Christmas dinner tonight...a day late. To be honest, I ate too much chocolate yesterday and got too full. Rookie mistake, I know.

But yeah, tonight...2013 Myriad Dr Crane. Delish, but could use more time in the cellar. I'll check in again at midnight.

Also: using the new Zalto Bordeaux glasses I bought us for Christmas. They are nice!!!

I like it to a point. FWIW, there's a few things in it that disagree with other sources. The format is certainly approachable. I just haven't used it as a primary reference. Well worth having!

I'm a decided amateur wine connoisseur in present company, but I've tried hard to find Texas wines I really like. With apologies to Cecil I haven't had any Inwood wines, but until now Pedernales Estates Reserve Tempranillo has been my favorite. As of today there is a new leader in the clubhouse with the 2014 Valley Mills Vineyard Tempranillo.

I never would have thought a Waco winery would make anything decent, but I really enjoyed it. Has anyone else tried it, or have other good Texas wines I should try in the <$60 range?

htxag09 said:

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To take a break from the movie talk....

Wife got me the wine folly master guide for Christmas. I've enjoyed diving into it so far. Anyone else familiar with wine folly? Really like the illustrations and being able to flip through it as I'm drinking wine.

Also, I got her a gift card for a wine for normal people class. So excited about that as well....

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I love Wine Folly. She makes wine topics interesting and understandable. Videos are fun, too, but a bit silly sometimes.

FTAco07 said:

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I'm a decided amateur wine connoisseur in present company, but I've tried hard to find Texas wines I really like. With apologies to Cecil I haven't had any Inwood wines, but until now Pedernales Estates Reserve Tempranillo has been my favorite. As of today there is a new leader in the clubhouse with the 2014 Valley Mills Vineyard Tempranillo.

I never would have thought a Waco winery would make anything decent, but I really enjoyed it. Has anyone else tried it, or have other good Texas wines I should try in the <$60 range?

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We like the Newsom North Block blend, and Caprock in Lubbock is becoming English Newsome Cellars, and is putting out some really great wines, and only going to get better. One of the owners was part of Trilogy in Levelland, and supplies grapes to Becker and others, and recently bought into Caprock. They have a Pinot Grigio just released that's really good, and a Malbec coming early next year that's pretty special.

FTAco07 said:

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I'm a decided amateur wine connoisseur in present company, but I've tried hard to find Texas wines I really like. With apologies to Cecil I haven't had any Inwood wines, but until now Pedernales Estates Reserve Tempranillo has been my favorite. As of today there is a new leader in the clubhouse with the 2014 Valley Mills Vineyard Tempranillo.

I never would have thought a Waco winery would make anything decent, but I really enjoyed it. Has anyone else tried it, or have other good Texas wines I should try in the <$60 range?

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I like what I see on the Valley Mills web site, but haven' tried them (or even heard of them) yet. The $50 and $60 prices on their Tempranillo is a very good thing, though. Given the price of Texas grapes, it is difficult (not possible, really) to make a concentrated, high polyphenol, wine for much less than that. If you make one at lower prices, the grapes will likely be over-yielded and produce "thin" or "diluted" wine.

And though my bias is clear, I've just not found any Texas wines that, across the board, come very close to Dan's wines at Inwood. Ben Calais has some great wines, but a few that aren't. William Chris has chosen a different place in the market and is doing very well there. I've tasted many others that produce 100% Texas wine, but for my pallette nothing comes close. Heck, that's the reason I chose Inwood to hang around for my hobby!

And as to not having had any Inwood, I can help fix that! PM me and we can arrange something.

OK, just saw on your profile that you're in Dallas. Our Dallas tasting room is at
1350 Manufacturing St #209, Dallas, TX 75207 (behind the Anatole)

Dan's son, Spencer, is the assistant winemaker. I think it's accurate to call him the first of a 2nd generation of Texas wine makers. He's open 4-6 Friday and noon-6 Saturday. Best to call first since he's down here making wine much of the time. The tasting room was just remodeled.

I'd love for you to stop by and then share your thoughts with us - understanding that everyone is different and there are no guarantees!

I'll agree with Cecil that all palates are different, and will admit that I haven't had Inwood wines yet (not for lack of trying) but there are many good Texas Wines. Steve Newsome, formerly of Trilogy now at Caprock, has some award winners (and supplies grapes for Becker and others). Llano, Lost Draw and Brennan (from Comanche) have some good stuff. Messina Hof and Pedernales both have some of our favorites. There are MANY good wines and wineries in Texas, and not just in the Hill Country.

