Lewis Wines Fish Fry and Swim Spot Release

Did you miss it? On Saturday, June 29th, Lewis Wines in Johnson City held a ticketed event for guests to come to the winery and help celebrate the release of this year’s Swim Spot. A nice way to celebrate the wines of summer by throwing a laid-back evening dinner featuring a lovely Hill Country evening sunset and the latest edition of some of the best wines that summer has to offer. As guests arrived, they were greeted and checked in, then offered an interesting dilemma. Everyone got to choose either a glass of the new 2018 Hill Country Rosé or the new 2018 Swim Spot. Thankfully, I travel with someone to these events, so a glass of each fit the bill.

The evening meal featured not only the refreshing wines, but also a much-anticipated summer fish fry dinner cooked out over open flame by Dai Due, who catered the event. Doug Lewis was on hand to greet attendees and also shared with us that the initial plan was to catch fish locally from the Pedernales River, however Mother Nature interceded with an onslaught of numerous rainstorms and flooding putting an end to that plan. So instead, the fish featured was from the Texas Gulf Coast. The dinner was fried fish in a light cornmeal batter, plump hush puppies, crunchy coleslaw, seasoned pinto beans, with tartar sauce, red beet ketchup, and jalapeño hot sauce on the side. How is beet ketchup you might ask? Outstanding! Though it took a while for folks to work their way through the food line due to the fish being cooked during the meal service, it was a big success. The winery had a nice crowd of happy wine neighbors who turned out to support and celebrate on the hot summer evening to enjoy the great outdoors with others and Lewis Wine’s new release.

This year’s Swim Spot is once again a delightful, crisp, and refreshing white. This paired nicely with the fish and makes for a wonderful summer go to wine for food pairings. Swim Spot is very approachable, light, clean, and easy to enjoy. The Hill Country Rosé was likewise very refreshing with nice hints of strawberry and fresh fruit making it another delightful summer sipper that will readily pair with many summer dishes too.

As the sun set across the vineyard, staff began passing around cups of vanilla pudding with a dollop of Hill Country peach compote. This was a lovely and cool creamy treat that was super tasty and interesting with the fresh local peach sauce with chunks of juicy peaches. Sitting outside enjoying the cool evening breezes under the shade of the massive oak trees as the sun began to fade while listening to the 80’s tunes that the DJ played, made for a beautiful night. It was nice to be in the country, taking it easy and enjoying the company of others and reflecting on the simple pleasures of summer alfresco dining while enjoying some of our favorite wines. Another great dinner by Lewis Wines!