If you are familiar with the Texas wine scene in and around Fredericksburg, TX and you visit Cross Mountain Vineyards, you may get a sense of the familiar—a sense that you’ve been there before. Well, if you have ever visited Andreucci Wines, you’d be correct. Recently Andreucci Wines was purchased from the Sutherland family by Douglas and Karen Evans along with daughter Brandi Evans. While they will carry on most of the Sutherland’s traditions, the Evans are committed to bringing to Texas the best wines Italy has to offer.
As we’ve often said here at Texas Wine Lover, we love Texas wines, but we are also Texans who love great wine. If you love Italian wines, then Cross Mountain Vineyards tasting room should be on your list.
The tasting room has a Tuscan flair with a walk-up bar in the front and tables in the back. The walk-up bar has stools if you wish to sit. We were greeted by Shanae and offered a tasting. The tastings are served hand-poured from bottles. Our server Shanae told us at the time of our visit that the new branding to Cross Mountain Vineyards was a little over two weeks in process and that all the branding was slowly changing over from Andreucci Wines.
As noted above, the Evans family are the new owners. The previous owners, the Sutherland family have roots in Italy and owned a cooking school. The Evans’ have strong ties to Fredericksburg and wine going back four generations. They plan on keeping mostly the same wine portfolio while adding some new ones in the future. Unfortunately, we did not get to meet the Evans on our visit, but it gives us a great opportunity to visit again and as they say on their website, “There is always more to the story – Visit the Tasting Room to hear it first-hand.” That we plan on doing!
The name Cross Mountain comes from the account of German immigrant John Durst who was assigned a 10-acre plot in Fredericksburg in 1947. There is a 120 foot “mountain” on that property where he found an old wooden cross. He erected the cross to “honor the land God had provided his family.” Durst himself was a winemaker.
On the tasting menu during our visit were five wines all sourced from Italy. The tastings are available for a fee. Most of the wines have the classic Italian classifications like “DOC,” “DOCG,” etc. We tasted two whites and five reds as follows:
- Prosecco – An extra dry bubbly with a classic Prosecco aromatic nose
- Grillo 2016 – A white wine sourced from Sicily made from the Grillo grape that is said to put off notes of mango and papaya. It reminded me of Sauvignon Blanc.
- Morellino Di Scansano Rosso 2015 – This red is a medium bodied 100% Sangiovese
- Merlot – A little lighter than a basic California Merlot. We liked it a lot and came home with a bottle.
- Nero d’Avola 2016 – Another grape indigenous of Sicily. An intense red with deep and rich color.
We also tasted a Chardonnay that was not aged on oak but stainless tanks. It gives you a real sense of what that grape can do. A bottle came home with us.
If you enjoy Italian wines or just want to hear “more of the story,” you should visit Cross Mountain Vineyards tasting room in Fredericksburg. It’s not far from the Admiral Nimitz Museum.
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