Central Texas Wineries

Dry Comal Creek Vineyard & Winery
1742 Herbelin Rd.
New Braunfels, TX 78132
(830) 885-4076
Website: www.drycomalcreek.com

Upcoming Events:

“Order of the Purple Foot” 6^th Annual Grape Stomp (posted 7/24/2008)

Winery U!

Our review

Dry Comal Creek Vineyard & Winery is located outside New Braunfels just off Texas State Highway 46. Dry Comal Creek was founded in 1998 by Franklin D. Houser. Like many of the folks in the Texas wine industry, Franklin left a successful career as a lawyer to pursue his dream of making wine.

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Flat Creek Estate 24912 Singleton Bend East, Marble Falls TX 78654 (Located off 1431, 6 miles west of Lago Vista) (512) 267-6310 or (512) 267-1802 Fax: (512) 267-6321 Open: Tuesday thru Friday, Noon to 5pm; Saturday, 10am to 5pm; Sunday, Noon to 5pm Madelyn and Rick Naber, Owners Website: www.flatcreekestate.com

Review from our visit

One of the great things about Texas Hill Country Wineries is their location. Several excellent examples of Texas wine can be found within easy driving distance of the Austin metro area. Sunday, my wife and I stopped by Flat Creek Estates, which is located off 1431, just west of Lago Vista about 45 minutes from central Austin.

Flat Creek’s wines feature Texas grown grapes from the 20 acre estate vineyard and other grapes purchased from Newsom Vineyard located on the high plains near Lubbock. On Sunday, Flat Creek was pouring a choice of nine wines. Six of the wines were made exclusively from Texas grown grapes. The first wine we tried was the Flat Creek Estate Pinot Grigio 2007. In the glass, the wine showed very green apples, peach, and a little perfume. In the mouth, the wine offered green apples and plenty of mouthwatering acidity.

The 2006 Super Texan (a play on Super Tuscan) may be their best red wine offering. Blended from Sangiovese and other grapes, including Newsom Vineyard’s Cabernet Sauvignon, this wine smells and tastes of Sangiovese. The 2006 shows smoke, cherry, leather, and a little black olive in the nose. In the glass, the wine is filled with cherry and leather floating in finely grained tannin.

Flat Creek’s Buckin’ Horse Red is a non-vintage blend made from Cabernet, Syrah, Primitivo, Sangiovese, and Merlot. This is the only wine we tasted that included grapes from outside of Texas. The extremely poor 2007 harvest left most central Texas wineries without Texas grapes, so folks like the Nabers sourced grapes from outside the state to make wine. This release of Buckin’ Horse Red shows licorice, dark fruit, and cigar box in the nose. In the mouth, this wine offers dark fruit and considerably more tannin than the Super Texan.

Flat Creek was also pouring a couple of newly released wines with very limited production, the 2006 Shiraz and the 2006 Cabernet. The 2006 Shiraz is actually a blend of 75% Shiraz and 25% Tempranillo that is grown at Flat Creek. The Shiraz shows cherry, mocha, and a little oak. In the mouth, the wine offers cherry, chocolate, and sweet oak supported by fine tannin. The 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon is a blend of 80% Cab with 20% Merlot. All of the grapes in the 2006 were sourced from Newsom Vineyard. Showing a cherry and cassis nose, this is a medium bodied wine with a medium long finish.

The last wine we tried was the 2007 Flat Creek Estate Muscato Blanco. I like Muscat particularly during our hot Texas summers. The 2007 bottling from Flat Creek is an excellent example with a floral nose of peaches and apricots and lots of mouth fruit suspended in a light bodied, delightful wine.

The wines from Flat Creek Estates were some of the most solidly made Texas wines that I have tried. The overall flavor profile for the red wine is somewhat generic New World with extracted colors and flavors along with about 14.5% alcohol, but all of the wines are well made with plenty of varietal character. I highly recommend a trip to Flat Creek to try their wine, and while you are there be sure to check out the Estate grounds, which reflect the Italian influence in their wine.

Spicewood Vineyards
1419 Burnet County Road 409
Spicewood, TX 78669
(830) 693-5328
Website: www.spicewoodvineyards.com

After the storm this week in Central Texas, Friday was a beautiful reprieve. My wife had the day off, so we decided to start our journey through The Hill Country wine region of Texas. Our first stop was Spicewood Winery. Spicewood was founded by Ed and Melinda Manigold. They grew their modest 1.5 acre vineyard to 17 acres before selling to Ron and Brad Yates in 2007. Texas wine lovers will miss Ed’s Sauvignon Blanc, and we wish him and Melinda good travels in their retirement.

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Stone House Vineyard
24350 Haynie Flat Rd.
Spicewood, TX 78669
(512) 264-3639
Website: www.stonehousevineyard.com

A winery located near Austin is Stone House Vineyard. Stone House is located off Highway 71 on Haynie Flat Road, just past Barton Creek Lakeside Country Club. The 6½ acre vineyard is densely planted with 100% Norton. Stone House is owned by Angela and Howard Moench. Angela is in charge of the vineyard, and she is also the winemaker. Her family owns vineyards in the Barossa Valley, but she learned her winemaking in Texas.

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