Wine Life - Houston

Texas celebrates Texas Wine Month every year in October. After tasting more than forty of the state's vinous offerings,  here is my list of top picks that are currently available on each individual winery's website. These are not just for October drinking, most of these wines are Thanksgiving friendly and would make great gifts for wine lovers for Christmas and beyond. The Whites: Four different single varietal white wines that are not only food friendly offering a range of pairing compatibility but that are also delicious for anytime sipping. Duchman Family Winery Trebbiano 2016 - Tropically refreshing with mouthwatering acidity, SRP $16. Spicewood Vineyards  Hill Country Estate Sauvignon Blanc 2016 - Grapefruit and lime linger through the crisp, mineral-laced finish. SRP $19.99 Brennan Vineyards Reserve Viognier 2015 - Fragrant with honeysuckle and pineapple aromas, pleasantly textured with tropical flavors and a fresh citrus finish. SRP $25 Fall Creek Vineya...

After a tour and tasting at Planet Bordeaux , the headquarters of the Bordeaux and Bordeaux Supérieur AOC Winemaker's Association, our group headed to Saint-Loubès to learn more about  Château de Reignac . We were greeted by export manager, Marion Bechu, who along with the vineyard manager, Benjamin Fruquiere, toured us around the estate. Like so much of Bordeaux, Château Reignac was significantly affected by the two heavy frosts in late April causing them to lose between 70-80% of the 2017 vintage while also pushing their harvest date back, the grapes were still hanging during our visit. The estate is located where the Dordogne and Garonne meet so the property has both the gravelly soils of the left bank which are ideal for Cabernet Sauvignon and the chalky clay soils of the right bank which are ideal for Merlot. The château was built in 17th century. It got a nice upgrade two hundred years later when a greenhouse created by Gustave Eiffel was added to the property. Yves...

After a very full day, we arrived a bit late to our scheduled dinner visit at Château Freyneau with owners Eric and Valérie Maulin. My jet lag starts to make its presence known here, I somehow did not take photos of Eric cooking our beef course over vines or the dish prepared on the plate. I just ate it, it was delicious as was everything that they served us that evening. Third generation winemaker, Eric Maulin toured us through the winery while sharing tastes and stories along the way. They make about 200,000 bottles annually, most of which being red wine. The 45 hectare family estate has been sustainably grown since 1992. The soils are a mix of clay and limestone where he primarily grows Merlot but also has Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Malbec. He only has 4 hectares of white grapes, most of which is Sauvignon Blanc. He also talked about how the landscape of his part of Bordeaux has been changing in recent years due to urban sprawl. The number of producers has significa...

It was not the most beautiful day in Bordeaux as we headed out into the vineyard with Vincent Gauthier at  Château Pertignas . Unlike our visit the previous day where the vines were still loaded with Merlot grapes, here we were viewing a just picked vineyard following the harvest. As we walked through the vineyard Gauthier discussed the difficulty he had with the 2017 vintage which was caused primarily by the heavy frost at the end of April. This weather hazard had significantly reduced his yields. After the high quality and high quantity 2016 vintage, he is estimating that his production for 2017 will be about one-fifth of the previous year. He said he believes the quality of the surviving fruit to be quite good and ushered us to an outside tank for a taste of freshly fermenting Sauvignon Blanc which tasted of sweet citrus. We then headed inside for a tasting of the current releases. The tasting: Pertignas en Blanc Priolet Bordeaux Blanc 2016 - This drink-now white wine is...

During a recent media tour set up by Planet Bordeaux, our group headed to  Château Pabus  in Sadirac for our first on-site tasting of the trip. The 19th century chateau and vineyard were purchased by New York financier Robert S. Dow at the suggestion of his daughter due to his love of Bordeaux wines. After extensive searching throughout the region, the property was chosen for both its history and its future potential. In 2012, Dow asked Belgian winemaker Kris Couvent who was the property's former owner to help manage the estate with the help of wine consultants Michel Rolland and Bruno Lacoste. The goal was to bring the 6.47 hectare or sixteen acre vineyard area to peak health using no herbicides while using what they call rational cultivation techniques like encouraging natural grass cover crops. The vineyard soils are a mix of silt, sand and clay and are planted with 85% Merlot some of which is pictured on the right and 15% Malbec. They are planted at a density of 5,500 vi...

As Originally Seen in the October issue of  Galveston Monthly magazine