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We had to put our shipment on hold....

Good news is that's because we're in Napa and visiting with Mike tomorrow!!

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Sounds like a good day.

I was just about to email you about this. I spoke to them and they waive it if I order a case while I'm there. I'm just not into ordering cases of wine until I'm sure it's something I'll drink a lot of. Im sure I'll buy 2-3 bottles from them while I'm there. So is the experience worth $150 by itself? Are their wines good?

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For TX wines I recommend trying Calais and Kuhlman. Very complex stuff.

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Kuhlman is trying really hard, but they're not making Texas wines yet. Most of their wine is from California. They also do not crush their own grapes. So even though some of their wines are nice, they aren't "Texas wine" yet. I'm looking forward to their on site vineyard producing though. It was planted last April, so will produce some grapes this year but won't be in production for another year or two.

Ben Calais is producing Texas wine. Some of it is good IMO. He is trying to do it right. His lower priced ($40-ish) Bordeaux blend is really good. However his top cab is over $100 and IMO a little overpriced. It's also very heavily oaked (40 months in barrel) and isn't a flavor profile I look for. It's good wine, but I think he should dial back the oak some. He's also tiny right now, but it's fun to visit.

If you've never looked, wine label information is interesting:

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Producer and Bottler
Mandatory. This part of the label gives a great deal of information about the production of the wine. The label must indicate the bottler and its location. Several descriptions are common:
[ol]

"Produced and bottled by" certifies that the bottler fermented 75% or more of the wine at the stated address (for example, "Produced and Bottled by ABC Winery, St. Helena, California"). In combination with other information on the label, such as a vineyard designation, this term provides the consumer with significant information about the origin of the wine and who is responsible for its production.

"Cellared and bottled by" indicates that the bottler has subjected the wine to cellar treatment before bottling at the stated address.

"Made and bottled by" indicates that the bottler fermented at least 75% of the wine at the stated address.

"Bottled by" indicates that the winery bottled the wine at the stated address, which may have been grown, crushed, fermented, finished, and aged by someone else at some other address.

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"Produced by" is the key word. Also for Texas wine, SOME indication of Texas appellation must be on the "front" label. The phrase "For sale in Texas only" on the back label indicates the grapes are not from Texas.

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For TX wines I recommend trying Calais and Kuhlman. Very complex stuff.

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Kuhlman is trying really hard, but they're not making Texas wines yet. Most of their wine is from California. They also do not crush their own grapes. So even though some of their wines are nice, they aren't "Texas wine" yet. I'm looking forward to their on site vineyard producing though. It was planted last April, so will produce some grapes this year but won't be in production for another year or two.

Ben Calais is producing Texas wine. Some of it is good IMO. He is trying to do it right. His lower priced ($40-ish) Bordeaux blend is really good. However his top cab is over $100 and IMO a little overpriced. It's also very heavily oaked (40 months in barrel) and isn't a flavor profile I look for. It's good wine, but I think he should dial back the oak some. He's also tiny right now, but it's fun to visit.

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The whites from Kuhlmann are Texas fruit. The reds are not. Starting with the 2014 vintage, they will be releasing Texas reds. They are always going to have a couple California reds on the label, which is smart considering how the Texas grape production can swing wildly.

Thanks for the correction. We get a white or two in the club release but I don't pay much attention to them. I see now the bottles we picked up Friday include a 2013 Texas Zin. However from the label Kuhlman didn't ferment the wine, just cellared it. Unsure about the 2014 vintage. Will those be High Plains grapes? Texas is producing plenty of grapes now, but quality is the issue. There's a bunch in cryo storage in west Texas that was produced a way too high of yield (like 12+ T/acre) and didn't sell. I think we'll see tremendous improvement in the coming years.

Ten years ago when Dan put a $40 price on a bottle of his Tempranillo he was ridiculed. Now his base Temp is still $40 and you can't throw a rock on US290 without hitting a $50 bottle of wine! Also seeing more and more Texas wine. The quality can only continue to improve.

Just got back from a quick weekend Napa trip. A couple notes:

Mike Smith is an awesome guy. We all thoroughly enjoyed our visit with him and of course his wines. He genuinely seemed thankful that we had purchased some of his wines and wanted to offer us a barrel tasting of some of his cabs. Unfortunately nobody could find the keys.... We were bummed but appreciated the effort, and he even poured us some 2013 Carter Weitz vineyard since we couldn't do the barrel tasting. It was amazing. And it just so happened that we had purchased that wine our last trip. We are looking forward to opening it up even more now.

Howell mountain was incredible. We did black Sears and Outpost. The views and wines were something else. We'll definitely be attempting to do a full day up there on our next trip with hopefully (crossing fingers) being able to add Dunn to the list.

