren't big wine fans, I would suggest Becker. They have at least one of something that everyone will like to some extent. Plus, they have a great setting that we really enjoyed. It was crowded when we went but the property handles it well.

Pedernales Cellars- I visited here last weekend. It was the first time I had been there in a while. Still the best view out of all of the wineries and they have a few good wines. Their viognier always pleases and they had a good red blend named ValHalle, But, I didn't enjoy much else about the experience. Granted, my friends and I had already visited two wineries and it was near the end of a quiet Sunday, but I felt like they couldn't give two sheets about serving us. We were served by a nice guy, but I think he was 16. I asked him a question about their well known "GSM" wine and he really didn't even know the grapes that made it up. I am no wine expert but even I know the wine got its name from the grapes that went into it. Its your wine, don't put someone behind the bar that can't speak to it.

And it wasn't just us. Another couple who walked in after us stopped their tasting about halfway through it and complained about the apathetic service. They left. We were undaunted however and took a bottle outside to enjoy the sunset. Also, I think they are trying to position themselves to be a higher end winery with the way they have broken up the menu and the tasting room, and it doesn't work for me. Don't put table clothes on a few tables inside and act all snobby then put me on a wooden deck with wrought iron chairs outside. Just be a good Texas winery, laid back with good people.

Non-Fredericksburg area ones I have visited recently:

Haak Winery, Sante Fe, TX. I hit up Haak Winery a few months ago on a trip home to visit family. That was a unique experience to say the least. I grew up a few miles from there and never knew it existed. They make wonderful Madeiras using both a native red grape and the Blanc du bois. If you have never had a white madeira, it is worth checking out. You can get both varieties at Specs and both are really good. But I would only visit there if you are in the area. Outside of the madeiras, they didn't really have anything that is worth the trip. And sadly, Sante Fe, TX is about as ugly of a place to be as you can get.

Perissos, Marble Falls. I am a member there and they have just released some good wines. They have a Temp called Tamara that they just released that is pretty tasty. Their first vintage from the same vineyard didn't come out great but this one was pretty good. Plus, they just won best in class at one of the SF wine festivals for their latest Anglinico.

Driftwood Winery, Driftwood. Go for the view, not the wine. I say that not because the wine is bad. It is basically up on a bluff overlooking their vineyard. I could sit there for hours drinking wine. There were a few red blends I liked, but I don't think they produced anything that would make me drive there opposed to another winery. That being said, the view is awesome.

If you're going to William Chris, just hop down the road to Garrison Brothers to break up the day and get the bourbon tour... (make reservations...)

Calais is hands down my favorite.

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Calais is hands down my favorite.

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Does he have some new vintages out? I haven't been by there in a while. Agree, he does some very good wine.

We were there back in November and I believe he was getting to the end of the 13s he had left. Looks like we're going next month so I'll report back after that trip.

Near my house, we are members at Flat Creek Estates & like their wines & bistro.
http://flatcreekestate.com
It's on N side of Lake Travis. Address says Marble Falls but it's just outside Lago Vista.

Has anyone tried Torr Na Lochs outside of Burnet? It looks like it has stunning views. My barber said that her parents love the wine, but I have never heard of it. I will probably hit it up this weekend in conjunction with my Perissos pick-up. Any thoughts, opinions?

http://www.torrnalochs.com/index.htm

And you can even buy it!

For Sale

Bookmarking this thread.

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And you can even buy it!

For Sale

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Wadd96 I can wish I had the $s to buy it & the brains to run it! I do know how to irrigate grapes. Those 4-1/2 yrs in the California Central Valley and a PhD in Agricultural Engineering specializing in irrigation & water management could be useful! Ha

Torr Na Locks: Burnet, TX

I stopped by here on Sunday. By far, it has the best location of any winery in the area (at least that I have been to). It is on top of a large, pink granite hill just south of Inks Lake. You pull off of HWY 29 and start climbing up their driveway. You get to the top of the hill and you have an awesome view of almost the entire Colorado River valley, amazing. You can see Inks Lake and Lake Buchanan from their parking lot. The tasting room is well appointed and it opens up to their amazing view of the valley below. They also have a large patio with tables where you can sit outside which also highlights their view. (Views aside, it's nice to have another option on the Burnet side of the river to pair with a Perissos/Fall Creek/Flat Creek trip.)

They focus on Italian varietals and blends. They had 3 whites, a Rose`, and 5 reds (IIRC). We did the red tasting menu which precluded all the whites and started with the Montepulciano Rose. After that I ordered a glass of their Rousanne (which I enjoyed) so I could try their whites as well. They had some good offerings, like a red blend called Mad's Red. But in the end, I think they focused more on easy drinking wines opposed to deep and complex ones. A few needed a little tweaking I think.

The owner stopped by and chatted for a while. They opened last September. He said they spent a lot of time producing their first estate wine this last fall so it was hectic splitting between that and opening the tasting room. The current wines on the menu appeared to be sourced from the Highplains to include the Oswalt Vineyard.

The tasting experience was a little disjointed. Both servers in the wine room were extremely nice, but I didn't get a sense they knew the product well. One description for example was, "You should get a nose of berries and oak on the palate." Which is fine, but that describes almost every red wine out there. My friend asked which wine the server would recommend that most resembled a Pinot Grigio and server had to go ask someone in the back. Again, not a big deal, it's a new place, but you kind of expect a little more. It was like a waitress not knowing the menu. But they were very friendly and welcoming, so that was nice. Their snack plate is made in house and it had some good elements, like goat cheese stuffed dates.

If you want a place to sit for hours and enjoy an amazing view and a decent glass, I would recommend it. If you are trying to impress friends by showing them the best example of Texas wine, this may not be it.

Thanks for all the info in this thread!!

Wife and I are headed to Bee Cave this weekend and were hoping to stop in 1 winery on Friday afternoon. Any recommendations on one really close by to Bee Cave? On the map I see El Gaucho, Westcave, Spicewood, and Stone House. Can anyone recommend one of those or others that might be close by, say within 15 to 30 minutes away?

We plan on doing some breweries and maybe Deep Eddy Vodka distillery on Saturday...

TIA!

Let me add that we would be going for scenery and atmosphere... Wine quality would not be a top requirement.

Could even try to swing by Torr Na Locks but would be a little out of the way...

I haven't been to any around bee caves but Driftwood Estates is close (according to Google 31 minutes away) and they have a great view. The first time I went I wasn't overly impressed with their product, but I enjoyed it last time I went. The tasting room is small and older, but it is up on a bluff overlooking their vineyard. It's a nice place to sit outside and enjoy a bottle.

Stone house looks pretty cool being right there on the lake.

I've been to WestCave, and it's ok. No real view to speak of. I haven't been to Spicewood in a long time, and I've heard that their wines have gotten much better.