Visiting the Great Texas Wineries and Enjoying Wine
The 2013 TWGGA (Texas Wine and Grape Growers Association) Conference was held in San Marcos at the Embassy Suites Hotel, Spa, & Conference Center. The conference was held from February 14 to 16. I had a great time at TWGGA’s Grape Camp last year so I had to attend the conference. Gloria joined TWGGA and unfortunately since the conference was held from Thursday to Saturday and we work during the week, we could only attend on Saturday. Saturday morning’s schedule {Read More}
Dan Gatlin is the owner of Inwood Estates Vineyards and is one of the most well-known winemakers in Texas. Gatlin has been making wines since 1981 and is one of the early pioneers in the Texas wine industry. After years of experimenting with different grape varieties and winemaking in Dallas County, the Dallas location of Inwood Estates Vineyards opened in 2006. In 2009 Inwood Estates in Florence opened and the Gatlins moved to the neighborhood where the winery is located. {Read More}
Everybody makes New Year’s Resolutions so I thought I would come up with mine, the Texas Wine Lover’s New Year’s Resolutions for 2013. Undoubtedly the most common resolution is to lose weight so I’ll make that my first resolution. I need to lose a little weight and get back in shape. It’s funny I mentioned starting to exercise and diet a couple months ago on Facebook and said that I needed to cut out either wine or food. The unanimous {Read More}
This weekend there were at least five wine festivals taking place in the state of Texas. Like last year we volunteered to help pour for a winery at the Old Town Spring Autumn Art & Texas Wine Festival. When we arrived at the festival, we discovered we were both pouring for Messina Hof. Coincidentally or maybe not, we also poured for them last year at the same festival. Fortunately most of the table had been set up for us by {Read More}
This subject was actually asked of me last year. I got thinking more about it with last week’s fantastic Watermelon Thump & Chef Throwdown event at William-Chris Vineyards where media including bloggers and writers were invited. Now that I am being invited to some media events or attending conferences which bloggers and writers can attend, it made me sit back and think. For example, I went to the DrinkLocalWine Conference in Colorado where bloggers attended from around the country. I {Read More}
http://www.lacruzdecomalwines.com La Cruz de Comal is located in the town of Startzville, not far from Canyon Lake. It is owned by Lewis Dickson and California winemaker Tony Coturri. La Cruz de Comal has been making wine since 2001 and became a bonded winery in 2004 where they sold their wines in wine shops and restaurants. They recently opened a tasting room in February 2012. The unique thing about La Cruz de Comal wines are they are made in a natural {Read More}
I can’t believe March 20th will be the first anniversary since the creation of this blog. I started the blog with some goals in mind and they haven’t changed since: Help consumers discover wineries they may not know about and they should visit Help wineries with marketing Help wine related events with marketing Gloria and I have at this moment visited 125 Texas wineries and have enjoyed every minute. We’re still learning to tell you what the aromas and tastes {Read More}
http://www.whitehousewinery.net White House Winery is located in White Hall near Navasota and is owned by Gary and Margo Hahne. The winery was planning on opening around the Conroe area but there were so many rules and regulations within the city limits that it was decided to find property in the country and deal with the less taxing county rules. They found a nice piece of property on FM 362, very near Retreat Hill Winery and Vineyard, and started building their {Read More}
Every first Tuesday of the month is TXWine Twitter Tuesday from 7pm-8pm CST. Texas wine drinkers discuss three wines using Twitter and usually a special guest is involved. I was given the honor of determining the theme for November and choosing the wines. Since I had some difficulty finding wines for previous Twitter Tuesdays, I thought it would be interesting to discuss, and especially easier to find, Texas wines which are available in your local grocery store. Denise Fraser (@DeniseFraser) {Read More}
Here is the information for current Texas Winery Passport users about the end of the current Texas Winery Passport program and the start of the next one. Be sure to enter your Passport codes! Dear Texas Wine Enthusiast, During the recent state legislative session, changes were made to the Texas Department of Agriculture’s (TDA) marketing programs. Among these changes was the elimination of the standalone Texas Wine Marketing Program. While the Texas Winery Passport Program will end on October 31, {Read More}