Ad Hoc's fried chicken is outstanding. Maybe too good. None of us could move we ate so much....

We also stopped by a couple of regulars for us: elyse and alpha omega. Had the era and to Kalon futures at alpha omega and actually ended up purchasing both of them.

Realm unfortunately is closed while they move wineries so we weren't able to make our stop with them.

Looking forward to whenever our next trip may be. This time it'll definitely be a longer trip, hopefully min 5 days.

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Thanks for the correction. We get a white or two in the club release but I don't pay much attention to them. I see now the bottles we picked up Friday include a 2013 Texas Zin. However from the label Kuhlman didn't ferment the wine, just cellared it. Unsure about the 2014 vintage. Will those be High Plains grapes? Texas is producing plenty of grapes now, but quality is the issue. There's a bunch in cryo storage in west Texas that was produced a way too high of yield (like 12+ T/acre) and didn't sell. I think we'll see tremendous improvement in the coming years.

Ten years ago when Dan put a $40 price on a bottle of his Tempranillo he was ridiculed. Now his base Temp is still $40 and you can't throw a rock on US290 without hitting a $50 bottle of wine! Also seeing more and more Texas wine. The quality can only continue to improve.

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I want to see Texas wine succeed. IMO, having wines over $40 and trying to grow Bordeaux is not the way to do it. merely one dude's opinion, though.

Come by and visit me at Inwood some Saturday. Bordeaux grapes can do just fine in Texas, you just have to grow them right and be willing to restrict the yields to ensure phenolic development. Dan's growing Cab just north of Fredericksburg that's pretty dang good. But yes, varietals like Tempranillo will likely be the flagship. I'm biased of course, but it was Dan Gatlin that induced (took a couple of years to convince him) Neal Newsom to first plant Tempranillo vines in the high plains. Dan supplied the vines and guaranteed purchase of the grapes. It's estimated there are 2 million Tempranillo vines out there now!

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Thanks for the correction. We get a white or two in the club release but I don't pay much attention to them. I see now the bottles we picked up Friday include a 2013 Texas Zin. However from the label Kuhlman didn't ferment the wine, just cellared it. Unsure about the 2014 vintage. Will those be High Plains grapes? Texas is producing plenty of grapes now, but quality is the issue. There's a bunch in cryo storage in west Texas that was produced a way too high of yield (like 12+ T/acre) and didn't sell. I think we'll see tremendous improvement in the coming years.

Ten years ago when Dan put a $40 price on a bottle of his Tempranillo he was ridiculed. Now his base Temp is still $40 and you can't throw a rock on US290 without hitting a $50 bottle of wine! Also seeing more and more Texas wine. The quality can only continue to improve.

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2014 should be High Plains fruit according to the stickers on the barrels I've seen.
Calais should have a rose coming out soon. I got to try a sample of it, and it's pretty good right now, albeit cloudy. Once it clears up, he's bottling.

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Come by and visit me at Inwood some Saturday. Bordeaux grapes can do just fine in Texas, you just have to grow them right and be willing to restrict the yields to ensure phenolic development. Dan's growing Cab just north of Fredericksburg that's pretty dang good. But yes, varietals like Tempranillo will likely be the flagship. I'm biased of course, but it was Dan Gatlin that induced (took a couple of years to convince him) Neal Newsom to first plant Tempranillo vines in the high plains. Dan supplied the vines and guaranteed purchase of the grapes. It's estimated there are 2 million Tempranillo vines out there now!

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I'd love to taste with you when I can get to that area again! I don't think, though, that Bordeaux varietals can be grown consistently well in Texas, even though I know there are some high plains areas that are having some success in good weather years. but it is expensive to grow.

so here's the deal, I can drink pretty awesome wines from Cali or even Italy for well under $30. The economics of Texas winemaking may keep it from ever really succeeding.

If the more Mediterranean style grapes can be grown more consistently and in quantities to make it more affordable, Texas can carve a niche (I think). but that is a long ways away since there isn't really a great market for locally grown and made wine that isn't overly ripe and over oaked merlot and zin, etc.

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so here's the deal, I can drink pretty awesome wines from Cali or even Italy for well under $30. The economics of Texas winemaking may keep it from ever really succeeding.

If the more Mediterranean style grapes can be grown more consistently and in quantities to make it more affordable, Texas can carve a niche (I think). but that is a long ways away since there isn't really a great market for locally grown and made wine that isn't overly ripe and over oaked merlot and zin, etc.

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I agree with this. Between the wineries and Garrison Brothers, it seems a there is a lot product being produced along 290 where the price point doesn't match the quality. That being said, I have found that I enjoy a few Mediterranean varietal-based wines from Texas, and I'd recommend that be the niche that Texas producers target. I can't recall a Bourdeaux varietal from Texas that I've tried that lived up to it's price point. There's just too much juice in California and Washington that is better and cheaper.

