Posts Tagged Dallas

http://www.sugarridgewinery.com

Sugar Ridge Winery opened in April 2011 and is owned by Michele and Don Andrews with Don performing the master winemaker duties. The winery is located in Bristol conveniently off I-45.

On one drive between Houston and Dallas, I tried to visit the winery but unfortunately they were closed. I made a point the next time I was making the trek between cities to stop by again. This last time when I was driving north to Dallas on I-45 near Ennis a billboard advertising the winery had been erected. What a great idea to have people learn about the winery. In fact, I met one friend in Dallas who also made the trip from Houston, and he asked if I had seen the billboard about the winery since he had not heard of it before.

I arrived at the winery which is located behind their house and met a man coming out of the building’s side door. I didn’t really see a sign saying that was the tasting room but since he came out of there, I decided that must be it. He turned out to be Don Andrews and he welcomed me in and the room was the production room of the winery. We walked to the front of the building which was the tasting room and gift shop. I learned later that was the way to really come into the winery, so if you visit Sugar Ridge Winery, walk around to the other side of the building. The front entrance also has a covered porch with seating.

Don started my tasting as I stood at the tasting bar and he poured his wines from the uncorked bottles. There is a tasting fee for usually whatever wines they may have. First up was a Caberlot which was a blend of California Cabernet Sauvignon and West Texas Merlot. Later was a Tempranillo which was again made with California and West Texas grapes.

Don Andrews

He said he uses 50% Texas grapes in his Texas wine. If Texas grapes are not used, they usually get grapes from New Mexico. Southwest Wines in Deming, New Mexico also bottles and produces some of their wines, but they are designed and labeled for Sugar Ridge Winery. It is very clear on the label where the wines come from.

Don explained he designs most of his wines to be chilled. Some other wines made are Mora Negro which is a blackberry Merlot and peach Chardonnay.

There is a small vineyard at the winery but Don said due to the draught this year, they lost most of the vineyard which was planted. It was disappointing but he said it was somewhat of an experiment too. He plans on planting all Tempranillo next March.

During the tasting Don’s wife, Michele Andrews, came in to say hello and also help with the tasting. She introduced me to a peach slush which is made with their Peach Chardonnay and a Peach Bellini frozen drink mix. It was definitely a very refreshing drink on a hot day. They also make a red slush with their Ridge Red wine and Sangria slush mix. Finally, a refreshing lemon slush was made with their Lemon wine.

A nice gift shop is available with food, clothing, and wine accessories. Sugar Ridge Winery has the tasting room available for parties, receptions, and special events. Music events are regularly held at the winery so bring your blanket or lawn chair for the music and wine under the stars. Check in advance to see what musical artists will be performing.

The next you make a drive between Houston and Dallas or are in the area, be sure to stop by Sugar Ridge Winery.

http://www.calaiswinery.com

CALAIS Winery is located in the Deep Ellum neighborhood of Dallas and is owned by Benjamin Calais, a French winemaker, who uses traditional French techniques while making his Texas wine. The winery was first opened in October 2008.

The boutique winery is very easy to find among the Dallas streets and is the corner building in its location. The first time we visited CALAIS Winery we walked in and there was a group of people at a table being attended to by Ben. We had previously seen Ben at his booth when we attended the 2010 Montgomery Wine Festival so we recognized him. A woman was behind the tasting bar, who turned out to be Ben’s wife, so we proceeded to sit at the tasting bar.

She started us on our tasting and Ben came over to say hello. We had a fun time doing a tasting and had an enjoyable conversation with Ben and his wife.

There is a fee for tasting five wines and the tastings are poured from the previously corked bottles. They do not provide food but you can order from local restaurants or bring your own to the winery.

CALAIS Winery makes mostly red wines but also makes a delicious La Cuvee du Saule with 100% Texas Muscat grapes. In the Muscat, brandy is added just to get the alcohol level but that stops fermentation. No sugar is added. That is the only way they do it in France since they are not allowed to add sugar, and Ben follows the same French techniques.

There is a wine club at CALAIS Winery. There is a flat fee for two bottles every two months plus there are other benefits. Personalized wine labels are available. The winery also hosts private events such as private wine tastings, birthday parties, and corporate events.

We had a nice visit at the winery and looked forward to visiting again. It was a number of months later but the last time I was in the Dallas area, I had to stop by and visit CALAIS Winery. As I pulled up to the winery, I was kind of worried since Ben was leaving with a cart holding boxes to mail and I thought I lost my chance to visit. But as I was taking photos outside, he unlocked the door from the inside (I assume he entered from the back of the winery) and my worries were gone.

