Pedernales Cellars Reserve Tasting Room Opens

On May 24th, Pedernales Cellars had the grand opening of their new Reserve Tasting Room and we had the pleasure of attending as invited guests. The Reserve Tasting Room is in a remodeled room of the attached house and is available by appointment only. They will take walk-ins if there is space available.

Reserve Tasting Room

The Reserve Tasting Room is available on Saturdays and Sundays, and includes a tasting of Pedernales Cellars wines which were previously available to wine club members only such as library wines, estate blends, and older vintages. There is a $25 tasting fee but the fee will be waived with a case purchase. The tasting is a personal one on one experience with an experienced sommelier or wine professional, and Pedernales Cellars is proud they have two sommeliers on staff.

Julie Kuhlken and Fredrik Osterberg

We were greeted at our appointment time by Pedernales Cellars co-owners Julie Kuhlken and Fredrik Osterberg who guided us to the Reserve Tasting Room. The room is available for up to six people at one time and is decorated with photographs from the estate vineyard and also the 2013 Lyon International Wine Competition diploma where Pedernales Cellars won a Grand Gold for their 2012 Viognier Reserve.

We were introduced to Bill Burns and Cecilia Barretto who would be leading our tasting. We noticed that the tastings are done in Riedel glasses to provide the best possible tasting. Oh, and you get to keep the Riedel glass too!

Bill Burns and Cecilia Barretto

Of the six wines tasted, only one was available in the main tasting room. The tastings were divided up into two flights: Tempranillo and blends. These are the wines which were available during our tasting:

• Tempranillo Reserve 2012 from vineyards in the Hill Country and High Plains. Available in both tasting rooms.
• George Bush Reserve Tempranillo 2012. A portion of the proceeds from the sale of the wine benefits the George H. W. Bush Presidential Library Foundation.
• Block Two 2011. Estate blend from second block of the Kuhlken Vineyards where 65% Tempranillo is combined with 35% Touriga Nacional. We were also shown the layout of the vineyard with the different blocks.
• Kuhlken Vineyards Reserve 2011. From blocks Zero, One, and Two which features Tempranillo and Merlot.
• Family Reserve 2011. Blend of Tempranillo, Merlot, and Touriga Nacional.
• Family Reserve 2009. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Syrah, and Tempranillo.

Our 50 minute appointment time quickly passed as we had thoroughly enjoyed tasting wines which are not usually available.

2013 Lyon International Wine Competition diploma

More wineries are going to an appointment only format for their tastings and the Reserve Tasting Room at Pedernales Cellars is another step into that direction. For those people who do not want to fight the crowds to find a spot at a tasting bar, the Reserve Tasting Room allows you to enjoy a tasting in a relaxed and quiet atmosphere, not to mention being able to taste and buy special Pedernales Cellars wines.