Coluvium by Narrow Path is so damn good. Narrow Path has become my favorite place in the area over the Last two years.AustinCountyAg said:
figured I'd bump this thread since we went to Fburg a couple weeks back.
Wife and I really enjoyed Narrow Path out in Albert. Small, quiet, and the wines were good. Our favorite there was a red blend (name escapes me) that is served chill. Perfect for drinking on a hot day.
Ab Astris we visited and nothing stood out. Nice place, but prolly wont go back.
On the drive in we stopped at a new place outside Johnson CIty. Siboney Cellars. Wine was not spectacular, but the views and new vineyard were very nice. I suspect in a few years it could be a very happening spot.
I was not a fan of Southold. If you're into non-intervention "natural" wines, you will like them. I do not. I could go on a whole other rant about natural wines too.bularry said:Southold wines not for everyone, but yeah, the views are amazing.Topher17 said:
Southold Farm & Cellars - best views of any winery in the Hill Country.
Crowson Wines in Johnson City is great too.
I agree. I thought it was a great wine for what it was, however when we were there it was 90 degrees outside and I wasn't in the mood for a big/bold wine like that.cypress-ag said:Coluvium by Narrow Path is so damn good. Narrow Path has become my favorite place in the area over the Last two years.AustinCountyAg said:
figured I'd bump this thread since we went to Fburg a couple weeks back.
Wife and I really enjoyed Narrow Path out in Albert. Small, quiet, and the wines were good. Our favorite there was a red blend (name escapes me) that is served chill. Perfect for drinking on a hot day.
Ab Astris we visited and nothing stood out. Nice place, but prolly wont go back.
On the drive in we stopped at a new place outside Johnson CIty. Siboney Cellars. Wine was not spectacular, but the views and new vineyard were very nice. I suspect in a few years it could be a very happening spot.
I wouldn't call them "natural", in the context of how some use that term. But Southold is definitely low intervention, which I appreciate. Certainly they have some misses, but some of their hits are really interesting and fun to drink. They aren't trying to do any duplication of some other famous region, just trying to make a Texas wine. I support that effort.HTownAg98 said:I was not a fan of Southold. If you're into non-intervention "natural" wines, you will like them. I do not. I could go on a whole other rant about natural wines too.bularry said:Southold wines not for everyone, but yeah, the views are amazing.Topher17 said:
Southold Farm & Cellars - best views of any winery in the Hill Country.
Crowson Wines in Johnson City is great too.
I'd be curious what places you see at "pretentious" and how that comes across? I've never experienced it in FBTX and makes me curious to read it.AustinCountyAg said:I agree. I thought it was a great wine for what it was, however when we were there it was 90 degrees outside and I wasn't in the mood for a big/bold wine like that.cypress-ag said:Coluvium by Narrow Path is so damn good. Narrow Path has become my favorite place in the area over the Last two years.AustinCountyAg said:
figured I'd bump this thread since we went to Fburg a couple weeks back.
Wife and I really enjoyed Narrow Path out in Albert. Small, quiet, and the wines were good. Our favorite there was a red blend (name escapes me) that is served chill. Perfect for drinking on a hot day.
Ab Astris we visited and nothing stood out. Nice place, but prolly wont go back.
On the drive in we stopped at a new place outside Johnson CIty. Siboney Cellars. Wine was not spectacular, but the views and new vineyard were very nice. I suspect in a few years it could be a very happening spot.
Also want to add that the service there was excellent. Not pretentious like a lot of the places in the area are becoming.
Everyone at that venue is super friendly and we truly enjoy visiting. Tim does a great pour and we truly love Maddie as well. The owner Bob, while a sip is a great dude to visit with. The dogs around there are so freindly as well.AustinCountyAg said:I agree. I thought it was a great wine for what it was, however when we were there it was 90 degrees outside and I wasn't in the mood for a big/bold wine like that.cypress-ag said:Coluvium by Narrow Path is so damn good. Narrow Path has become my favorite place in the area over the Last two years.AustinCountyAg said:
figured I'd bump this thread since we went to Fburg a couple weeks back.
Wife and I really enjoyed Narrow Path out in Albert. Small, quiet, and the wines were good. Our favorite there was a red blend (name escapes me) that is served chill. Perfect for drinking on a hot day.
