Each week our team visits a local winery to research what they are doing, and to be sure we can provide recommendations for our guests. Yesterday, my hubby and I made a trek without the staff, and visited my friend Taryn at Wedding Oak.
@WeddingOakWinery began in 2012 in San Saba, utilizing 100% Texas grown grapes. This region is part of the Texas Hill Country AVA, but is outside of the Fredericksburg sub-region. They have three tasting rooms…one in San Saba, a newly completed location on 290 just east of Fredericksburg, and a nearly complete location in Burnet. Basically, you can drive about an hour in any direction in the hill country and you’ll find Wedding Oak!
Taryn is a true Oenophile whom I’ve gotten to know over the past year, and she is a new addition to the Wedding Oak family at the 290 location. She LOVES to talk wine and has a great palette. You may also find Mike behind the bar, and he’s super enthusiastic about the wines they have to offer.
Our tasting was heroic, as we tried more wines than most people do on an average tasting. Keep in mind, I’m a professional! Here’s the lineup, with just a few notes on each wine:
2017 Albarino – light and bright, with an interesting Lavender note on the back palette
2018 Albarino – slight difference from 2017. The wine maker became the viticulturist and the assistant wine maker became the lead, so the 2018 wines have a little different twist, due to the change of who is making decisions in the winery. We currently have an Albarino flight at Perspective, and this wine is a ringer for the Spanish wine we carry. Keep your eyes peeled, you may just see this wine with us in the future.
2017 Viognier – this is one of my favorite white varietals, and its a grape I’ll be talking about at the January Hill Country Wine Symposium. The grape comes from France and is doing surprisingly well in Texas. This example is bright and crisp without being tart. I’ll just go ahead and label this my current favorite Texas Viognier!
2016 Roussanne – this grape originates in the Rhone River Valley of France, and is most often used for blending. Many of our Texas growers are planting the varietal and its presenting well these days. This particular bottling is from San Saba/Central Texas fruit and there’s a definite chalky or limestone feel, which makes this wine much in line with the Rhone style. I personally love to feel the region in my glass, and you get that with this wine. It’s an easy wine for sitting by the pool for the end of summer.
2018 Rosato di Sangiovese – rose is a wine that can be made from any red skinned grape. Our rose flight has just switched over to be based on the Sangiovese grape. This wine will be a perfect fit for our flight! I love it and it fits so nicely along side our example from Lodi, California and Tuscany, Italy. Keep an eye out for this wine to be on our list soon. And yes, I took a bottle to the shop and already did a comparison!
2016 Tempranillo Reserva – this Spanish style wine has all of the masculine characteristics you expect from a Temp – leather, cigar box, dried fig, smoke. I felt the tannins were still a little rough and I’d personally age the bottle another 8 months and see how it rounds out.
2016 Tioja – this name is a cute play on words. Rioja is the most popular wine making region of Spain. So replace the R with a T for Texas and you get Tioja. For many years, American wine drinkers believed Rioja was a grape. It’s a region and the dominant grapes are Tempranillo and Granacha. This bottling is 81% Temp, 18% Granacha and 1% Viognier to add a hint of acidity and round out the wine. This is a delicious wine that will hold up nicely to foods such as grilled steak, kabobs, and tapas. We took a bottle back to the shop to compare with our current Tempranillo flight, plus another 3 bottles from Texas. We’ll likely rotate this wine into the mix in September!
2015 Terre Rouge – this is a non-traditional GSM blend. The grapes of Grenache, Syrah, Mourvedre and Cinsault are traditional in the blends that come from the Rhone River Valley, but then Tannat is added in. Tannat comes from Southern France, and is sometimes used in a Rhone blend, but not often. This grape is doing really well in Uruguay and has a growing following here in Texas. This bottling is interesting, but I feel the tannins are still a little harsh for my liking.
2017 Montepulciano – this was my favorite wine of the day. Actually, Montepulciano, affectionately referred to as Monty, may be one of my all time favorite red varietals. Of course, I mentioned, I’m a professional – which means, my favorites change often! I love the complexity of this wine. The tannins are balanced so it will benefit from food but doesn’t require it. There’s a velvety smooth finish. At $30 a bottle, I’d say this is a must-have! And we did take a bottle home.
2017 Petit Verdot – my hubby loves a wine that’s chewy, deep, dark and complex, with tannins that leave me wanting a glass of milk to smooth things out! This PV did not disappoint. Few Texas PV have the true substance that’s typically expected from our west coast friends, but this bottle delivers. I felt like I’d want a steak with the wine, but he had a huge grin on his face, and didn’t want to ‘ruin’ his palette by having another wine after! We took a bottle of this beauty home too.
2017 Something Borrowed – this bottle is what people are looking for when they ask for a sweet red wine. For me, its too sweet and not something I would normally drink. For people who love that rich dark fruit flavor like plum, blackberry and black cherries, this is exactly what will appeal to them.
2016 Bridal Veil – 81% Trebbiano/19% Chenin Blanc – this wine is balanced and lovely, with a hint of sweetness. I can see this being a summer fave for many.
2016 Tuxedo Red – this is an off-dry red made from Dolcetto. While this is a current favorite red grape for me, I have only had it made in a dry style – until now. This off dry means the ruby fruit and chocolate notes that are natural to this grape are emphasized just a hint more. It’s a tasty wine that I could easily drink all summer long. I have to think hard about whether it would satisfy the folks who ask for a sweet red – its isn’t near as sweet at the Something Borrowed bottling, but is much more complex and flavorful. I’m still thinking on this one.
2018 Trebbiano – we ended our lineup with this bright, crisp white wine. Not usually what is done, but again, I’m a professional! These grapes were wild fermented, so no yeast was added and the idea is to give a reflection of our Texas terroir. I love this wine and took a bottle home. In fact, its what I’m drinking now, as I’m typing up this blog! Years ago, we lived in a condo in downtown Austin, and I attempted to make wine on three occasions. Trebbiano was my second attempt. It was tasty when I bottled it, but something went sideways and the bottles oxidized within a couple of days. It wasn’t drinkable. But still, I have a warm spot in my heart for Trebbiano. It’s a grape that has great potential in Texas, and I hope we see more of it down the road.
Cheers! – Amie