On the recommendation of one of our sons, my wife and I drove deep into the Texas Hill Country and visited the Wedding Oak Winery in picturesque San Saba, about an hour drive northwest of Austin. Wedding Oak is well worth a visit.
At the winery, we met Ms Nikki Darnold who provided us with a brief tour of the winery and a subsequent tasting of some of their wines, those featuring Texas grown grapes.
In the well appointed Tasting Room, we began the white wines with the 2015 Tre Vi, a 13.5% alcohol blend of 20% Viognier, 61% Verdelho and 19% Vermentino. The grapes were hand picked and after pressing fermented at cold temperature in Stainless Steel. This wine had a short finish and I rated it an 87.
Our second white was a 2016 Viognier, another 13.5% alcohol wine made from 100% Viognier grapes. Hand picked in the early morning these grapes are cold fermented and aged in stainless steel. The Viognier had a crisp, fruity nose and finished medium smooth. I rated this wine an 88.
The third wine was a 2015 Rosè de Dolcetto, a 12.9% alcohol dry rosè made from 100% Dolcetto grapes hand picked. After 24 hour of cold skin contact, the juice was extracted and fermented for 4 weeks at cold temperatures. Following this, the wine was finished and aged in stainless steel tanks. This wine finished medium smooth and very elegant. I rated it a 90.
Next we tried a 2015 Sangiovese, a 13.6% alcohol blend of 86% Sangiovese and 14% Tannat. Primary fermentation was in stainless steel tanks and secondary in neutral French oak barrels. Aging continued in French oak for 14 months. This wine finished medium light and fruity. I rated it an 87.
A 2015 Tioja, a 13.6% alcohol blend of 71% Tempranillo, 17% Grenache, 11% Graciano and 1% Tannat was next. Primary fermentation was in stainless steel tanks. Secondary fermentation and aging was in French oak barrels. The Tioja had a slight fruit nose and finished medium smooth. I rated this wine an 88.
Our last wine was a 2014 Terre Rouge, a 13.3% alcohol blend of 22% Grenache, 47% Syrah, 18% Mouvedre and 12% Cinault. Primary fermentation was in stainless steel tanks and secondary fermentation in neutral French oak barrels. Aging for 16 months followed. The result was a wine with a slight leather nose and a pleasant medium smooth finish. I rated this wine a 90.
Wedding Oak Winery offers a number of other wines, but I tasted only the Texas grape products. The winery has two tasting rooms, one in San Saba and the other in Fredericksburg, TX. If you are ever in the area, I suggest a visit.
