Texas Wine Advocates Drink the Cellar Happy Hour

On Thursday, May 24 the Texas Wine Advocates hosted a happy hour at the Vine Vault in Austin. The event was an excellent opportunity for patrons in search of a fun social outing before the long holiday weekend to kick off their unofficial start of summer with a great wine tasting event. Attendees had the chance to sample ten wines from an exceptional selection of wineries from across Texas in one convenient and thankfully cool location below Congress Avenue.

The fundraiser for the Texas Wine Advocates was both an effort to make additional room in their cellar and allow consumers to experience some of the depth and breadth of wines offered in the state. In addition, Dos Lunas Artisan cheese plates were provided to pair with the tastings. Dos Lunas is a locally made cheese sourced from raw milk, from happy grass-fed Texas cows. The cheese selection provided spicy, pungent, and creamy options to pair with the wines, offering a chance to test how various combinations complemented one another.

The wines were from a wide assortment of wineries from across Texas. Some of those noted in the lineup included: Arché, Armadillo’s Leap, Bingham Family Vineyards, Lost Oak Winery, Flat Creek Estate, Landon Winery, Kiepersol, Wedding Oak Winery, Perissos Vineyard & Winery, Fiesta Vineyard and Winery, Hye Meadow Winery, Old Man Scary Cellars, Texas Legato, Haak Vineyards & Winery, The Vineyard at Florence, Brennan Vineyards, Messina Hof, Blue Ostrich Winery, McPherson Cellars, Los Pinos Ranch Vineyards, Paris Vineyards, Llano Estacado Winery, Pleasant Hill Winery, and William Chris Vineyards.

The venue featured three different tables with wines sorted into whites, rosés, and dessert wines with an array of vintages. The greatest selection was in the white wine varietals, with two long rows of bottles lined up and down both sides of a lengthy table, allowing everyone to study the vast selection and then make choices, and toss their tasting tickets into the bucket on the table for each sample.

The tasting tables were busy with many folks huddled around the white wine table, which was also conveniently close to the food table. Once things got underway, it was fun seeing everyone chatting, sipping, and nibbling their way through the room, and from table to table while eagerly comparing notes with neighbors. It offered a fun way to meet new wine lovers and compare favorites.

The rosé table featured roughly 8-10 different wines, while the dessert wine table was set in a corner with 10-12 bottles, showcasing sweet wines, sherry, and port. The dessert wine table may not have been the busiest table all evening, but those who ventured over to sample were able to experience some sweet little gems.

The event was a fantastic opportunity for industry folks and wine lovers to mingle in a fun atmosphere where everyone appreciated wine, and the opportunity to see just how far things have come over the years in this industry. The Vine Vault was a great location, offering a convenient downtown location in the heart of the city, with a generous open space for guests to mingle as they stood or sat in a variety of spaces. Some of the highlights from my tastings included a 2012 Semillon from Kiepersol that was still fantastic, and port and sherry from Landon Winery, as I focused on wines I hadn’t tried before or recently. Texas Wine Advocates is a 501C3 non-profit organization with a mission to help educate consumers about the unique qualities of wines produced in Texas. You can check their website at https://www.texaswineadvocates.com to learn more about them and upcoming events.