Jenschke Cellars

These days we are seeing Texas vineyards who have been dedicated to growing wine grapes also start making their own wine from their vineyard. This practice is not dedicated to just grape vineyards though since Jenschke Orchards, who has been growing peaches and produce since 1961, has opened a Texas wine tasting room in Fredericksburg.

The tasting room is called Jenschke Cellars and is on US 290 inside their existing country store and next to Leroy’s Tex Mex BBQ and Biergarten. I stopped by one afternoon to visit the new tasting room that opened October 11^th.

I wasn’t quite sure where the entrance to Jenschke Cellars was, but I easily found Jenschke Orchards. I learned later there are actually two entrances. The one I found goes into Jenschke Orchards where peaches, produce, and more can be purchased and the rear of the store leads into the tasting room. The other entrance is located next to Leroy’s and that side of the building clearly states it is Jenschke Cellars.

The wines for Jenschke Cellars are made by Joy Tackett who is also the new winemaker at English Newsom Cellars. Since the wine is made by English Newsom, tastings can be done with either Jenschke Cellars or English Newsom wines, and there is a full list of both wines made available.

These were the Jenschke Cellars wines available at the time of my visit:

• 2021 Dry White (Trebbiano)
• 2023 Dry Rosé (Sangiovese)
• NV Dry Red (Sangiovese)
• Watermelon Wine
• Strawberry Wine
• Peach Wine
• Raspberry Wine
• Mixed Berry Wine
• Sweet Red Blend

Trebbiano is the base wine for all the fruit wines.

These were the English Newsom Cellars wines available:

• 2022 Picardan
• 2021 Viognier
• 2022 Dry Riesling
• 2023 Albariño
• 2021 Merlot
• 2021 Sagrantino
• 2022 Montepulciano
• 2021 Red Italian Blend (68% Montepulciano, 25% Sagrantino, 7% Teroldego)
• 2022 Sweet Riesling

I selected the Dry White and Dry Red to taste first since I wanted to taste the Jenschke Cellars wines. And since it is only fitting to come from Jenschke Orchards, I had to taste the Peach Wine too. From the English Newsom side, I selected the Picardan and Sagrantino. I had to select the Sagrantino since English Newsom Cellars has been winning big awards with this grape and I have loved Sagrantino ever since Messina Hof introduced it to Texas with their first 2014 vintage. The latest 2021 Sagrantino from English Newsom won the Texas Class Champion at the 2024 Houston Rodeo Uncorked! International Wine Competition.

Jenschke Cellars has three wine clubs from which to select: Bluebonnet, Mockingbird, and Texas. The nice thing about being next to Leroy’s and having seating outside is you can also walk up to their tasting room windows for some “to go” wine.

Stop by Jenschke Cellars for some Texas wine and also enjoy shopping at Jenschke Orchards.

8309 US-290, Fredericksburg, TX 78624