Need Some Muscrat Love? It’s at Kerrville Hills Winery

Need Some Muscrat Love?  It’s at Kerrville Hills Winery

I like this Kerrville Hills Muscrat Love wine for several reasons. The first reason is because at the first public wine tasting that I think that ever did (in Old Town Spring, TX, in the mid-to-late 1990s) I included a sweet and slightly sparkling Muscat Canelli wine from Sister Creek Vineyards in my presentation. When I got to that wine, I dutifully announced the name of the wine as “Muscat Canelli”. Nearly immediately, a loud  voice with a down home Texas twang came from the back of the room. He boomed, “Did y’all say ‘Muscrat’ Canelli? What kind of grape is that?” Now, I can actually say, “yes, this is Muscrat wine”…. almost.

The second reason I like this wine is because it is made well and made with Orange Muscat from the Texas High Plains. The grapes came from Jet and Gay Lynn Wilmeth’s Diamante Doble Vineyards near Tokio, TX (click here). The wine is luscious and delightfully playful with citrus and stone fruit notes and slightly sweet on the palate. It finishes light and crisp leaving thoughts in my mind of a breezy night on a tropical island. It will go wonderfully with spicy Mexican or Pan Asian cuisine.

Thirdly, the label art is deliciously playful, too. It is almost real enough to touch. The original floral was created by Doreen Shann in Hunt, TX.

Still another reason I like this wine, it has only 10.9% alcohol and it fulfills my quest for wines with low alcohol. The world has enough 15% alcohol Pinot Noir and dessert wines with up to 20% alcohol, or more.

The last but not least reason that I like this wine is that Wayne Milberger owner and winemaker at Kerrville Hills Winery and his wife Carol are good people. When my photographer and I stopped by early on a Sunday morning to take photos for my new book on the Texas Hill Country Wineries, Wayne and Carol were friendly and gracious hosts and generous with their time.

Wayne is a bit of a handy man/engineer who tries to re-purpose just about everything he comes in contact with. That is how he got his winery’s refrigeration system and, in fact, that is how the whole winery building came about with a chimney right in the middle of the tasting room, as well. Ask Wayne how that happened.

Stop by and experience Wayne’s handy work both in the winery and in his wines. His winery is not on the main hill country drag of Route 290, but it’s well worth a little extra time getting there:

Hours: Thurs – Monday 11:00 am to 6:00 pm; 3600 Fredericksburg Road (Route 16), Kerrville, TX 78028; 830-895-4233; www.kerrvillehillswinery.com

P.S. If you are coming down Route 16 from Fredericksburg to Kerrville, take a look for a bit of Texas wine history. As you approach the “hairpin” in the road (obvious on a map or on your GPS) that the locals call “Deadman’s Curve”, the white wooden building (now being re-purposed as a church school) on the right side of the road is the last vestige of the old Pedernales Vineyards that met an untimely demise and a mystery. Pedernales Vineyard should not to be confused with Pedernales Cellars on modern day fame. Click here to learn more about the mystery of Pedernales Vineyards. It will be worth it.