Even though it’s just starting to get hot in Texas, it isn’t too soon to start planning on what Texas wine festivals you may want to attend this year. Here is a listing of the 2013 Fall Wine Festivals coming up later this year. See you at a festival!

Note: It is too early for some planning committees so the dates are not yet set for some festivals. We will update the dates as we know them. If you know of dates or a festival we missed, please let us know.

La Fuente Winery is located in Houston and is owned by Rogelio de la Fuente, also known as the “Wine Doctor.” Don de la Fuente was born in Florence, Italy to an Italian mother and a Mexican father. His family moved to Spain and then to Mexico. He came to the United States at age 16, later joined the Marines and served in the Korean War. Today don de la Fuente is 82 years young.

We were not aware of La Fuente Winery until the great people at Dionisio Winery told us about the winery. A Groupon for La Fuente Winery coincidentally came out around the same time and I purchased two tastings at the winery. Tastings at the winery are available only on Saturday afternoons or special tastings can be done by appointment by booking the tasting room during the week, or even in your home or office. If you have a group of 8 or more people, you can host your own tasting party.

The day came for our Saturday tasting appointment and we found the winery in a warehouse area in Houston. When you enter the winery there is a large tasting room, but for the Groupon tasting we were directed to the back of the winery to a larger area for the tasting with the rest of the people who had come.

Tables and chairs were available as well as one couch. As people stood around talking, don de la Fuente greeted everybody and had everyone take a seat. When he greeted us and learned we were engaged, he had us sit on the couch as he considered it more romantic. Candles were eventually lit and the lights were dimmed for a nice atmosphere for the tasting.

There is a tasting fee, not to mention the Groupon which we used, and we got to taste five wines. The tastings were poured from the uncorked bottles and they were very generous pours. You can also pay extra for glasses of wines in addition to other winery’s wines, and when purchasing a glass of wine the wine glass is included. Crackers and fruit are given to cleanse your palate and best of all, later on a great enchilada is given.

During the tastings don de la Fuente circulated among the guests. As we learned, he loves the marketing side and enjoys talking to people. We were very impressed he remembered our names whenever he circulated and arrived to us to talk.

Rogelio de la Fuente

We learned that don de la Fuente has been making wine for many years. He used to work for E & J Gallo Winery and made the former Boone’s Farm apple wine. In the 1970′s the Italian government gave him the name of the “wine doctor.” After joining some financial partners, don de la Fuente started working on his first releases of wine in Chile’s Maule Valley. La Fuenta Winery was opened in 2003. Don de la Fuente’s partners make wine they prefer and he makes wines like he wants. The exception is Carmenere which they both make the same.

Carmenere is a grape which is primarily grown in Chile. Chileans had taken the vines from France to Chile and for many years the grape was mistaken as Merlot. In 1994 a foreign enologist came to Chile and proved to the Chileans that this particular grape was not Merlot, but Carmenere. The grapes look alike except the leaves are different and the Carmenere ripens later than Merlot.

La Fuente Winery’s Sauvignon Blanc is made New Zealand-style and it has been entered in four big competitions such as in New Zealand and France, and has won a medal in every one. The winery has entered their wines in the Houston Rodeo International Wine Competition and has been a medal winner now for the sixth year in a row. Rodeo medal winners from this past year are the 2011 Carmenere (gold), 2011 Chardonnay unoaked (gold), 2011 Merlot (gold), and 2011 Sauvignon Blanc (silver).

Don de la Fuente does not use oak barrels for their white wines. The red wines are 100% single variety, no blends, and are aged three months in French oak. La Fuente Winery also sells their wines in Holland and England. The partners sell in the rest of Europe. Between La Fuente Winery and the partners, they produce 100,000 cases of wine a year.

