European Wines Hand Selected for Texans at Alexander Vineyards

Texas is big, and with over 500 active winery brands in the state, you might imagine that not all of them serve Texas wines. We know Texans are proud, and we love our state. Great wines are being made here. And there are great wines being chosen for Texans, brought here for us, and offered in a tasting room for us to experience Europe here in Texas.

Alexander Vineyards is located just five miles east of Fredericksburg and offers precisely this experience. Claude Alexander opened his tasting room in the summer of 2013. Tastings were first poured from inside Claude’s home, and eventually, in the spring of 2023, a modern tasting room opened on the other side of the property. Sitting just a football field’s length from Highway 290, you would never know there is traffic and road construction as you overlook a pond with a beautiful view of the green fields and horse farm across the street. The rural setting practically forces you to relax.

Over the years, Claude has developed strong relationships with wineries throughout Europe, including France, Germany, Italy, and Spain. He has wines created for his own Alexander Vineyards label and carries some of the commercial wines made by these winemakers. All of the wines are hand-crafted with small production. Some are as little as 100 cases produced, others as much as 1,000.

Early in his project, Claude indicated he would like to make some wines here to supplement the cases he is importing. At our recent visit to the new tasting room, the wine steward had not known of any plans to make wine in the U.S. And with his great imports, why would he?

The new tasting room is modern and spacious. The outdoor seating is pet and kid friendly. And the tasting menu changes as new wines are imported. Reservations are recommended, especially for groups. Walk-ins are accommodated based on available space.

I enjoyed the white Bordeaux and Sauternes from France, both made for the Alexander Vineyards label. I also enjoyed the Italian Tocca label Pecorino and Montepulciano d’Abruzzo. And an insider tip, ask for their bundled wine specials when you visit, or order online.

Even the most die-hard Texas wine lover can often benefit from tasting wines from around the world. In this case, you can support a Texas-owned winery when you buy European wines. And that’s a business model we can get behind.