The problem on Texas is two-fold. One, most banks aren't going to loan you money to grow grapes in Texas. It's too risky for them. So then you're stuck with private capital or using your own money, and most rich people I know don't want to grow grapes.theyd rather just drink the finished product. So there are supply issues.
The second is demand. People have figured out that if you put in a tasting room on 290, people will come drink your wine, no matter how good or bad it is. So, there aren't enough grapes to go around, and coupled with the demand pressure, it results in expensive grapes.

I don't completely disagree with any of the previous posts, but don't agree completely either.

Some of the comments are analogous to the French talking about Napa in the mid-60s. Not exactly, but sort of.

So, some random comments on this topic.

Yes, most of the "wineries" on 290 (even Fat Ass) are selling all the plonk they can find a bottle for. Over my 11 years of visiting these wineries (and three months pouring) I've seen a sort of chicken-and-egg situation. In order for 290 to attract "real wine" drinkers there needs to be "real wine" available. However for "real wine" to be available, there needs to be "real wine" drinkers stopping by. Thankfully there are more Texas wines and fewer of the "For Sale in Texas Only" California central valley bulk bottling going on.

Also, when comparing price points, compare winery to winery, not HEB/Specs to winery. Go to the Central Coast or Napa or Washington and you're paying higher prices in the wineries than you are via distribution. When you compare prices that way, they are still less of a value on 290, but nearly as much as looking at HEB prices. And if you factor in the cost of going to the west coast from San Antonio/Austin/Houston/Metroplex, the 290 wine road becomes a bargain.

Bordeaux varietals can do just fine in Texas, IF you are willing to choose appropriate clones (this can't be overstated), curate the vineyard properly and be prepared for the commensurate costs. Dan grows a Dijon clone of Chardonnay at his former home on Inwood Road in Dallas. In what was his backyard. With 6,000 degree-days of heat vs Burgandy's 2,500. Urban vineyard We taste it against a Grand Cru Montrachet of similar price point and it compares very nicely. BUT, it's extremely labor intensive. Same for the Cabernet, and indeed most grapes grown in Texas. Clonal selection, canopy management and yield management are everything. Dan's maximum yield is 3 tons/acre for a $40 wine, and that yield compares with just about any wine growing region anywhere. Look at 2014. Napa harvested 3 weeks BEFORE west Texas did. Yet Napa made good wine, they just made less of it. Of course Napa's economics are such that they can smooth out a blip in their costs like that over vintages where most of Texas can't.

Texas has to learn how to grow grapes. One phase right now is west Texas cotton farmers, e.g. around Brownfield, are pulling up cotton to put in grapes, but they're maximizing yield instead of quality, producing yields of 12 tons/acre and more. There was actually an unsold surplus of Texas grapes last year that are in cryo out there because the quality was unsaleable. They'll learn.

Also, fine wine drinkers will learn that Napa is not the only flavor profile for Cabernet. Just as Napa cabs were different from Bordeaux, so good Texas cab doesn't taste exactly like Napa. The Inwood Bordeaux blends are very well accepted and I think they are quite good. I see everything from drunken bridal parties to fine wine drinkers with deep cellars. Often (no, not always) those fine wine drinkers are surprised (shocked even) by the quality available in a Texas grape. I had an O&G guy from Houston Sunday that's building his home cellar, had never heard of Inwood before, and joined the club at the top case per quarter level. I've had a local wine distributor (yes a friend and he came at my invitation) have a similar surprise to the point he wants to sit down and talk business some time.

I will put our Tempranillos up against any at equivalent price points. A standing offer for anybody on this thread is come by for a tasting and if you don't find the wines worthy, the tasting is on me!

Lastly, I will say that although I am clearly biased, there are other wine makers in Texas working just as hard and turning out really good wine. Yes, they are in a minority on 290, but they're there.

To close, here's Houston Chronicle article from week before last: Texas winemakers delivering surprisingly good juice

Went to Kuhlman and Calais a few weeks back. Really enjoyed both. Became a member at Kuhlman and looking forward to my shipment this week.

Don't think I would spend the money on some of Calais' bottles but I really liked a couple of them. The couple I had I actually didn't think they were over oaked. I expected them to be since it said 34 months in the barrel. The lady there told me the French oak barrels they use don't impart as much oakyness as other barrels. Wines not my strong suit so I have no idea. Cecil you might know if she's full of it.

French Oak is tighter grained that American, so imparts less oak to the wine. The only one there I thought was over the top was the expensive cab that the label showed 39 months but Ben said it was really 40.

I have to say that Kuhlman has slipped a little IMO. We had a Baranca and an Alluve the past couple of weeks and Diana and I both thought they were weak. I wonder if the "kitchen sink" blend philosophy is difficult to maintain?