La Fuente wines available are:

• Sauvignon Blanc
• Chardonnay
• Cabernet Sauvignon
• Merlot
• Carmenere
• Wine Doctor Blend – Magic

Other wines offered for sale are:

• La Boca Malbec – Argentina
• Gatão Vinho Verde – Portugal
• Spinelli Pinot Grigio – Italy
• D’Abruzzo Montepulciano – Italy
• Sanselmo Moscato – Italy
• Pol Deau Blanc de Blancs – Champagne

The Cabernet Sauvignon was lighter than and not as bold as other Cabernets we have had and we enjoyed it very much. La Fuente Winery also makes a Magic wine which is deemed the romantic wine. It is a sweeter wine and the “wine doctor” makes it in Houston.

The label on La Fuente Winery’s bottles is a reproduction of Léon Bonnat’s “Roman Girl at a Fountain,” which hangs in the Metropolitan Museum of Art. In fact, La Fuente Winery is the only wine to be in the Met.

Don de la Fuente said he plans to eventually move the winery to another location in Houston in a year or two to become more visible, accessible, and secure for his customers. He shared some great ideas he has for the new location.

We had an enjoyable time during our tasting drinking the wines and the engaging conversation. We recommend visiting La Fuente Winery when you are in Houston.

The 9th annual TEXSOM conference will be held August 10th through August 12th at the Four Seasons Resort and Club at Las Colinas. This has always been a fantastic conference and you will want to register before they are sold out which happened last year.

TEXSOM’s mission is “To promote professional wine service standards, outline paths for further wine education and certification, and raise public awareness with respect to the professional standards and certifications for sommeliers and other beverage professionals.” Even though the primary attendees are sommeliers, any person interested in wine will come away from the conference learning a lot. Oh, and did I mention having a lot of fun too?

For those who have attended the TEXSOM conference before, there are some changes this year. The one big change is instead of having two days of seminars in one large room, there will be additional seminars added and each time period registrants will have a choice of four seminars to attend. This will allow more participation and give you the chance to select seminars of interest.

Additional hospitality suites have been added, that’s part of the fun, but also gives more varieties of wine to taste from around the world, again adding to the educational experience. Speaking of education, there will be additional certification courses offered such as the John Gauntner’s Sake Professional Course, The Court of Master Sommeliers’ Introductory Course, and the Society of Wine Educators Certified Specialist of Wine and Certified Specialist of Spirits exams.

Seminars offered on Sunday, August 11th will be:

1st seminar selections:

• Geology Focus: “What on Earth! – How Geology Makes a Difference in the Wines we Enjoy
• Building A Well Rounded Beer Program
• Regional Focus: Survey of the Ancient World
• Traditional Method Sparkling Wines from Around the World

2nd seminar selections:

• Bourdeaux
• Sake
• Varietal Focus: Muscat Beyond Moscato
• Regional Focus: Etna

3rd seminar selections:

• Benchmark Styles of Regional Classic Red Wines
• Varietal Focus: Merlot
• Regional Focus: Santa Barbara

Monday, August 12th brings:

1st seminar selections:

• Tasting Focus: Perspectives from MS/MW/CWE
• Geography Focus: High Altitude Wines
• Regional Focus: Modern Australia

2nd seminar selections:

• Industry Roundtable (Double Session continues with 3rd seminars)
• Tasting Focus: Elements of Perception and Style
• Varietal Focus: Nebbiolo
• Regional Focus: Iconic White Wines of the Loire Valley

3rd seminar selections:

• Tasting Focus: Science Behind the Method (Terpenes and Pyrazines)
• Iconic Producer Retrospective: Klein Constantia Vin de Constance
• Varietal Focus: Tannat
• Industry Roundtable (continuation of Double Session)

The conference ends Monday night with the big Grand Tasting and Rewards Reception. Last year there were over 40 wineries pouring their wines and this year TEXSOM has said there will be even more!

I had a fantastic time at last year’s conference and learned more about wine, not to mention the networking aspect of meeting other people, and cannot wait to attend this year’s TEXSOM conference. Sign up before it’s too late!

