1851 Vineyards

We previously did a preview of 1851 Vineyards and everyone was excited for their opening. Recently when I was in the Fredericksburg area again and the winery had opened by appointment, I made plans to meet my friend KK Sportsman there to join me in a tasting. Reservations are required and there are four different packages in increasing order of price that you can select from when making your reservations online either at their website or their Facebook page.

• Personalized Tasting
• Production tour (including tasting)
• Estate and Tasting tour (the above plus a tour of the estate)
• All Inclusive (the above plus barrel tasting)

When I arrived at 1851 Vineyards, it had changed somewhat since our preview visit, especially now that there was a full tasting room instead of an empty room. KK was already sitting at the bar, so I grabbed the chair next to her and we started a tasting.

As a reminder, John and Dabs Hollimon own 1851 Vineyards. The General Manager is their daughter, Jeska Haggerty, and helping us in our tasting was their daughter Julie, so it is a true family affair. Handling the winemaking is John Rivenburgh.

The information from our preview is still valid regarding the location of the tasting room in the rear of the property past the seven-acre vineyard growing Cabernet Sauvignon, Tannat, Malbec, Petite Sirah, Tempranillo, and Albariño. The production area is visible from the tasting room and while we were enjoying our tasting, some people were taking advantage of touring the production area.

There are four wines currently available for a tasting fee. These are the wines that were available at the time of my visit:

• NV L.O.C. Texas White Wine (High Plains Muscat Canelli and Muscat Giallo)
• 2014 Grace Tempranillo (Sierra Foothills)
• 2014 Grace Cabernet Sauvignon (Sierra Foothills)
• 2014 Firefall Tannat (Sierra Foothills)

A gift shop is available with items such as logoed clothing and merchandise, including of course wine glasses. There are two choices of wine clubs available to join at 1851 Vineyards.

After previously tasting some unfinished wine on my first visit, I cannot wait to go back when that wine and probably others are available in the tasting room.