COME TASTE A DOZEN YEARS.
YOU'LL SEE MOMENTS WHERE WE WERE BLINDFOLDED IN THE DARK AND FOUND THE LIGHT ALONG SIDE TIMES MY EGO OR PHYSICAL LIMITS GAMBLED AWAY THE PERFECT RICHES OF NATURE. I'LL BE RADICALLY CANDID ABOUT IT ALL. LIBRARY TASTING 12-2 ON 5/9. IF YOURE READING THIS AND HAVE EVER VOLUNTEERED TO PICK GRAPES WITH US OR HELPED US IN ANY CAPACITY ALONG THE WAY AND WOULD LIKE A FREE TICKET PLEASE DM ME. IF YOU WANT TO COME BUT JUST CANNOT AFFORD IT PLEASE DM ME. NATURAL WINE IS SUPPOSED TO BE ABOUT YOUR OWN CULTURE NOT YOUR CREDIT SCORE OR CORKAGE FEES. IM OFF MY SOAP BOX FOR NOW. SEE YALL THIS WEEKEND IN RARE FORM.
Work Horse vintage 2023 will be born into this world on Friday 4pm. It will be served along side crazy delicious steak fries courtesy @foodieytina . You're going to want to pre-order those baddies. Beautiful wine, delicious treats & good people. Come get some face time with your friends and family while supporting local farmers and producers. Pull up!
2023 was real test.
80 days above 100 degrees, 42 of those above 105. Our normal cool breezy nights were absent. These conditions are not for a faint hearted variety or thin skinned farmer. If you hung too big of a crop load, your fruit wouldn't ripen under the stressful conditions. If you had too much exposure from thin canopy the fruit would be torched.
No stranger to perseverance, the team @robertclayvineyards was able to grow some absolutely beautiful Cabernet and Mourvedre. This wine is far from Napa Valley both stylistically and spiritually. The Hickory Sands of Mason County speak loudly in glass. Perfumed, red fruit forward with bright acidity and a white pepper kick on the finish make this perhaps my favorite red wine to date.
Not born in homage or emulation of anything other than dirt, sun and hard work. It smells and tastes like the Hill Country: rugged and beautiful.
81% Cabernet
19% Mourvedre
Co-fermented
100% whole cluster
She will make her debut @theaustinwinery
Friday October 24th.
Steak fries from the ever talented @foodieytina will be available from 5-8pm. It's a perfect pairing
I am not a sophisticated person. I dont know how to leverage algorithms or lean into social media platforms. I do, however, know that the Texas Hill Country is the first place I chose to live. This complicated land has brought me a fantastic life. It can seem a harsh terrain, but to quote Charlie Chaplain: "Good earth is rich." That doesn't mean its kind.
There has been a massively inspiring response to our deadly floods. While I won't be blowing anybody away with the metrics, I hope that I can provide some drop to the bucket.
The family @robertclayvineyards was kind enough to take a flyer on me half a decade ago and let me make wine from their beautiful site. I have sat on a few cases of this Hill Country grown beauty to learn and grow as a winemaker. They're now available @theaustinwinery tasting room & winery. 100% of its sales will be donated to flood relief efforts. If you need delivery in the Austin area let me know. Ill figure out how to get it to you.
Keep on keepin' on.
October is "TEXAS WINE MONTH." Well, it's still 90 degrees and hasn't rained but 5 minutes in the better part of 3 months. Our climate is certainly challenging with polar extremes and plenty of curveballs in between.
It is what makes our wine special.
It's become obvious as my career goes forward that there are some varieties that just can't hack it in the Hill Country. Perhaps they seem promising in their youth and vigor (im looking at you, Roussanne) but they eventually succumb to one of the thousand cuts.
The truth is that nature has always shown us the answers, we just have enough ego and endeavor to think we can rewrite or re-do the test. Our blinding obsession with emulating european wine has lead a lot of us to overlook something that perfect evolution laid in our back yard.
