FOOD & LIFE

Varietals are the spice of Texas winemaking

In science and spirit, the state's vineyards embrace grapes beyond the California canon

By Mike Sutter
AMERICAN-STATESMAN RESTAURANT CRITIC
Wednesday, April 15, 2009

When Twin Liquors wine specialist Ross Outon began his career in wine 13 years ago, it seemed to him that Texas wineries were determined to compete against California with what he calls "the fighting varietals": cabernet sauvignon, chardonnay, merlot and sauvignon blanc.

Regardless of whether the broad spectrum of Texas microclimates was ideally suited to those grapes, winemakers understood the market realities behind their choices. "Fifteen years ago, you couldn't sell a malbec and expect anybody to know what you were talking about," Outon said.

"On the one hand, if Texas wanted to sell wine at all, they had to make wine people had heard of, like chardonnay or cabernet. On the other hand, Texas is suited to different grapes than the classic French regions like Bordeaux or Burgundy (where the big-name varietals thrive)," Outon said. "Texas is more suited to the grapes that grow in southern France and the Mediterranean, Spain, Portugal, those areas that have warmer air, drier air."

And some Texas winemakers have begun to find traction with grapes matched to the climates of their vineyards: syrah, malbec, sangiovese, viognier and beyond.

On the eve of the 24th Texas Hill Country Wine & Food Festival, a four-day celebration of chefs and winemakers that begins Thursday, we asked Outon to choose a few Texas wine varietals and their global cousins to illustrate the state's progress with wines just off the well-worn California path. Outon, who competed as one of 12 contestants in the PBS reality series "The Winemakers" set to air in May, will moderate a festival session Saturday called "Que Paso?" on the renegade wines of California's Paso Robles region.

From the 15 or so Texas wineries participating in the festival — including familiar names such as Becker, Fall Creek, Messina Hof and Llano Estacado and the less familiar but well-regarded McPherson, Stone House and Flat Creek — Outon picked viognier, sangiovese, shiraz, riesling, red Italian blends and malbec from five of those wineries. And though some of the grapes have thrived because of climate compatibilities, Outon sees an even deeper Texas connection: "The great thing about syrah is that it's quite popular in Australia and Southern France, two places that love grilled meats, and we love our grilled meats. Shiraz works really well with Texas cuisine, barbecue and anything off the grill." Same with malbec and Argentina.

Also exploring the state's affinity for off-Broadway varietals, the Texas Department of Agriculture's "Go Texan" program earlier this month held an unconventional "tele-tasting" of Texas wines pitted against their wide-world counterparts in a blind comparison conducted by Whole Foods Market wine buyer and sommelier Devon Broglie and sommelier Craig Collins of Prestige Cellars. In a brisk 50-minute webcast, Broglie and Collins poured and compared white wines made from viognier and orange muscat grapes and red wines made from red Rhone blends, sangiovese and tempranillo.

The enthusiastic reception from a pair of trained wine analysts had to be a boost for perennially underestimated Texas winemakers. Even at the Spec's liquor store in the Shops at Arbor Walk shopping center, where Texas wines get some respectable shelf space, they still share the same aisle as the cheap jug wine, a transition somehow made poignant by the Texas-size bottles of low-cost Ste. Genevieve wines — "bottled and cellared in Fort Stockton."

Describing in the webcast what would turn out to be the sweet white Texas Hills Orange Moscato as it competed against a well-respected Quady Electra Orange Muscat from California, Broglie MMM-ed his way through a few sips, saying, "It's like that scene from 'What About Bob?' when (Bill Murray's) eating that corn. Just a delicious, delicious wine." The Llano Estacado red evoked Jolly Rancher cherry, orange-blossom and cranberry notes with Collins, who preferred the Lubbock winery's Signature Melange over the La Vielle Ferme Rouge from France. To see the full-length webcast, link to www.vimeo.com/3992573.