The inaugural High Plains Winegrowers Wine & Music Festival will be held June 14-15, 2013 at the Mallet Event Center & Arena in Levelland, Texas.

The two day event will feature:

• Music: Mark McKinney and Charlie Robison – June 14th
• Music: Micky & The Motorcars and William Clark Green – June 15th
• Vendor show
• Sanctioned BBQ cook off
• Prospective grape grower meeting
• Wine appreciation and education class

The trade show and food court will offer items such as:

• Go Texan Food Court
• Agricultural Machinery
• Fertilizer/Chemicals
• Irrigation
• Finance
• Vineyard Supplies
• Winemaking Equipment
• Ladies & Men’s Fashions
• Landscape & Patio

You’ll be able to enjoy a glass of wine from one of many Texas Wineries such as Becker Vineyards, Duchman Family Winery, Messina Hof, Llano Estacado, Flat Creek Estate, and more.

Tickets can be purchased online at http://highplainswinegrowers.org and more information on the festival can be found at http://highplainswinegrowers.org/events/2013-wine-and-music-festival

Enjoy wine and music in the High Plains!

HB 2537 passed out of the Senate Business and Commerce Committee on Tuesday, May 14 as substituted by Senator John Carona.  As suspected, the substitute included language requiring wineries to produce or bottle 51% of the wine they ship.  It also requires wineries to maintain complete records of each sale and delivery of wine shipped for at least five years from the date of the sale.

As previously reported, the TWGGA Board of Directors has visited and revisited the language requiring a winery to produce or bottle 51% of the wine they ship.  In keeping with the Board consensus, President Ron Yates testified against the committee substitute at the hearing on Tuesday on behalf of TWGGA.  The reasons for the Board’s and other wineries opposition to the committee substitute are:

• It protects the distribution tier rather than solving a public health safety and welfare issue for the citizens of Texas.
• It harms existing businesses that are operating within the law.
• It takes away winery operating rights when no public health, safety or welfare issue exists.  This is a bad precedent.
• It hinders revenue growth for Texas wineries.
• It places undue reporting burdens on Texas wineries.

Click here to download the bill as it was substituted and passed out of committee.

Action Needed

Please contact your state senator’s capitol office immediately, express your concern over this bill and ask them to vote not to suspend the three day constitutional rule for HB 2537.  To find out who your state senator is please click the following link: http://www.fyi.legis.state.tx.us/Home.aspx

Please also contact the Lieutenant Governor’s office at 512-463-0001 about your concern for this bill.

It is very easy to make BOTH phone calls and they will relay your concern to your Senator or the Lieutenant Governor.

If the bill goes through, some legitimate wineries in Texas will be unable to ship wines to their customers.

Please call today.

Since there were going to be a number of wineries present and friends Dave and Kelli Potter were going, we decided to make the two hour trip to both support the festival and meet friends.

We arrived at the Bastrop Brewhouse before noon in plenty of time for the opening and I believe we were the first ones through the gate to the festival held below the Brewhouse. Eight wineries were present:

• Bertapelle Cellars www.bertapellecellars.com
• Dionisio Winery www.dionisiowinery.com
• Fiesta Winery www.fiestawinery.com
• Perrine Winery www.perrinewinery.com
• Pilot Knob Vineyard www.pilotknobvineyard.com
• Rancho Ponte www.ranchoponte.com
• Texas Legato www.texaslegato.com
• Wedding Oak Winery www.weddingoakwinery.com

What was nice was the majority of the wineries had the owners present. It was fun meeting people we knew and new people like Roberto Ponte from Rancho Ponte. The one California winery present was Bertapelle Cellars and we learned the owner actually lives in Houston.

Gloria and I toured the winery booths tasting at least one sample and then met Lee and Barbara Parmeter who also are Facebook friends, but we have never had the chance to meet. They decided to go to the Bastrop Brewhouse for lunch and Gloria and I continued our tastings. During that time Dave and Kelli Potter had texted saying they were eating lunch too. We visited all the winery tables and decided perhaps we should have some lunch.