And the best part about it is that you can try them all, which means drinking lots of wine.

FTAco07 said:

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I'm a decided amateur wine connoisseur in present company, but I've tried hard to find Texas wines I really like. With apologies to Cecil I haven't had any Inwood wines, but until now Pedernales Estates Reserve Tempranillo has been my favorite. As of today there is a new leader in the clubhouse with the 2014 Valley Mills Vineyard Tempranillo.

I never would have thought a Waco winery would make anything decent, but I really enjoyed it. Has anyone else tried it, or have other good Texas wines I should try in the <$60 range?

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We have been thinning the herd lately with our wine clubs. Too much inconsistency from year to year.

The one Texas winery that has been more consistent is Perissos. This place is really close to our condo on lake LBJ and I probably go there 12 times a year.

Their Montepulciano is a nice wine at a good price point. It sells out quickly and only seems to be available at the vineyard. I will be buying a case when it is released in the fall. We bought at least a case and a half last year, and we are down to one bottle.

10 of their red wines are 100% estate grown, which is always a good sign. Most of the hill country guys are just getting grapes from West Texas or California.

Tumble Weed said:

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We have been thinning the herd lately with our wine clubs. Too much inconsistency from year to year.

The one Texas winery that has been more consistent is Perissos. This place is really close to our condo on lake LBJ and I probably go there 12 times a year.

Their Montepulciano is a nice wine at a good price point. It sells out quickly and only seems to be available at the vineyard. I will be buying a case when it is released in the fall. We bought at least a case and a half last year, and we are down to one bottle.

10 of their red wines are 100% estate grown, which is always a good sign. Most of the hill country guys are just getting grapes from West Texas or California.

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I looked at the Perissos Tempranillo online since it won a double gold in San Francisco as well, but their shipping costs were high and made the wine significantly more expensive. I do need to expand my Texas search beyond Tempranillo, but so far I've found it to be better than other varietals or blends I've had from Texas wineries.

I wouldn't pay for shipping either. My last two wine shipments have been a nightmare. The last time I was in the UPS office, I thought that the manager was going to call the cops on me.

I am only 3 hours away from the hill country, so I just fire up the car and make a weekend of it.

For what it's worth the Valley Mills shipping was great, $20 flat rate regardless of bottle count (at least up to 12) and it arrived in Dallas a day and a half after ordering.

One fun tidbit. It was Dan Gatlin that took two years to convince Neal Newsome to plant Tempranillo. Dan offered to by the cuttings and guaranteed the purchase. So Dan Gatlin is the father of the west Texas Tempranillo industry.

One other factoid, it's done well in Texas not due to soil, climate, elevation nor diurnal temperature range. Rather, it's primarily due to Tempranillo being a very straightforward and easy to grow grape that ripens easily and early. So cotton farmers have had a lot of success planting it!

My standing offer to anyone on this thread is a free reserve tasting on a Saturday. Just let me know you're coming. I've yet to find anyone who likes dry, red wine that didn't appreciate the level of quality in Inwood wines.

They're also growing some pretty good cab, malbec, petit verdot, and pinot grigio grapes up here.

Cool on the WFNP class. We + another couple had a private class a couple of months ago. Elizabeth really goes into great detail and, even though I've now followed her for years, this was my first class. I was very impressed.

I'll tell her to take care of you.

Well my local HEB didn't do a big year end sale on sparklers, only "primo picks." No 2008 Dom or Cristal are discounted. In fact, they don't even have Cristal in stock.

BSD said:

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Well my local HEB didn't do a big year end sale on sparklers, only "primo picks." No 2008 Dom or Cristal are discounted. In fact, they don't even have Cristal in stock.

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First world problems - My grocery store doesn't have the champagne I want on sale!

Haha. This is a total first world thread!!!!

BSD said:

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Well my local HEB didn't do a big year end sale on sparklers, only "primo picks." No 2008 Dom or Cristal are discounted. In fact, they don't even have Cristal in stock.

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This is fantastic! Happy new year to you and every one of you who contribute or lurk the best wine thread in Texas! May God bless your 2019 with gorgeous floral notes of red roses and lilacs over a core of black and red cherries, crushed black currants and a full-bodied, decadently powerful finish!

...little help from Robert Parker's 2015 Scarecrow Cab notes...