Ab Astris we visited and nothing stood out. Nice place, but prolly wont go back.
On the drive in we stopped at a new place outside Johnson CIty. Siboney Cellars. Wine was not spectacular, but the views and new vineyard were very nice. I suspect in a few years it could be a very happening spot.
Also want to add that the service there was excellent. Not pretentious like a lot of the places in the area are becoming.
I had a similar experience with Hilmy - Big fan of their wines in early 2018, joined the club, then over a couple years the wines and overall TR management went way downhill. Dropped the club late 2019. Hadn't been back until a few weeks ago, and it seems like the tasting room has had almost a complete turnover on staff. The girl I talked to said Erik Hilmy is still running the show but it sounded like they got a new winemaker (at least since I had last been there before COVID). Wines were back to being pretty dang good, although they're doing a lot of different varietals compared to what I remembered. I was excited to see someone other than Messina Hof doing a Sagrantino, but the style was very different. They looked like they're doing some construction as well and I believe using some different vineyards as their sources now. It looked like some of the old estate vines had been replaced. Tasting room seems a lot more spartan now and the tastings themselves have gotten expensive though. Didn't end up rejoining -- way too many other good wineries popping up. Also sad they don't have the Doo-Zwa-Zo anymoreHTownAg98 said:
Has Hilmy gotten better? We joined their club when they first opened, and the wines were great to start with, and then became worse over the next two years. When then tried them again, joined, and the same thing happened; the wines got worse. Do they now have a consistent winemaker and source from better vineyards now?
. Still have Politics and Religion though - that was my first TX wine love.
)Hilmy is one of the places we stop from time to time and have always enjoyed the wines but the overall appearance of the facility was less than compared to other sites. It's on my rotation and we were going to stop but saw the construction and figured we would wait for our next trip in June. Went to Kuhlman instead.cecil77 said:
Give Hilmy a chance. New winemaker is a good guy (and Inwood club member
Eric is out and has been for awhile. Probably prayers and good wishes for him are in order. Multiple problems.
New GM a good guy as well. Give it a vintage for the wines to really improve, they even acknowledge some of the recent vintages aren't very good.
We visited a couple months ago and had a good time. Went back a couple weeks later to join their club (we'd also been members years back). Their one handicapped parking space had empty bin in it. So we parked next to in in what's effectively a driveway to an overhead door in their winery. Only place my wife's walker could work. Once inside we were in the midst of filling out the club form when a mid-20s young woman asked if we were parked there and insisted (rudely) that we had to move. I pointed to my wife's walker and she said "I don't care, you have to move." (note this 4pm on a Thursday and we were the only ones there). To say I was "displeased" would be generous. I started in on ADA, customer service, working in the industry and such - but she didn't back down. By then Diana was already heading for the door as if they don't want her there - she wasn't staying.
Forward to Saturday morning. From Inwood I call Hilmy and speak to the new GM. Long story short - he was mortified. Knew who the employee was and assured it would be rectified. I drive by 30 minutes later and the empty bins were removed, the handicapped sign in place and pylons clearly denoting. You know in life all someone can do is solve a problem - and he did, graciously and intantaneosly.
Give Hilmy a chance over the next few years.
— 12 FIRES Winery and Vineyard (@12FiresWinery) October 10, 2022
they aren't natural, in the sense the hard core advocates are.. but certainly they have a style they pursue which is lean, low alcohol, low RS and minimal filtering. I find their wines interesting, although they have some misses. I think every vintage they get better as they learn more and more about the fruit they are sourcing, etc.HTownAg98 said:I was not a fan of Southold. If you're into non-intervention "natural" wines, you will like them. I do not. I could go on a whole other rant about natural wines too.bularry said:Southold wines not for everyone, but yeah, the views are amazing.Topher17 said:
Southold Farm & Cellars - best views of any winery in the Hill Country.
Crowson Wines in Johnson City is great too.
congrats!! I saw that list and had never heard of your winery, so some great pub for you guys.PebbleRock2019 said:
Howdy! My husband and I own Pebble Rock Cellars in Johnson City, TX. If you like Sagrantino, please check out our 2019 Sagrantino. It was just named one of the top 12 wines in the 2022 Texas Vintners Cup. You can find the article in the October issue of Texas Monthly.
