Happy New Year! Happy New Wine!

by Russ Kane, wine writer, blogger and aficionado
www.vintagetexas.com

It’s a new year and it’s time to explore Texas wine country and find a new wine. Here are two wines that will require a Hill Country trip, but I guarantee that it’s worth it. Both are new wines from new wineries, but they are wines of quality and character. These wines are made from Texas-grown grapes that may not be in your present wine lexicon dominated by Cabernet, Merlot and Chardonnay. However, these are grapes in keeping with our Mediterranean-like climate.

Perissos Vineyard, Roussanne, Texas Hill Country, 2009

During one of my central Texas road trips, I stopped to visit Perissos Vineyard (Burnet, TX – www.perissosvineyards.com) in the flat eroded granite soils below Lake Buchanan Dam. I discovered this yellow-gold gem from the Martin family’s estate vineyard and winery. It was a tough choice since Perissos also had a plethora of new Texas varietals: Roussanne, Aglianico and Petit Sirah, to name only a few. It was this wine, made from the Roussanne grape, that made me stop and take notice. It had aromas and flavors of citrus and fresh stone fruits with further expressions of aromatic herbs and fresh-cut flowers.

Bending Branch Winery, Tannat, Texas High Plains, 2008

Most people have never heard of Tannat, the grape with a Pyrenees lineage. Some say it’s French and others say that it’s Spanish. Either way, I feel that it’s the future Red Zinfandel of Texas. This Texas Tannat from Bob Young’s Bending Branch Vineyards (Comfort, TX – www.bendingbranchwinery.com), made from grower Vijay Reddy’s Texas high plains fruit, is thick, opaque and “teethstainingly” purple with dark berry essence. In addition to having the necessary attributes to be a good performer as a varietal wine, Tannat can add depth and a voluptuous quality to blends with Cabernet, Merlot, Syrah, and Tempranillo, too.

Visit Texas wine country, get your feet in a Texas vineyard, and discover a new wine….a real Texas wine!

To find a Texas winery, click here for an interactive map.

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Russ Kane has covered activities in the Texas wine industry for over a decade with articles in selected local and regional publications. He is currently blogging regularly at www.vintagetexas.com/blog.