I saw Ben’s previous tweet on Twitter how he had Sangiovese from Newsom Vineyards fermenting and the winery smelled like bubble gum. Sure enough, even though it was not a strong smell, it did smell like bubble gum.

I proceeded to do a tasting to see what was new and learn some recent information from Ben. He said they use 80%, sometimes 100%, Texas grapes but it really depends on the year. If he does have to get grapes from out of state, he uses grapes from Washington. Their Syrah in 2009 used non-Texas grapes.

Ben said the Roussanne grape will be used in the 2010 wines. At the time of my visit, they were waiting on the bottle label. If you are from Texas, you know rain has been scarce in 2011. He said the lack of rain produced small berries. This meant there would be more skins and could be less wine, but still would be very good. I was hoping to try their Chardonnay, but they do not make it anymore.

CALAIS Winery gets their wine barrels in California since that is where the coopers are located. Since the trucking expenses cost almost as much as the barrels do, he goes in with other wineries to get the barrels and ends up saving money.

Once again, I had a great time talking with Ben, drinking his wine, and I was glad I stopped by. I would highly recommend if you are in the Dallas area to stop by CALAIS Winery and visit Benjamin Calais to enjoy his French style wine.

CALAIS Winery is on the Dallas Wine Trail.

http://www.crwinery.com

CrossRoads Winery is located in Frisco and is owned by Bob and Darlene Leiker. The winery was originally opened in 2005 and then purchased by the Leikers in 2010. The previous winemaker, John Otis, continues to work at the winery making Texas wine.

The first time we visited CrossRoads Winery was on a Friday night. We had planned on visiting a few wineries that Friday and since CrossRoads Winery was opened the latest, it was going to be our last visit of the evening. As it turned out, it was a great decision as we had the most fun ever at a winery. As a result of that evening, CrossRoads Winery was awarded our “Most Fun at a Winery” award in our first TX Wine Lover awards.

The problem we had though, especially in the dark, was trying to find the winery. We set our GPS to the address and in the dark we were led down a driveway which ended in front of a house. We knew it was wrong so we resorted to the dreaded phone call to the winery, “Where are you located?” We were given directions and headed further down the road. We thought we had gone too far and turned around. Once again even though I didn’t want to (I’m a guy – I don’t ask for directions), I called again to find out where they were. We finally found the winery and can understand why we didn’t recognize it from the dark road. We were looking for a separate building and CrossRoads Winery is the end building in a set of warehouses.

Hoping whoever we saw inside didn’t recognize my voice as the person who couldn’t find the winery, we entered the winery and were greeted by Darlene Leiker.  We had the option to do a tasting at a table or at the tasting bar. We decided to sit at the tasting bar.

Darlene handled our wine tasting and it didn’t take long to learn she is a lot of fun. She is originally from the Houston area so we had that in common too. Her husband Bob was busy with other customers but did stop by to say hello earlier and later visited with us too. As most wine folks are, they are a very friendly and cordial couple.

Bob and Darlene Leiker

Darlene poured the tastings from the previously corked bottles. There is a tasting fee for 5 wines or a higher tasting fee for all of CrossRoads Winery’s Texas wines (14 the last time I visited).

While enjoying the different CrossRoads wines, a musician was performing in the corner of the winery. Darlene explained every Friday night is live music night at the winery. Since it often gets crowded on Friday nights, reservations are recommended.

There is a nice selection of food from which to purchase to either eat during the tasting or later while enjoying a glass of wine and listening to the music.

We were enjoying our tasting when Darlene asked us if we ever had a jalapeño shot. We were confused and said no. She asked if we liked jalapeños and Gloria replied that she did. For me, if it’s not too hot I can handle it. Darlene said it was the best part of Friday nights for her as she could do them along with the customers. She then explained the shot to Gloria. A jalapeño shot is a glass with a small amount of CrossRoads Winery’s Sunfusion wine. Sunfusion is a blend of Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, and Muscat Canelli. A candied jalapeño pepper is then placed into the wine. The object is then to pour it all in your mouth but not swallow anything, chew the jalapeño , and then swallow both the jalapeño and wine at the same time.

Gloria was a trooper and did the shot with Darlene. They of course then wanted me to try it. They promised it wasn’t too hot so what the heck, you only live once. Darlene served up another round for the three of us and we all did the shot. I have to admit it wasn’t that hot and it was actually pretty good. I keep asking Gloria when we see candied jalapeños in stores now if she wants to buy some.

