Valley Mills Vineyards has always been a respected Texas winery with their award-winning wines. When the winery opened in 2010, the winery was located in the center of the town of Valley Mills. They also had a vineyard out of town that was first planted in 2007 and it increased in size over the years.
Now a new winery building has been built next to the vineyard offering a first-class winery production building and tasting room.
When you arrive at the winery and pass by the vineyard, you can see the winery up on the hill in the distance. Getting closer to the winery, there is an entrance to the winery, but it is only for special assistance. Beyond it is the parking lot for the majority of the customers. The winery building does not look impressive at that point, but that is because it is the rear of the winery. To get the best view of the winery, you need to be looking from the vineyard which is on the opposite side of the building.
Upon entering the building, you realize the tasting room is at the top of the building and that is why there was a special entrance for accessibility. A long stairway greets you to make the trek up three flights of stairs to the tasting room.
At the bottom of the building is one set of stainless-steel tanks in the production area and at a landing in the middle of the stairway, you can see another set of tanks which overlooks the main production area. There is still a lot of room for growth in the winery.
There are tables in the tasting room for you to enjoy a glass of wine or you can do a tasting at the tasting bar.
Even though I have been to Valley Mills Vineyards in the past, I chose to do a tasting to try their current wines. There were five wines available to taste:
- 2017 Viognier – Trinity Vineyard
- 2017 Vermentino
- 2016 Rosé (Grenache, Tempranillo). They let it sit for 24 hours on the skins when making.
- 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon
- 2016 Estate Tempranillo
These are some of the other wines that were available by the bottle:
- 2016 Muscat Canelli
- 2014 Bedrock
- GSL (Grenache, Syrah, Lenoir)
- Texas Tawny Port
- 2015 Estate Tempranillo
- 2014 Estate Tempranillo
- 2014 Cabernet Sauvignon
The winery makes wine from only 100% Texas grapes and Joey Bagnasco is now the winemaker.
If you want to relax with a glass of wine, different food choices are available such as Italian panini, charcuterie, grilled cheese, and bread, oil & pesto.
After the tasting, I was given a tour of the rest of the winery. Next to the tasting room is where the beginning of production happens after harvesting grapes. It then flows downward in the winery to the second-floor tanks and then to the bottom where the stainless-steel tanks you first see when entering the bottom are located. Also, on the bottom floor is the barrel room.
Make a trip to visit the new location of Valley Mills Vineyards!
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