A TASTING AT BECKER VINEYARDS

Since Neil is writing a book on The History of Texas Wine we’ve been conducting some background research, so we went on a fact finding mission a couple of weeks ago.  We chose the Hill Country Wine Trail, frankly, because it is closest to our house out of all the wine regions in Texas.

 We began our journey at the famous Becker Vineyards outside of Fredericksburg, Texas.  Dr. Becker and his wife, Bunny, began this vineyard some 20 years ago.   Becker Vineyards is one of the most established and well-liked wineries in Texas and they have won critical acclaim over the years.

 Their tasting consists of 6 pours for $10.00 including a lovely wine glass with their logo.  We began the tasting with a 2012 Viognier retailing for $14.95 a bottle.  The wine showed nice balance and mouth feel with white peach flavors and nice acid (14.3% alcohol).  The next wine was a 2010 Roussane Reserve retailing for $18.95.  This wine had an herbal tea taste to it with a hint of white flowers and pears.  The third wine was a lovely 2011 rosé they called Provencal that retails for $9.95.  The pear and strawberry overtones coupled with a lightly floral nose and good price made this a winner in my book.

 The last three tastes were red wines.  The first was a 2011 Prairie Rotie, a Rhone style blend with essence of herbs, coffee and dark fruit flavors which retailed at $16.95.  The next was a 2010 Reserve Cabernet Syrah retailing for $21.95 with an alcohol content of 13.8%.  This bottle was made from a 60% Cabernet Sauvignon and a 40% Syrah.  The wine had an awesome aroma of chocolate, spice, cassis and dried fruit.  The last, but not least, was their 2010 Raven, the “Flagship Wine” and retails for $40.00.  The essence of chocolate, toffee, dates, and espresso oozed from this incredibly rich wine.  After 6 tastes at Becker Vineyards on a hot summer day in Texas, it was time to hit the road back to the casa for some R&R.

 Salud!

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4. Great Chardonnay, old vine Zinfandel, and Pinot Noir from Davis Family Vineyards
5. Speed tasting at the Wine Bloggers Conference