Good Morning!

This weekend I went to Fredericksburg, TX and hit up as many wineries are possible. The first winery we stopped at was called Fredericksburg Winery and their tasting room is located on Main street and the town is adorable. I am originally from Indiana and if you know much about the midwest, it s very similar to Brown County, IN in the fall….except it is hotter than hell and the leaves are not beautiful fall colors. But the vibe is really laid back and the stores that line the street are filled with antiques, high end cowboy designs and down home foods served everywhere.

I have been to Fredericksburg several times and each time I see the town and the folks roaming the streets it makes me smile. The shops are filled with people and since it was over 95 degrees we ducked into every single store to avoid the heat. Folks are eating ice cream and I could smell the sweet sugary candy stores about every block, they would be making fudge and really rich chocolates. They also have all these shops with Christmas decorations, Texas memorabilia and crazy t-shirts. It is a lovely little town build around the wineries in Texas Hill Country.

Texas wines are just like Texas, original and proud. I have grown to love Texas and I spend six months a year in San Antonio, TX each year. Never have I experienced a state that is as proud as Texas. The Texas flag flys everywhere….on highway overpasses, on cars/trucks and everywhere you look around the longhorn state, lets you know where you are and the sense of connection between Texans, well it is crazy.

The Texas wines are the same, big, bold and proud. Texas winemakers have the idea it’s us vs. them. Anyone who makes wine outside of Texas or wines made from grapes not from Texas are the same as imported wines. Seriously, if you are making wine in Texas and you use grapes from outside of the state, you might be called a traitor. Their are over 200 wineries in the state and many of the wines are AWESOME.

When I walked into the tasting room, and winery of Fredericksburg Winery, I was greeted by Bert Switzer, he is one of the owners and the Vineyard Director and along with his entire family they have ran this winery for years. Even his 90 year old mother used to hand label each bottle of wine and she could do up to 50 cases a day (She said it kept her hands from getting stiff). They opened in 1978 and have a winery in town and the vineyard is out a few miles in the Hill Country.

When I taste Texas wines, I can not compare them to any other wines I have ever tasted. It would be like comparing a friends cooking to your mama’s cooking. It is like comparing Pizza Hut pizza to my hometown favorite pizza, Pizza King. No comparison….I was raised on wines from Northern CA and my palate seems to always love those. But when I taste wines I have to let everything go and just taste for the pure tasting of the grapes. The grapes grown in California can not take the climate of Texas, so you get very different flavors and blends. Some wineries do grow the same grape varietals but they do not taste at all the same.

Rarely in California when hitting up a tasting room, do you find “sweet” wines (high residual sugars), in Texas they do make great dry wines and they are good but the “sweeter” wines sell like crazy and since much of the food down here is spicy the pairings are awesome. I like many of the blushes with ribs, chili and even Thai food. Fredericksburg Winery makes 5 totally dry wines and another 15 wines with some level of residual sugar. I was surprised but I bought 2 bottles of Enchanted Rock Red, a semi sweet red. They had dozens of spicy dips to sample and the salsa was a great pairing so I loaded up on both. It is getting hotter and hotter here and I need my pool snacks, I can not wait to share my new wine finds with my pals.

The experience I had listening to Bert and his family, was like being with my neighbors, friends and family. They did a great job of welcoming every single person into the tasting area, explaining there wines and the process of how they like to share their wines with the guests. It was friendly, helpful, fun and it was so special. Make a point to stop in if you are in the area. You can get all geeky and ask tons of questions about the winemaking processes, the vineyard and their family, they are deeply connected with their business and wines and you will have a great time.

We went to 7 wineries and I will discuss each of them in the next few days….But Fredericksburg Winery was fun and I wanted to share the experience with you!

Much LOVE and wine,

Tammi