Introduction to the Grapes of Texas

Now is a great time to get interested in Texas wine. Texas is the 5th largest wine producer in the country with more than 300 wineries and growing fast. Texas has more wine history than most people know -- vines were planted in Texas in the early 1600s, which is earlier than they came to California. In the early 1900s transplanted Texan Thomas Munson played an important role in solving the worldwide phylloxera crisis using rootstock from Texas grapes. The Texas wine industry today is often compared to the California wine industry in the 1970s -- the winemakers are still experimenting to see what works best in the climate, the quality ranges from very high to low-but-improving, and the wine is generally undervalued. Check out the Texas Wine Cheat Sheet for an overview of Texas' wine regions.

Most people think about wine in terms of grape variety. Learning about the grapes of a region is a good beginning for learning about the region's wines, but it's especially important in Texas because winemakers here are still figuring out what grapes grow best. In Burgundy winemakers have spent hundreds of years perfecting the wine identity of the region and the marriage of grape to vineyard site. In Texas these are open questions. So far, wineries and grape growers in Texas have tended to take one (or a combination) of the following approaches to their grape selection.

Beers with a Wine Influence

Check out my latest article for HomeBrewTalk.com!

Beers With A Wine Influence

See all my articles for HomeBrewTalk.com here, and for WineMakingTalk.com here.

Wines for Thanksgiving

I've been drinking more Texas wine lately, so this year I'm serving Texas wine at Thanksgiving.  I like to offer guests a red and a white, so I've chosen McPherson Viognier and Becker Claret.

Here are some previous posts that can help you decide what to drink with your Thanksgiving meal this year:

-- Riesling, whether sweet or dry, is a classic choice.  If you go this route, you might want to consult the Riesling Cheat Sheet or "My continuing quest for cheap, dry Riesling."

-- Reds or rosés from the Southern Rhone Valley in France would also be a good choice.

-- If you're interested in serving sparkling wine, check out "The 2-Minute Guide to Bubbles."

-- See last year's recommendations for reds, whites, and sparkling wines at "Ideas for Thanksgiving."

-- I recently posted the Botrytis Cheat Sheet, a primer on the fungus that contributes to many amazing dessert wines. Any of these botrytis-affected wines would pair well with your pumpkin pie.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Wine + ale + fungus = something surprisingly good.

Last week I posted the Botrytis (Noble Rot) Wine Cheat Sheet, about the fungus that impacts many of the world's great dessert wines. This week I'm drinking a beer that's infused with grape must from "nobly rotten" grapes.

Dogfish Head, a brewery known for unique and historical beers, has created this unusual ale. It's a saison (a light, fruity, refreshing style of ale), brewed with the juice from Viognier grapes which were infected with botrytis. According to the Dogfish Head website:  "This is the absolute closest to equal meshing of the wine world and the beer world that's ever been done commercially." And sure enough, the result tastes like equal parts of white wine and ale.

Nose:  Peach, floral, citrus, apple, and honey.

Palate:  Dry, with a refreshing citrus quality.  9% abv

The peach and floral aromas are typical of wine made from Viognier grapes, and the honey is typical of botrytis-affected wines. The biggest surprise of Noble Rot is that it isn't sweet, since botrytis is usually only involved in making dessert wines. The second biggest surprise is that this ale is light and refreshing. While still flavorful and complex, it isn't the rich, heavy, or sweet beer that I expected.  Great stuff.

You might also be interested in...
The Ultimate Guide to 24 - now 28! - Pumpkin Ales in Houston
Ancient Ale on Tap in Houston!
Ancient wine, ancient beer, and how you can try some today!
A Great Beer Infographic

An eclectic list of good white wines under $15

I usually drink more red wines than white, but in the summer I like the cooler, lighter whites to combat the Houston heat.  Summer may be over (at least according to the school calender - the autumnal equinox won't arrive and officially bring fall with it until September 22), but we all know Houston will be sweltering for another month at least.  So I figured it wasn't too late to share a list of good white wines under $15.  This is a very eclectic list, based solely on what I happen to have tasted lately, so it's by no means exhaustive or even well-rounded.  But hopefully it will point you to something new to try!  

If I've written about the wine before, I linked to that post.  I also added a few words about the flavor profile.


DRY

• Buchegger Riesling, from Austria
• very fruity
• Pewsey Vale Dry Reisling, from Australia
• lemon, apricot, and minerality
• Chateau Ste. Michelle Dry Riesling, from Washington State
• green apple and lemon with some minerality
• (link to buy online)
• Sartori Pinot Grigio, from Italy
• citrus, mineral, and floral notes
• Fontana Candida Terre dei Grifi Frascati, from Italy
• citrus, pineapple, with a hint of toast
• Abadia de San Campio Terras Gauda Albarino, from Spain
• citrus and pear, little-to-no oak
• Vignerons du Pallet Muscadet, from the Loire Valley in France
• simple citrus flavors, with bready qualities from sur lie aging
• Gerard Bertrand Picpoul de Pinet, from Coteau de Languedoc in France
• simple and fruity, little-to-no oak
• McPherson Viognier, from Texas
• tropical fruits, floral notes, balanced by earthiness

DRY SPARKLING

• Anna de Codorniu, Brut Cava, from Spain
• fruity and toasty, a bit like Champagne
• (link to buy online)

DRY, HALF-SPARKLING (petillant/frizzante)

• Blanc Pescador, from Spain
• citrus and minerality

OFF DRY

• Sauvion Vouvray (Chenin Blanc), from the Loire Valley in France
• apple, lemon, peach, and earthiness

OFF DRY, HALF-SPARKLING (petillant/frizzante)
All of these are Vinho Verdes, and though they vary a bit in sweetness and flavor profile, they share the same crisp, refreshing, citrusy qualities.