After a nice lunch we went back to the festival and tasted more wines along with the two other couples. We eventually ended up at a picnic table enjoying glasses of wine and had a great time talking.

For being the first year of the Lost Pines Wine Fest, they had put on a very nice festival and even offered items in a goody bag unlike other wine festivals. We look forward to next year’s festival!

Barbara & Lee Parmeter, Dave & Kelli Potter, Gloria & Jeff

Soon the three couples were off walking to Cripple Creek & Company located in Bastrop. Cripple Creek sells all Texas wines and has a great selection. On the day we happened to visit the store Dan Marek from Georgetown Winery was giving samples of some of his wines. It was nice seeing Dan again and learning about some of his future plans which sound exciting.

We all enjoyed a tasting, some of the food provided by Cripple Creek, and it was a perfect ending to the day. We said our temporary goodbyes to each other and began our journeys home after a wonderful day.

For those reading this as an e-mail, please go to the website for a slideshow of photos.

People have been drinking wine with their meals for so long that it’s become an art form. Classic pairings have formed, such as red Burgundy and roast beef, champagne and caviar, red Bordeaux and lamb. Why do we pair wine with food? Two reasons. First, think about eating a piece of steak. The first bite is delicious, the second bite is good, but by the third bite you’ve habituated to the flavors of the dish. If you sip wine in between each bite, you prevent yourself from habituating and take in more flavor.

The second and more popular reason is that the flavors in wine and food bring out the best in each other. Certain pairings – the aforementioned red Burgundy and roast beef – work together, making each other taste better than they would’ve separately. With that in mind, here are the wine pairing essentials you should know:

Most Combinations Work

The biggest misconception people have is that there is only one wine that works per food. That’s false. When you’re picking a wine to go with your meal, relax in the fact that most wines will work with most meals. It’s rare for a wine to ruin a meal – and it’s equally rare for a wine to elevate a meal. This means that you can get a great wine well in advance without worrying about whether or not it’ll go with the meal.

Show Off the Star

Either the wine should support the meal or the meal should support the wine. If you’ve prepared a complex meal, choose a simple wine – full-bodied reds will have trouble matching a complex sauce. Conversely, if your meal is simple, feel free to experiment with deeper, more complex wines.

Like Attracts Like

Match your bold wines with powerful meals, and your softer wines with softer meals. If you match a bold wine with a delicate meal, the wine will overpower the meal to the point where you’ll barely taste it. Obviously, the reverse is true as well.

Pair Wine and Sauce

Traditional wine pairing sounds something like this: white wines with chicken, pork and fish, red wines with red meat. This advice isn’t wrong, but it’s overly simple. When you’re selecting a wine, you want the flavors of the wine to compliment the sauce on the dish. If you’re having a special meal featuring a tomato sauce over chicken, you wouldn’t select a citrusy white, you’d select a more bold red, which would be better suited for the occasion. Remember – the sauce is what provides the majority of flavor to the dish, and as such, you should pair the wine to the sauce.

Dessert Wines with Dessert

Dessert wines are sweeter than other wines, and they go better with dessert for that reason. The only thing you have to be careful of is overloading your taste buds – the sweeter the dessert, the less sweet the wine should be. Keep in mind that cold desserts such as ice cream will numb your taste buds.

Avoid

Artichoke hearts contain cynarin, a chemical that creates the taste of sweetness where there isn’t any and can throw off the taste of wine. Avoid egg yolk as it will coat your palette and prevent you from getting the best wine experience. And, yes, you should generally avoid pairing red wine with fish, though there are exceptions.

My husband and I spent a beautiful spring Texas day walking around the square in Granbury, Texas, drinking wine at the 2013 Granbury Wine Walk. Seventeen wineries were on the list to offer tastings at the Granbury Wine Walk and for a fee of $25 at the gate ($20 if you ordered online ahead of time) you received an etched festival wineglass and a map with 10 tasting tabs.