She's got mysterious origins, Lenoir. A southern twang with a tinge of frenchy accent. A half blood of sorts that produces prolific and unique red fleshed fruit and tolerates mother nature's sense of humor. The drought of 2022 and the summer from hell of 2023 are on full display in this wine. There couldn't have hardly been a better grape to handle those stresses than the variety that nature, not the nursery picked for us. She gave us sexy results through all that strife. I thank her for it.
Come to the tasting room and ask for native and or hybrid grapes. I've got some hidden gems that I'm giddy to share. Perfect wines free from the unfair burden of comparison to other ancient regions' expression. I will even rant at you if you're into that kind of thing.
Meet "Ocho".
It's an insanely fresh and powerful blend of nearly equal parts Marsanne, Roussanne & Viognier. I actually wish I hadn't even told yall that. Don't compare it to anything. It's not a white Rhone. It's Driftwood, Texas. It's limestone ribbonned by alluvial deposits on account of the ever swelling and contracting Onion Creek. She speaks in centuries on years of drought and torrent in that dirt and rock. 4 days of maceration after hand harvesting an entirely hand tended block (0 tractor trips) in the hopes to show the sun torture and the terrains teachings.
Can't thank my friends @precisionviticulture enough for their diligence on this block number 8. White grapes in the Texas Hill Country are still quite a challenge, and that never will change. We only get to make beautiful wines like this on account of their generosity and stubbornness. Keep on keepin' on.
I've been looking forward to this for some time. In a way I consider it a sort of state of the union address by the front line folks.
You will be able to go to your vibe peddling scene wine bar any old time. They are there so you feel like you've been sold access to allocated and rare bottles. Ain't nothing wrong with that.
This is however a chance to talk to the people who are farming and manufacturing the culture right in your backyard. Ask questions and get honest answers. It's a way for you to give direct support to the people who need it most. American and Texas wine is at a very pivotal moment. There's a new generation who is taking the reigns and dealing with some of the same problems but also some very new and unique ones.
Come talk to me about it and I promise I will over share. Talk to everyone about it, we all got lots to say about what's in your glass and what's in store for the future of Texas wine.
Real talk: I will probably never get rich doing this. I would get a computer job if that were the goal. What's the goal then? It's expression, exploration, communion and catharsis. It's an intoxicating intersection of agriculture, manufacturing and culinary art. A recording of land, light and time encapsulated by grape flavors and aromas.
...It's also just a simple beverage to help you switch off for a minute.
So whether youre getting together or getting away, the most gratifying thing you can do for a winemaker or winery is to share their craft on your table this time of year. Thats what makes the skinny years all worth it.
I appreciate all of you and your time.
We picked up 650lbs of trash along the banks of the onion creek greenbelt today. Every american is like that shitty roommate you have all had that says "i didnt make that mess, im not cleaning it up". Lazy clown, you invented that mess.
12 producers pouring with us this weekend. People who understand the pain and beauty of being bent to nature's will and using the humble grape as a lens for land and climate manifest into flavors.
Come talk shop. Good ol' face time with people making this Texas wine industry happen, grow, innovate and very often scratch and claw to adapt. Supporting your local winemakers means supporting local farms and families.
Wormwood, Yarrow, Elderberry, Hyssop, Hibiscus, Chamomile + red wine + brandy.
One of my favorite projects of ours to date. Its as much a culinary culture piece as it is a drink.
Botanicals with a focus on digestive support sourced from @hamiltonpoolvineyards farm macerated in malvasia brandy and blended with Texas red wine. It will warm you up. You might even fight your step dad. More information coming soon.
Ive been patiently waiting to share this with yall. A diminutive expression of a variety not known for its subtlety. Dont let that lead you to believe its missing anything. Its only missing a stage. Come to "In Pour Taste v.II" @theaustinwinery this sunday to learn and taste a couple dozen wines with people who have dedicated themselves to bringing you wines of place, character and care.