Like the tele-tasting sommeliers, Outon found some reasons to celebrate the underdog varietals from Texas, reminders of a conference 10 years ago, when he says he first saw the light — through a glass of Becker Vineyards viognier. "I remember it stopped me in my tracks, and I thought, 'This really tastes French to me.' Not just, 'Oh, this is a nice attempt from Texas.' "

msutter@statesman.com; 912-5902

Texas wineries at the festival

Becker Vineyards, Brennan Vineyards, Driftwood Vineyards, Fall Creek Vineyards, Flat Creek Estate, Grape Creek Vineyards, Llano Estacado, Lost Creek Vineyards, Mandola Estate Winery, McPherson Cellars, Messina Hof Winery, Peregrine Hill Vineyards, Pheasant Ridge Winery, Sandstone Cellars, Spicewood Vineyards, Stone House Vineyard

'Sunday Fair' at the Texas Hill Country Wine & Food Festival

The most inclusive of the festival's four days of events. For tickets and details, see www.texaswineandfood.org.

• From noon to 5 p.m. Sunday at the Vineyards at the Salt Lick, 18500 RM 1826 in Driftwood, about 25 miles southwest of Austin.

• Free parking on-site.

• Tickets are $45; $30 for designated drivers and attendees 10 to 20 years old (no alcohol will be served to festival-goers wearing this wristband); free for children younger than 10. Tickets will be available at the gate. Credit cards accepted.

• Food and wine tastings from more than 50 wineries and dozens of specialty food vendors and restaurants.

• Cooking demonstrations by chefs Paul Petersen, Efisio Farris, Damian Mandola and more.

• Live music from Patrice Pike, Dan Dyer, Drew Smith and Adam Ahrens.

• Picnic tables and stroller parking area. Strollers will not be allowed in vendor tents.

• The Old Settler's Music Festival: This three-day event taking place just down the road winds down at Camp Ben McCullough on RM 1826 on Sunday, with music from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Be aware that travelers to and from Austin for both festivals primarily will be using RM 1826.

• More festival events, back page

The Texas Hill Country Wine & Food Festival begins Thursday For tickets and details, see www.texaswineandfood.org.

Thursday

• Texas Culinary Masters Dinner (6:30 to 9:30 p.m., Four Seasons hotel. $150) features chefs Elmar Prambs, Tyson Cole, Paul Petersen, Monica Pope and Naomi Gallego preparing a multicourse dinner paired with wines.

• 'Savor the Hill Country' luncheons: From noon to 2 p.m., seats are available for the lunch at Fall Creek Vineyards ($65). The Becker Vineyards and Stone House winery lunches are sold out.

Friday

• 'Where Terroir Meets Tradition' (noon to 1:30 p.m., AT&T Executive Education and Conference Center, University of Texas campus. $50) spotlights Texas cuisine and wineries.

• 'Reserve Tasting' (1 to 2 p.m., Sullivan's Steakhouse. $75) features wines from Beaulieu, Provenance and Sterling vineyards.

• 'Red, White and New' (3:30 to 5 p.m., Driskill Hotel. $65) stars chef Jonathan Gelman and a host of winemakers for an 'anything but cabernet' tasting.

• 'Stars Across Texas' (7 to 10 p.m., Long Center for the Performing Arts. $100, an additional $40 for VIP lounge access) is an all-star meet-and-eat featuring dozens of chefs, restaurants and winemakers.

Saturday

• 'Que Paso?' (11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., Perry's Steakhouse. $50) finds Austin wine expert Ross Outon moderating a seated tasting and panel discussion of Paso Robles wines.

• 'Mini Swirlwind' (3 to 4:30 p.m., Málaga. $65) features tapas and about a dozen California wineries.

• The 'Big Dog Reds' tasting at III Forks Steakhouse is sold out.

• The day is capped by a charity wine auction at the Four Seasons hotel from 6 to 9 p.m.

Sunday

• 'Sunday Fair' (noon to 5 p.m., the Vineyards at the Salt Lick, Driftwood. $45, $30 for designated drivers) is the most egalitarian of the festival's events, with food booths, cooking demonstrations, wine tastings and live music.

Texas wineries

at the festival

Becker Vineyards

Brennan Vineyards

Driftwood Vineyards

Fall Creek Vineyards

Flat Creek Estate

Grape Creek Vineyards

Llano Estacado

Lost Creek Vineyards

Mandola Estate Winery

McPherson Cellars

Messina Hof Winery

Peregrine Hill Vineyards

Pheasant Ridge Winery

Sandstone Cellars

Spicewood Vineyards

Stone House Vineyard

Texas Hill Country Wine & Food Festival events