The rest of the evening was just as much fun drinking wine and talking with Bob and Darlene. Darlene mentioned they have In Home Wine Tasting Parties where she will bring the wine to your house. The party can be purchased for $99 for 2 hours of fun. Since Darlene occasionally makes trips to Houston, we are definitely keeping the party idea in the back of our minds.

A nice gift shop is present with wine accessories and other items. CrossRoads Winery also has a wine club and special events are held like grape stomping, murder mystery dinners, cooking classes, and more. The winery can be rented out for special events with the venue holding up to 150 adults. CrossRoads Winery has a barrel program where you can have your own wine made by CrossRoads Winery complete with your own private label and a bottling party.

We said our goodbyes as we closed down the winery and vowed we would come back the next time we were in the Frisco area. Gloria has not had a chance to re-visit but when I went to Dallas to attend a conference, I had to make sure I stopped in on the Friday night.

I had arranged with fellow wine blogger Dave Potter of The Grapes Around Texas (http://thegrapesaroundtexas.com) to meet him for the first time at the winery. Since he lives in the area, he is good friends with Bob and Darlene and a frequent visitor at the winery. He warned them I was coming and ensured we had a reserved table waiting.

When I arrived, Darlene met me at the door and even though it had been months, it was like Gloria and I had recently visited. I decided I wanted to do a full tasting and this time Bob handled the tasting. Dave had not arrived yet so Bob and I had a great conversation about various topics including, of course, wine.

CrossRoads Winery gets most of their grapes from Generation Grape Growers in Seymour, Texas owned by Larry and Pattie Bratcher, and also from Square Cloud Winery in Richardson, Texas owned by Jackson Anderson. Later I was introduced to Jackson Anderson who had arrived and he has an interesting vineyard. He is experimenting with different types of grapes and currently grows nine red grape varieties and four white grape varieties. The winery is not open yet but I will definitely arrange a tour of the vineyard the next time I am in the area or perhaps even visit the winery at that time if it is open.

Dave Potter arrived and he, Bob, and I had a fun time talking and drinking wine the rest of the evening. The idea of the jalapeño shot came up and surprisingly Dave had never tried one. That meant there was no doubt we were going to do one. Darlene set us all up and we proceeded to do the shot. I had a little problem this time because I drank the wine accidentally first. I don’t know what happened to Dave though as he suddenly lurched back from his chair and started coughing. Of course that brought laughter and the poor guy received the brunt of harassment the rest of the evening from one of the winery workers. What a great sport he was though.

Jeff, Dave, Bob

I closed the winery again (do I detect a trend here?) with Dave and the others, and we all bid each other a fond farewell.

If you are ever in the Frisco area, you definitely need to stop by CrossRoads Winery for a fun time, especially on a Friday night while you can enjoy live music. CrossRoads Winery is part of the Munson Wine Trail.

http://fuquawines.com

Fuqua Winery is located in Dallas and was opened in 2007 by owners Lee Foster and Julia Fuqua. Lee Fuqua is the primary winemaker making their Texas wine with Courtney Key also a winemaker and partner at the winery.

The small boutique winery was very easy to find and is located in a warehouse. As I walked in, Lee greeted me from the tasting bar to the left. Other customers were present at the other side of the tasting room. I was invited to stand at the tasting bar where I could do a tasting.

Lee poured his wines using a measured pourer. The winery uses ZORK closures instead of cork or screw caps. ZORK closures look like plastic caps where you pull a strip around the bottle to open it. They supposedly breathe the same as natural cork so the wines age at the same rate as with natural cork. They also can be used as a stopper for an unfinished bottle. That is of course if you’re storing it for the night as you are drinking it. Otherwise, you should use a wine vacuum pump to remove the air from the bottle for longer storage.

While tasting, I asked Lee what percentage of Texas grapes he used and his answer was about 10 percent. At the time of my visit, the winery only had two red wines available. Fuqua Winery uses French oak barrels for all their Texas wine as they believe French barrels give the best quality.

There must be something about Texas winemakers because Lee was very funny and I had an enjoyable time listening to his stories. This certainly wasn’t the first time I had a fun conversation with a winemaker.

Fuqua Winery has a small gift shop present in the tasting room. Private parties are encouraged and held at the winery in addition to wine classes to educate the public.

A wine club is available called the Q Society. In addition to shipments of wine, members also get discounts and access to pre-releases and VIP events.

Fuqua Winery is on the Dallas Wine Trail.