​Hispanics represent a growing share of Texas' wine drinking population, but wineries are still grappling with how to pitch their products to them.

"No information is available about the Hispanic wine market," Natalia Kolyesnikova, assistant director of the Texas Wine Marketing Research Institute told attendees at last week's annual meeting of the Texas Wine and Grape Growers Association.

The institute last year conducted a preliminary study, convening three focus groups to answer questions about how, when, where and why Hispanic consumers drink wine. The responses were wildly diverse, suggesting wine sellers err in treating the state's Hispanic population as a monolith.

More >>

​Texas wine enthusiasts seeking a better way to convey to consumers which local wines deserve their attentions are broaching the possibility of creating a wine quality program.

Russ Kane, a wine writer who's moderating a panel on wine quality at this week's Texas Wine and Grape Growers Association conference in San Marcos, describes the program as "something that would demonstrate the wine has been evaluated and deemed a quality wine."

In other new wine-growing regions, such as Ohio, wines made with primarily state-grown grapes are eligible to apply for a "quality wine" designation. Wines which pass sensory evaluation and chemical analysis tests can be sold with official "Ohio Quality Wine" seals.

More >>

​The Texas Department of Agriculture is compelled to promote all the permitted wineries in Texas, a mandate that doesn't resolve the thorny issue of how to address varying degrees of quality within the industry.

But a recent event proposed by industry members has allowed the department to discern without discriminating: At the Texas Sommelier Tasting, held last month in Austin, nearly a dozen sommeliers blind tasted about 100 submissions (only wines made from Texas-grown grapes were eligible) and selected "their favorites that best represent Texas and its terroir." The TDA will now pour their choices at promotions designed to showcase Texas wines.

"We've gone through different scenarios, trying to find something fair and balanced," says Robert Campbell, state coordinator of the TDA's Wine Marketing Program. "I think it worked out really well."

More >>

Sake's not just for sushi, according to the latest promotion by the sake industry.

"It's a world class drink, not just something that goes down hot at a Japanese restaurant," says Linda Kawabata of the Akita Sake Promotion and Export Council, which is hosting a tasting event in Dallas next Monday.

​At a "sake soiree" at Bailey's Prime Plus, Kawabata will serve various sakes with crab cakes, bacon-wrapped shrimp, beef Wellington and other dishes she describes as "Texas food."

"We're taking sake out of Japanese cuisine," she says. "No sushi rolls, no wasabi, no soy sauce."

More >>

​Just as most people recognize pinot grigio, chances are good that if you ask someone to name an Italian red grape varietal it will be sangiovese. Or perhaps chianti, which was certainly popular back in the day, when many a mom-and-pop Italian eatery sported a straw-covered bottle of chianti atop its red and white checkered tablecloths. Some places even had candles burning inside the empty bottles. A good size plate of spaghetti and meatballs or a pizza would often be accompanied by a glass or three of the rollicking red wine.

Actually, chianti and sangiovese are almost synonymous, since sangiovese is the main component of the chianti blend. Translated as "blood of Jove" (Jupiter), this grape was employed in the United States almost exclusively in Chianti until the rise of the so-called Super Tuscans in the late '80s. Called the pride of Tuscany, it has also thrived in California (after a few false starts) as well as the hotter weather of our own Texas High Plains and Hill Country. Sangiovese has long been used to pair with tomato-based dishes, making it a natural accompaniment to hearty Southern Italian Cuisine.

In Grapevine, Cross Timbers Winery offers a Sangiovese made from High Plains grapes which my wining companion and I sampled during a tasting there. The color is a lighter shade of red than is typical of most Sangioveses, and the nose contains strawberries along with the typical black cherry and currants, plus lots of light plum flavors and berries, particularly strawberries, and a touch of spice on the finish. Cross Timbers Sangiovese promises to be very food-friendly, not just with typical pasta-and-pizza dishes, but also with roast chicken and hearty salads. However, if you feel like dragging the old Chianti-bottle candles and red tablecloths out of the attic, you can also pair with pizza and lasagna, as this is a very playful wine.

​Gallo. Robert and CK Mondavi. Beringer. Kendall-Jackson. Franzia. You know them as the 800 pound gorillas, the Two Buck Chucks, if you will, of the wining world. They take up voluminous amounts of space on the grocery store shelves with their bottles, magnums and boxes of mass-produced vino, much of it selling for less than $5 a bottle. Surely, our fair Lone Star State doesn't have a wine producer on such a massive scale, does it? And if so, is the wine any good?

The answer to the first question is undoubtedly yes. The answer to the second question depends on your definition of good.

Located in Fort Stockton, Ste Genevieve winery's production is humongous by anyone's standards. Their 800 acre vineyard produces more than 600,000 gallons of wine a year, and the state-of-the-art winery exports almost a million gallons a year of wine made from unaffiliated grape producers. Contrast that output with San Martino Winery's 92,000 bottles (not gallons), and you're basically talking about the difference between Jupiter and Mercury.

Since Texas has much in common with Mediterranean soil, where blends rule, I thought the basic Red (formerly Texas Red) might be worth investigating. Cherry cola in color, with the nose displaying minerals and slight but not unpleasant petroleum. Lots of black cherry and cola on the palate, with slight touches of vanilla and herbs. Good with hamburgers, pizza, and beef fajitas, but maybe not much else. In sum, Saint Genevieve Red is too simplistic to win any major prizes, but if it's the end of the month, with five bucks left in your account, and you've got to have tipple, you could do much worse.

