It's an annual traditional for the Wine Curumudgeon, Texas' Lone Star International Wine Competition. We'll judge not only Texas wines, but those from other regional states and the big guys — California, Australia and Europe.
And yes, I'll try to tweet (@wine_curmudgeon) as we go through the next two days. Who can forget my classic blue wine tweet from last year?
The final tally — as well as some incredibly juicy details — is in, and the soap opera that was New Mexico's Gruet Winery's attempt to buy Texas' bankrupt Cap*Rock Winery is apparently over. Regular visitors here will recall that Laurent Gruet, whose family owns the New Mexico sparkling wine producer, bid $6.5 million that he didn't have for Cap*Rock at a bankruptcy sale. When Gruet couldn't come up with the money, he was sued by the bankrupcty trustee.
The details are in the Lubbuck newspaper; some highlights after the jump:
That's at 8 p.m. central on Wednesday night, where a crowd of people — representing wine from Texas, Maryland, Florida, and Virginia – will talk about what's going on with the drink local movement as well as DrinkLocalWine's upcoming conference in Colorado (and the train ticket giveaway). This is a Twitter event, so follow the conversation at #winechat. I'm @wine_curmudgeon on Twitter.
A big tip o' the Curmudgeon's fedora to Dezel Quillen, Virginia wine blogger extraordinarie, who put this thing together and patiently answered my questions about the format.
Russ Kane knows more about Texas wine than all but a handful of people, and that knowledge is more than evident in his new book, "The Wineslinger Chronicles: Texas on the Vine" ($29.95, Texas Tech University Press). Equally as important, the book is a snapshot of the modern Texas wine industry at one of the most important times in its history — as it makes the transition from first to second generation of growers and producers, as it changes from wine made with traditional grapes to a more terroir-based approach, and as it tries to find ways to cope without state-sponsored research and marketing.
Few are as qualifed as Kane to do this. He is the proprietor of the Texas Vintage wine blog, which is one of the oldest and most well-read in the state. And, like so many in the industry he loves, Kane comes to wine from a first career; he was a technical writer before discovering Texas wine. More, after the jump:
? Stealth wines: Which is what my pal Dave McIntyre calls labels that don ?t have wineries; rather, distributors, stores and importers commission custom blends from negociants. One of the leading practictioners of stealth wines is Cameron Hughes, a broker who buys excess wine from producers and bottles it under his own name. Several visitors have asked why I haven't written about Hughes, since his reason for being is bargain wines. As Dave notes, his wines can often cost pennies on the dollar compared to similar products. I haven't done anything because of the limited availability of Hughes' wines. By the time I wrote something, the wine would likely be sold out. And what's the point of that? Hence, take a look at Dave's piece, which ran in the Washington Post, and which does an excellent job of describing what Hughes does and why it works. And the wine isn't bad, either.
? Take that, state of Texas: Someone is even more annoyed with the state of Texas and the way it has treated its wine marketing and research programs than I am, which means they are pretty annoyed. That is Vintage Texas' Russ Kane, and he spares nothing in a recent post about what happened: "All we have in Texas is a starry-eyed man with foolish aspirations of being president while he casts the fate of his state ?s wine industry to the hot dry Texas wind." There's even video.
? Take that, beer distributors: We haven't had any HR 1161/5034 fun on the blog lately, so how about this? Lew Perdue at Wine Industry Insight has a suggestion for everyone who is fed up with the distributor lobby and its attempt to tighten direct shipping laws. And everyone, of course, means almost everyone who writes wine blog in the U.S. Perdue suggests that we boycott Big Beer, whose distributors are at the forefront of HR 1161, "because Budweiser, Miller, Coors and the other mega-breweries provide the National Beer Wholesalers Association with the money they need to screw consumers. I ?ve been boycotting Big Beer for a couple of years now because I refuse to feed the machine. I will not allow the profit from my beer purchases to finance their arrogance and totalitarian actions." I'm going to have to check — does beer from Aldi count?
Reviews of wines that don ?t need their own post, but are worth noting for one reason or another. Look for it on the final Friday of each month:
? Stag's Leap Merlot 2004 ($35, sample): Cleaning out the wine cellar, and found this gorgeous, beautiful wine. Tastes like Napa, with deep, luscious black fruit, but with other qualities that make for a wonderful wine, including a long chalky finish and a full, rich middle.
? Flat Creek Estate Pinot Grigio 2010 ($18, purchased): Texas white wine that sits between tonic Italian pinot grigio (has more lemon) and fruit forward Oregon pinot gris. There was something odd in the back that bothered me, but may not bother anyone else. And it would be a better value at $14 or $15.
? Le Grand Noir Chardonnay 2009 ($8, purchased): French white with too much badly done fake oak and without enough fruit to cover up the oak. Not very interesting one way or the other.
? De Bortoli Sauvignon Blanc Emeri NV ($11, sample): Very odd, but intriguing, Australian bubbly made with sauvignon blanc. Sweet tropical fruit but not as much citrus as one would expect. Less tight and bubbly than cava, but not as soft as some Italian sparklers. Keep in mind for the holidays.
Texas wine can be confusing, given the hundreds of different wines and their reliance on grapes many wine drinkers have never heard of. Blanc du bois, after all, is not something that comes trippingly to the tongue, even for wine experts. There is also, as with so many regional wines, the quality question. Yes, quality has improved markedly, but as Dave McIntyre, my partner in locapour, always warns: There is still too much wine out there made by people who aren't quite sure what they're doing.
Given that, here are my suggestions about what's worth drinking. This is far from a complete list; there are 219 Texas wineries, and hard as I try, I can't hit all of them. Many smaller and newer producers make fine wine, but I haven't gotten to them or tasted them often enough to include them (like Red Caboose, Sunset, Lone Oak, and Inwood Estates).
Know, too, that the state's biggest producers — Llano Estacado, Fall Creek, Messina Hof and Becker — make professional wine that compares favorably to anything made in California at similar prices. If you want to try something and are overwhelmed by the selection, they will be fine.
The wines I drink — and buy — after the jump:
