Augusta Vin and Bending Branch Wineries Offer Elevated Texas Wine Experiences

Texas Wine Lover was invited for this coverage. All opinions, experiences, and photographs are entirely our own.

I love visiting Texas wineries! If you have been following Texas Wine Lover, there is no doubt you do too. It’s great doing a tasting with a number of wines from the winery so you can determine what might be your next favorite winery. A traditional tasting is always a great way to explore a winery’s lineup, but sometimes you may want to take the experience a step further. Elevated tastings can include winery tours, barrel samples, premium wines, guided comparisons, and food pairings that bring both the wine and food to life.

Texas Wine Lover was invited to two recent elevated tasting experiences. One is a reservable winery tour, and the other is a special tasting event that you might experience around Texas.

Augusta Vin Winery

Augusta Vin Winery offers different types of tastings of their wines, such as the typical tasting and an elevated tasting of their premium wines. They also offer different types of tours that also include tastings. These include the Production Tour, Grand Tour, and the Vineyard Tour. They can also customize a tour for your group of ten or more.

We were invited to attend the Grand Tour, and when we ventured out for our tour, one other couple from Dallas was with us.

The tour, led by Linda, started at the Clubhouse with a welcome 2023 Albariño wine.  We boarded a tram, and Linda took us to the production area. Walking into the winery, we passed the lab where head winemaker Zachary Raines was (Winemaker Profile from Zachary coming this year), through the tank room, and out to the crush pad. We didn’t spend too long there learning about the crush pad because it was a hot day, so we quickly ventured back into the tank room.

We then tasted the 2023 Sirens Brute Sparkling Estate wine (100% Counoise), which was made with the Charmat method. The Charmat method uses a stainless-steel pressure tank to undergo the secondary fermentation instead of in the bottle, as the Traditional Method, such as Champagne, does. The Charmat process typically takes weeks to finish, unlike the Traditional Method, which is much longer. Augusta Vin has two Charmat tanks, and we were told they are the only winery in Texas that has their own Charmat tanks. They make three different types of sparkling wines, including Charmat, Traditional Method, and a Rosé.

We went to the barrel room next, where we were able to taste a Petite Sirah from the barrel. This was a fun experience for all, being able to taste an unfinished wine and get a photo taken in front of the wine barrels.

After seeing where the wines were made, it was time to taste how those production choices showed up in the glass. We returned to the tank room and climbed the stairs to the loft where a beautiful table had already been set up with place settings for a wine tasting. This was a nice area to do a wine and food pairing tasting that overlooked the tank room.

The first thing we tasted, though, was a finished Petite Sirah, which was the 2022 Petite Sirah Estate. This wine was aged 18 months in 40% new French Oak. It is 95% Petite Sirah and 5% Tannat. This gave the group a great example of what the unfinished wine we tasted from the barrel might taste like.

We were poured the first of five wines for the pairing, but before we started, we were shown how to properly see, smell, and taste the wines. We were then off and running!

These are the wines and food pairings we had:

• 2023 Chardonnay, American, paired with a stuffed pepper with cheese
• 2024 Aestas Summer Rosé (50% Cinsault, 28% Counoise, 13% Mourvèdre, 9% Tannat), Texas High Plains and Estate fruit paired with a mushroom stuffed with cream cheese
• 2021 Estate Sagrantino paired with prime rib and peppers on bread
• 2022 Merlot, American, paired with Manchego and prosciutto. The group had an option to substitute the 2022 Cabernet Sauvignon Estate.
• 2022 Nectar Rouge (sweet), Texas, paired with dark chocolate

Since the word Estate was being used for a number of their wines but not for a couple of others, a question was asked if they only make wines made from Texas grapes. The answer was they stopped bringing in out-of-state grapes in 2024 and are hoping to remain a winery making only wine with Texas grapes.

Our group returned to the Clubhouse where we were given an engraved wine glass and flute that was included with the tour.

Overall, the one-and-a-half-hour experience was definitely worth it, and we can highly recommend reserving your own elevated tour.

Bending Branch Winery

We were also able to attend Bending Branch Winery’s elevated tasting experience called A Taste of Texas & Italy. This experience was to be able to explore the wines of Texas and Italy side by side.

The event was held in the barrel room at Bending Branch Winery, and we could see people were prepared with jackets since it was a little cooler than outside. Personally, with the hot weather outside, the coolness felt pretty good.

There were a large number of tables set up in the barrel room for the attendees, and everyone looked forward to the wines that were already poured and covered with caps.

We were introduced to the panel that would be speaking: Bending Branch COO Jennifer Cernosek, Owner and Executive Winemaker Dr. Bob Young, Dino Chronopoulos, Italian wine expert and importer/distributor in the U.S., and La Calabria Pizzeria Owner and Founder Keith McKay.

When everyone checked into the event, they were given a welcome wine, which was a sparkling rosé. I thought it was good, and everyone I spoke with was enjoying it too. We first found out that the wine we were drinking was a Franc Lizêr Sparkling Rosé from Italy. But it surprised everyone that it was a dealcoholized wine! The sparkling blend of Glera and Merlot tasted really good as a non-alcoholic wine.

An introduction was given informing us about Italian wines, including that Italy makes 20% of the world’s wine production.

The first wine and food pairing was for Malbec, which paired a Texas Bending Branch 2020 Malbec from Tallent Vineyards with an Italian Borgo Stajnbech 2024 Malbec IGT. These were paired with an Italian slider with mortadella, peppered salami, and provolone with zesty Italian dressing. There was a difference between the wines, and we believe the Italian wine was more fruit-forward.

The next pairing was for Cabernet Sauvignon, and it featured the Bending Branch 2019 100% Cabernet Sauvignon from Newsom Vineyards (vineyard owner Neal Newsom was present) compared against the Italian 2019 Ida Agnoletti Seneca – Colli Trevigiani IGT (70% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot). They were paired with bolognese with pappardelle. We have had the Newsom Vineyards wine before. It is tasting great right now and so smooth for a Cab, and we learned that it can age for even more years.

Next up was the Amarone pairing. It featured the first time guests tasted the release of Bending Branch’s 2023 Texas Passito Reserve, Texas Hill Country (16.5% ABV) along with the Italian Tenute Ugolini 2012 Valle Alta Amarone della Valpolicella (Corvina, Corvinone, Rondinella, Oseleta) DOCG (16% ABV). These were paired with prosciutto on crostini with aged parmesan. Dr. Bob and Jennifer explained how the Passito was made in an Amarone-inspired style. We were excited to taste a 2012 Amarone, but we preferred the Bending Branch version better.

The Sagrantino comparison was next. It was the Bending Branch 2019 Sagrantino, Texas High Plains vs. the Borgese 2015 Montefalco Sagrantino DOCG. The pairing was Calabrian pizza with signature sauce, mozzarella, Calabrian sausage, pepperoni, and garlic. We are lovers of Sagrantino, and we thank Paul and Merrill Bonarrigo from Messina Hof Winery for bringing Sagrantino to Texas. OMG! My favorite food is pizza, and this Calabrian pizza was incredible. We are going to La Calabria Pizzeria sometime! As far as wines are concerned, we have to give the nod to the Bending Branch Sagrantino.

All the wines were available for purchase after the tasting. The Italian wines could be pre-ordered because they needed to know how many wines to import.

These two tastings showed just how much more there can be to a winery visit. Whether it is a behind-the-scenes tour, a barrel sample, a guided food pairing, or a side-by-side comparison of Texas and international wines, these experiences offer a new way to learn about what is in your glass. Keep an eye on the Events section of the Texas Wine Lover Guide and mobile app to find the next one you would like to attend.