​Along with malbec, Grenache, and cabernet franc, tempranillo is viewed by oenophiles as one of the up-and-coming red grapes in today's wine scene. It is often called the "noble grape" of Spain, and is used as the base for that country's magnificent Rioja reds.

Almost black in color, tempranillo ripens early (thus the name, a diminutive of the Spanish word "temprano," which means early) and is very susceptible to diseases and pests such as phylloxera. Therefore, when it is planted in other countries such as Chile and Argentina, it must be grafted onto native root stock, resulting in a slightly different flavor profile. In any case, the resulting wines are ruby red and full-bodied.

When I visit a winery where the winemaker follows a specific country's flavor profile, I usually like to taste what he has done to that country's signature grape. San Martino Winery & Vineyards winemaker Emilio Ramos is a native of Spain, so I thirsted to try his Tempranillo Reserve.

The wine's color was rich and plummy, indicative of its strong presence. Old tobacco, currants, and plum on the nose. Lots of luscious black cherry and blackberry preserves on the palate, with vanilla swirl on the finish. A great match for all manner of tapas and Mediterranean dishes, or just great when sitting on San Martino's patio in Rockwall and stroking Tinto's (the mascot cat) black fur.

​If you are familiar with Parker, Texas, at all, doubtless it's because of Southfork Ranch, home to JR Ewing and his fictional clan from Dallas. But while the symbol for the Ewing empire might be the oil well, the signage for Parker's only winery features the peacock.

You see, when Jay and Carolyn Khatter bought their 2-acre residential property in Parker years ago, wild peacocks were living in the trees. They have since vanished, but their likeness is still featured on bottles of Khatter Vineyards wine. About nine years ago, Jay surprised Carolyn by replacing the family vegetable garden with grapes. Only two varietals are grown in the small vineyard: cabernet sauvignon and ruby cabernet, which is a cross between cabernet and carignan, a little-known blending grape which tolerates the Texas heat.

When you arrive for a tasting at Khatter winery, you may be surprised to see it located adjacent to a private home on a residential cul-de sac. Merely park your vehicle there, then bear left along the stone path where you will see the vineyard, a rustic outdoor patio, and the pre-fab Peacock Tasting Room nestled amongst tall pecan trees.

More >>

​Once the home of bedroom communities and sleepy suburbs, Collin County is finally starting to mature and develop its fine wining and dining scene. Nowhere is this more apparent than the county seat of McKinney, where any bright and cheery weekend has visitors hard pressed to find available parking around the historic courthouse square. Such noted establishments as Ricks Chophouse, Sauce on the Square, Café Malaga and Square Burger are among the restaurants bringing the throngs of people to this reborn burg, many for their first visit.

Tucked away on a quiet side street just off the square, Lone Star Wine Cellars is actually a first-of-its-kind cooperative tasting room established by the owners of two McKinney's wineries, Triple R Ranch and Wales Manor. The latter vineyard is located some five miles from the square, three acres of clay and limestone used exclusively for growing cabernet sauvignon grapes. Owner John Wales established Wales Manor in 1999 and sources grapes from all over Texas to create his (mostly) red line of wines. I attended a tasting at Lone Star and sampled several wines from both wineries.

Fall, of course, is football season, and grills all over the area are fired up each weekend to char steaks, hot dogs and hamburgers. I felt a bottle of Wales Manor Picnic Meritage might be just the ticket to accompany fresh grilled burgers.

In the glass, this blend of cab sauvignon, merlot and petit verdot is ruby with touches of rust. Black cherries and blackberries plus minerals are on the nose. Lots of berries, leather and smoke on the palate, finishing with a trace of bergamot. This tipple paired very nicely with smoky burgers, enhancing their beefy flavor. No need to wait until good spring weather for Wales Manor Picnic Meritage as you can enjoy it during the next Indian summer or even indoors.

Lone Star Wine Cellars
103 E. Virginia St., McKinney
972-547-9463

​When you think of wine-making countries in Europe, most people naturally assume France and Italy have just about cornered the market. Indeed, Italian and French wines are known around the world as standard-bearers of the tipple craft for centuries. However, more and more people are being drawn to the affordable wines of Spain, the soft, supple whites and the rich, robust reds, often sold in America at prices equal to or in many cases far below those of their European counterparts.

San Martino is a village in the Galician region of Spain that was the early home of Emilio Ramos. In 2003, he and his wife Maria created San Martino Winery in the far-flung wilds of greater Rockwall to realize their dreams of making Spanish-style wines for thirsty North Texans. They built one of the most beautiful wineries in all of North Texas, a delightful, mission-style building, complete with modern tasting room and two spacious outdoor patios overlooking a serene wooden lot, an oasis of sanity in the confusion of the city. Their black cat Tinto rules over the entire domain and graciously welcomes visitors.

Tastings are $8 for samplings of five wines, or $12 for tastes from the reserve list, and prices are $8 and $12 respectively if you decide to purchase by-the-glass. I sampled several wines, and can heartily endorse the quality of San Martino's quaff, but only if you are a red-wine drinker.

More >>