Bell Springs Winery – Revisited

A regular feature of Texas Wine Lover is the monthly winemaker profile. I had asked co-owner and winemaker Nate Pruitt of Bell Springs Winery if he would like to do it, and that reminded me that it had been some time since we were last at Bell Springs Winery. On a recent trip to the Hill Country, I decided to visit Bell Springs and see what was new.

The first thing that is new for Bell Springs Winery is a second tasting room called the Sidecar Tasting Room that opened April 2015. The Sidecar is also located in Dripping Springs but is near the historic district of Dripping Springs. The tasting room is open late hours and provides live music for wine lovers 21 years of age and older. Besides Bell Springs wine, wine cocktails are also served in addition to small bite food plates. The same wines from the winery are available at Sidecar plus a Piña Rita.

I then went to the winery itself and Carrie led me through a tasting of their current wines. She was very informative about the wines and Bell Springs Winery. One of the first things I learned is they only have one Texas wine currently available which is an Orange Muscat that is fermented dry. Other wines are made from Washington, Oregon, and California grapes and they are transparent as to where the grapes are from.

There is a tasting fee for what they are tasting that day and for a little higher fee, you can bring the tasting glass home with you. These were the wines being tasted during my visit:

• 2014 Chardonnay
• 2015 Orange Muscat
• Sidecar Apple Still Wine (similar to hard cider and made from cider apples)
• Piña Grigio (pineapple infused Pinot Grigio with a little effervescence using Chilean juice)
• Needy Bitch (67% Barbera and 23% Merlot. Not sure what the other 10% is.)
• 2013 Malbec (California grapes)
• 2014 Tempranillo (Oregon grapes)

Food is available for purchase like a cheese plate, meat & cheese plate, and a Mediterranean plate with mixed olives and bread/olive oil.

The Sidecar tasting room makes a nice addition for the people who live near Dripping Springs and want someplace to listen to live music and enjoy wine and wine cocktails.