My opinion of highly oaked wines has changed a bit. I've always kinda liked it, which is logical since I love vanilla. However, now I suspect that oftentimes the oak just hides other weaknesses in the grapes.

The kitchen sink blends or field blends are going to show more variation given a particular vintage, it's just the nature of the beast. The Ridge Geyserville is a perfect example of this. Some years it is exceptional, some years it is just good.

Something I wanted to mention about Texas wine in general. Texas cannot and should not try to emulate the wines of the Napa Valley. The climate and soils are too different. Texas is going to have to make wines that are suitable to the climate, and many winemakers started to realize that about ten years ago. For example, Mourvedre is doing very well in the Hill Country. The fact that it breaks later in the spring to avoid freezes and hail storms doesn't hurt. Some places are producing a Mourvedre that are rivaling the southern Rhone Valley when it comes to quality.

I agree, and when Cab (or other Bordeaux grapes) are grown, the resultant wine shouldn't be compared to Napa either. It should stand on it's own and be evaluated. I do think that Texas grape growers have got to learn to focus on yield management and phenolic development. I've just had too many that taste "diluted" for lack of a better word. We tried a "Something Iron Mountain" from Pontotoc Vineyards (Mason County) this weekend. I really like all the folks out there, and I'd encourage anyone to drop by if they can. It's a good idea to call first. Just meeting Alphonse Dotson is a treat (Sanana's dad and an NFL veteran himself). The bottle was a 75% Temp 15 Alicante Bouschet blend with some Carignane and Murvedre. The dusky/earthy flavor profile is one I appreciate and like. However the flavor intensity was just weak, "diluted" is the most apt term I can come up with. I've got to believe this is a lack of phenolic development in the grapes, and one of the most straightforward ways to increase phenolic development is to decrease yield.

Mourvedre.

Does Sangiovese work well here too, in similar ways? Tempranillo? (Speaking more towards the "290 stretch" than the high plains.

I took yall's advice on the cheap Spanish wines and you were right. We've been drinking $10 to $20 bottles of Spanish wines that are as good or better than $50 Pinots.

Thanks.

spanish wines are going to be a different flavor profile than pinot. hard to compare, IMO.

So after all our spring shipments and this last Napa trip, we've already just about filled our 160 bottle wine cooler....

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So after all our spring shipments and this last Napa trip, we've already just about filled our 160 bottle wine cooler....

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It's easier to do than people think.

Yeah. We obviously expect it to start dwindling down until the fall.

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Yeah. We obviously expect it to start dwindling down until the fall.

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Not a bad problem to have!

I've got some Crozes-Hermitage to pick and some wines from Benovia to order.

Tempranillo and Pinot Noir grapes have a common flavor profile in red fruits, like cherry and strawberry. Both also tend to have an earthy/forest floor type bouquet. I think that the traditional Spanish use of American Oak and long oak aging makes the difference between Spanish (e.g. Rioja or Ribera del Duero) and Burgundy more pronounced, but I'd definitely put them in the same overall category. Especially now that fruitier styles of both Pinot and Tempranillo are being made.

Any thoughts on Checkerboard wine? Anyone done a tasting there?

I have not tasted it but I've passed on it several times. Seems pricey to me and the last thing I need is another pricey wine!

I haven't tasted it either. Heard about it from someone, nothing said was great or terrible, there are tons of expensive Napa cabs to buy. Find what you like and can afford and go from there.

Heck, buy a bottle and report back to us.

Ok scheduled a tasting next Friday. Damn it's pricey just for the tasting. They will credit it back with a 3 bottle purchase so I guess I'm committed. I'll report back my findings!!

Takin' one for the team!

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Takin' one for the team!

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Haha! I'll gladly take one for the team as long as I get an invite to the "triple secret Texags wine tasting night!"

My lineup so far next week in Napa:
Outpost
Envy(tasting with Mike Smith and his wines)
Hourglass
Checkerboard
Joseph Phelps
Possible Palmaz
Orion Swift
Merryvale(wine club member)
Lewis Cellars
Need to add a few more and add a sparkling wine visit

I'll be in Napa/Sonoma at the end of next week and into the following week. We're planning on hitting up the below places:

Clos Du Val
Signorrelo
Alpha Onega ERA party
Stags Leap wine cellars
Palmaz

RRV
Hop Kiln
Rochioli
Arista
J Vineyards

Alexander Valley
Simi
Stryker
White Oak
Hanna

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I'll be in Napa/Sonoma at the end of next week and into the following week. We're planning on hitting up the below places:

Alexander Valley
Simi
Stryker
White Oak
Hanna

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If you are in that area, I'd recommend Lancaster. They have a really cool tasting in the cave.