We arrived early to help some friends at a couple of wineries get their tents and tables set up. When it was about time for the festival to start, Shelly and I made our way to the main gate to secure our tickets. Still with some time to spare we decided we’d start on the lawn behind the Langdon Center where Arché (Saint Jo), Landon (McKinney), Calais (Dallas), and Barking Rocks (Granbury) were set up. In their cluster was also Texas Hill Country Olive Oil Company, a retirement center selling artisan breads, a wine barrel furniture company, and an artist.

Flat Creek Estates – Rick Naber

The next cluster of vendors we visited was right on Pearl Street just down from the ticket booths. Brushy Creek (Alvord), Bluff Dale Vineyards (Granbury), Flat Creek Estates (Marble Falls), and Los Pinos (Pittsburg) were all very busy pouring their wines as the lines snaked down the sidewalk. Interspersed between the wineries were other vendors. W.I.N.E. was selling cork jewelry and Eagle Mountain Cheese. On the corner was Wenzel Lone Star Meat out of Hamilton and he was sampling and selling his cheese and jerkies. He also had some dry rubs and sauces available. The final vendor in this cluster was Texas Toffee. He had some fantastic toffees, some covered in chocolates and chopped nuts. Oh yes! A package of dark chocolate covered toffee with chopped pecans found its way home in our bag!

On the opposite corner was another cluster of wineries and vendors. Brennan Vineyards (Comanche), Blue Ostrich (Saint Jo), Dionisio (Houston), and finally Sunset (Burleson) were also very busy all afternoon pouring their delicious wines. The vendors were Accents 2, L3 Glass, Round Rock Honey, Rogue4-Art, and Texas Cheese House. So many beautiful items and yummy honey and cheeses.

Texas Legato – Sulynn and Bill Bledsoe

The final cluster down the West End Alley had Lost Oak Winery (Burleson), Haak Winery (Santa Fe), Fiesta (Lometa), and down on the end across from the ticket booth on the City Hall lawn was Texas Legato (Lampasas). There were other vendors scattered in the alley as well including Veldhuisen Cheese (Dublin), a Mexican restaurant, and some other crafty things. The businesses that had doors to the alley pulled some of their wares out and made them available to the foot traffic as well.

We sat for a few minutes and had a couple of tacos and went over our “to purchase” list, narrowing down the choices and making sure we would get what we really wanted without going overboard.

For those reading this as an e-mail, please go to the website for a slideshow of photos.

We attended the show on Sunday and upon entering the gate we were introduced to many styles of cars. The majority of the cars were classic cars but there were also some new cars from dealers including beauties such as Mercedes-Benz, Bentley, Cadillac, Ferrari, and we drooled over the Aston Martins including one which was only $330,000.

We arrived at the time the Grand Marshall Al Unser, Jr., Indianapolis 500 champion, was giving autographs so we had to stop by and see him. Al Unser, Jr. won the Indianapolis 500 in 1992 and 1994.

It was then time to make our way through some classic cars to the waterfront to see the vintage wooden boats. There were a lot of boats in the water and also some on dry land and some beautiful yachts were also for sale. We learned people came from around the country and even Canada to participate in the show.

At the Kids Build a Boat exhibit, kids of all ages could help build a pointed bow, Skiff-style boat. The finished boat would be given away to one of the participating builders.

Cars were divided up into different areas such as Ferraris, race cars, Corvettes, Rolls-Royce complete with Grey Poupon, Stutz, etc.  There were definitely some very detailed and beautifully restored vehicles.

Alex Rodriguez Mercedes-Benz raffled off a car but unfortunately we didn’t get the phone call. Maybe next year!

We weren’t sure entirely what to expect by attending the show but we really did enjoy our time looking at the exhibits. Next year’s show will be on May 3-4, 2014.

For those reading this as an e-mail, please go to the website for a slideshow of photos.