Texas Legato

Texas Legato is located in Lampasas and is owned by Sulynn and Bill Bledsoe. Bill Bledsoe’s twin brother Gill owns nearby Pillar Bluff Vineyards. The name of the winery comes from the Italian word legato which means a gathering together of family or friends.

Texas Legato planted three acres of vineyards in 2002. Their first harvest was in 2005 and the tasting room was opened February 2007.

We visited Texas Legato over a year ago but have seen Sulynn Bledsoe at a couple wine festivals since then. She has remembered us, primarily me, because she says I look exactly like a friend of theirs. Sulynn always jokes she is married to the better looking brother even though they are identical twins.

When we entered the winery on this visit, Sulynn again recognized us which is always a nice welcome. Sulynn was finishing cleaning up the winery and we then began a tasting. You can sit at the tasting bar or a table for a tasting and we chose to sit at the tasting bar.

There is a tasting fee but the fee is waived with a purchase of a bottle. Nuts, cheese, and chocolate are given during the tasting to cleanse your palate or to enjoy the food pairing.

As Sulynn poured our tastings from the uncorked bottles, she said they try to use 100% Texas grapes but out of their 11 Texas wines they have right now, 7 of them are made with Texas grapes. If they cannot get Texas grapes, they use California grapes. Texas Legato grows Malbec, Merlot, Petite Sirah, and Petite Verdot in their six acre vineyard. They get their Chardonnay from a vineyard in Comanche and the Malbec comes from three vineyards. One of the vineyards used is Red Star Farms in Midland.

One of their noted wines is Sweet Peggy-Sue named after Sulynn and Bill Bledsoe’s mother Peggy. This is a gold medal winner at the Lone Star International Wine Competition and is a blend of Chenin Blanc and Orange Muscat from the High Plains.

There is a nice gift shop with wine accessories, olive oils, and clothing. Tours are given if they are not busy.

Texas Legato makes about 700 cases of Texas wine a year.

Sulynn said they have some plans for the future. They would like to build a patio next to the winery and then they could have events such as live music. She is also planning on starting a wine club this year.

Texas Legato is on the Texas Hill Country wine trail and the Way Out Wineries wine trail.