So we've booked a trip to Italy in March. Any recs for wineries (or anything else for that matter) around Turin, Alba, Siena, Florence, Montalcino, or Montepulciano?

Our focus is going to be Barolo, Barbaresco, Brunello, and truffles, but if there is something I'm missing in those areas let me know.

We did a cooking class in Florence and loved it. I'd definitely recommend one if you aren't planning on it. We also did a food tour in Rome, I'm sure Florence would have great options for one as well.

Don't have specific recs for wineries as we just did a tour through walks of Italy, if I'm not mistaken. It was good, and my favorite of the wineries we visited was Fattoria dei Barbi but we didn't go to enough wineries nor do I really know enough about Italian wines to know how good of a recommendation that is......

How are spoiled bottles typically handled?

We opened a William Chris 2013 Cab a few weeks ago and it was spoiled. The second I took the foil off the top of the bottle I could tell something was wrong. It looked as if some wine either seeped out of the cork or there was wine there when it was closed. Pictures below. I emailed William Chris, but never heard back (I bought the bottle directly through them, was a wine club member, not anymore, probably why I didn't hear back lol). Despite the off color and smell, yes, I did still taste it. Wasn't quite sour but did taste sharp. If that makes sense.

Not overly upset or anything, it was an expensive bottle but things happen. Just kind of surprised I never heard back.

I had that happen with a California winery a couple of months ago (cork was visibly mangled before opening, and the wine was bad). They replaced it immediately. That's pretty standard from what I have heard from others as well.

Did you take pics of the cork?

We had a wine from William Chris that was corked. We emailed them, and they asked us to bring the bottle and the cork. They wanted the bottle so they knew which lot the cork came from, and also because their supplier has a TCA-free guarantee on their corks. We brought it back and they changed it out with a new bottle.

htxag09 said:

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How are spoiled bottles typically handled?

We opened a William Chris 2013 Cab a few weeks ago and it was spoiled. The second I took the foil off the top of the bottle I could tell something was wrong. It looked as if some wine either seeped out of the cork or there was wine there when it was closed. Pictures below. I emailed William Chris, but never heard back (I bought the bottle directly through them, was a wine club member, not anymore, probably why I didn't hear back lol). Despite the off color and smell, yes, I did still taste it. Wasn't quite sour but did taste sharp. If that makes sense.

Not overly upset or anything, it was an expensive bottle but things happen. Just kind of surprised I never heard back.

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I have had issues with a couple of Texas vineyards believing me that I got a bad bottle. It makes me mad. Wont name the two vineyards.

Also, Inwood wines are pretty dang good. I have a bottle of Colos cellared. Neal Newsome's son showed up to my wine club years ago. Pretty good insight into their operations.

austinag1997 said:

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I have had issues with a couple of Texas vineyards believing me that I got a bad bottle. It makes me mad. Wont name the two vineyards.

Also, Inwood wines are pretty dang good. I have a bottle of Colos cellared. Neal Newsome's son showed up to my wine club years ago. Pretty good insight into their operations.

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If someone treats me like that, you better believe I'm gonna name them to warn others away from them.

Tell me more about your wine club, please. Sounds interesting and like something I might want to try.

We would have a small group of friends get together once a month. I would pick a region; everyone would bring a bottle from that region. I prepped ahead of time, making it educational and enjoyable. Worked for a while. Had winemakers, vineyard owners eventually show up.

Problem was it grew too large and then devolved into people bringing beer et al. I shut it down at that point. Keep it moderately small with those specifically interested in wine.

austinag1997 said:

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We would have a small group of friends get together once a month. I would pick a region; everyone would bring a bottle from that region. I prepped ahead of time, making it educational and enjoyable. Worked for a while. Had winemakers, vineyard owners eventually show up.

Problem was it grew too large and then devolved into people bringing beer et al. I shut it down at that point. Keep it moderately small with those specifically interested in wine.

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So you invited the winemakers, etc. or word got out and they found you? How did you spread the word?

And who brings beer to a wine club?

One of my friends is studying for his Level 2 Sommelier test, so he's asked a couple of us to do some blind tastings for him. We've done Piedmont and Northern Rhone so far. And keeping it small is key. 6-8 wines is enough. More than that, and the last wines become a blur.

htxag09 said:

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With the wine at the top of the cork (Leakage) and the expansion, looks like heat issues

Interesting. I've only had it two years and it's been in my wine fridge/chiller. Just checked my cellar tracker and they shipped it, or at least I received it into my tracker, in September. So definitely possible.