• Casal Garcia Vinho Verde, from Portugal
• Esteio Vinho Verde, from Portugal
• Anjos Vinho Verde, from Portugal
• Opala Vinho Verde, from Portugal

MEDIUM SWEET

• Chateau Moncontour Vouvray (Chenin Blanc), from the Loire Valley in France
• fruity with earthiness to balance

Comparing 2 Texas Viogniers

Almost a year ago I linked to an article about a competition in which wines made from Texas-grown Viognier grapes beat wines from France's Rhone Valley (the home of the grape) and California.  (Go here for the full story of the tasting and a list of winners.)  Viogniers are one of the rising stars of the Texas wine industry, and I've been wanting to get to know them better, so I selected 2 to taste and compare.  I wanted 2 Texas Viogniers that both scored well in last year's tasting, are widely available, not too expensive, and roughly the same price.  So I picked McPherson and Becker.  Both the McPherson and Becker Viogniers are made from grapes grown in the panhandle of Texas (though Becker is based in the hill country).  Both were the 2012 vintages.  Let's taste!

2012 McPherson Viognier

McPherson is located in the Texas High Plains wine region, which is in the panhandle of the state. This Viognier finished 4th in last year's tasting.

• Color:  Deep yellow.
• On the nose:  Tropical fruits and floral aromas dominate, along with peach, banana, and some earthy minerality.  
• On the palate:  The flavors on the palate generally match the aromas on the nose.  Full body, high acid. 13.9% abv.

I really like this one, and at $13 a bottle I will buy it again.  The rich flavors and full body combine with high acidity to make a versatile wine.  (I happened to be eating German food the night I tasted this, and it paired nicely.)  

2012 Becker Vineyards Viognier

This wine finished 3rd in last year's tasting.  The website tells me it also won a silver medal in Lyon, France. Though Becker is based in the hill country, these grapes also came from a vineyard in the panhandle. 

• Color:  Deep yellow.
• On the nose:  More minerality than the McPherson, with fruit aromas leaning more toward stone fruit than tropical.  Less fruity overall than the McPherson, but with more floral qualities.
• On the palate:  As on the nose, there is less fruit character on the palate here, but more floral, earthy, and mineral character.  Slightly higher in acid and lighter in body than the other Viognier.  Higher in alcohol at 14.4%. 

In my opinion, two things detracted from this wine, but only one of them is likely to be the wine's fault.  First, I wasn't crazy about the floral qualities.  This is probably my issue, not the wine's.  I enjoy floral character in wine, but certain flavors put me off and make me feel like I'm drinking perfume.  For example, Gewurztraminer and I have never gotten along.  I know, I'm crazy.  But this Viognier reminded me of the Gewurztraminer flavors that I don't like.  Becker's website says the floral aroma is of violets, so maybe I just don't like violets...  Anyway, it's nothing against the wine. Second and more important, I found the alcohol level too high, causing the wine to be out of balance. Perhaps a richer fruit component could have stood up to such a high alcohol level.  Like the McPherson, the Becker Viognier costs about $13.

Conclusion

I prefer the McPherson Viognier to the Becker, though the Becker performed better in last year's tasting. They're both reasonably priced, so if you're like me and you drink far more white wines in summer than any other time of the year, give one or both of these a try.

Texas Viognier Beats California and Rhone!

The traditional home of the Viognier grape is in the Rhone Valley in France, and it has also had success in California.   But more and more Texas wineries are producing wine from Viognier.  How are they doing?  Very well!

Read the full story here.

Wine-Influenced Beers

I tasted 2 great beers last night, both with strong wine connections.

One was Dogfish Head Brewery's Noble Rot.  It includes juice from Viognier grapes which have been infected by "noble rot," or botrytis, which is a fungus that is essential to some of the world's most highly regarded dessert wines.  The resulting beer is similar to a Belgian pale ale, but with some honeyed, cider-like notes.  It also had some of the tangy flavor that I associate with sours.  If you're in the Clear Lake area, you can get this on draft at Nobi Public House, but I imagine it won't last long!

The other was also at Nobi - Ska Brewing Company's Hibernal Vinifera Stout.  Vinifera is the species of grapes that is best for winemaking.  This stout is fermented along with Malbec grapes, and it's extremely yummy.  Dark, rich, yet not too heavy, chocolately and toasty, but with additional complexity from the Malbec.

If you're a beer snob, get thee to Nobi and try these!  In fact, get thee to Nobi, period.  Any fan of craft beer in this area needs to be a regular there.

Are there other wine-beer crossovers I should know about?