Toast the Holidays with a Texas Two-Sip Celebration

Toast the Holidays with a Texas Two-Sip  Celebration

Taste and compare the quality and character of Texas wines versus well known wines from around the world – You’ll be very pleasantly surprised!

With the holiday season fast approaching, Texans are invited to kick off the festivities by hosting a Texas Two-Sip tasting. The Texas Two-Sip is a novel way to introduce holiday guests to Texas wines and support the growing “locapour” [Pour Local Wine] movement.

“Texas wines are a lot like Texans themselves – diverse from region to region and full of character,” Agriculture Commissioner Todd Staples said. “A Texas Two-Sip tasting is the perfect opportunity to show off Texas wine and support the Texas wine industry.”

A Texas Two-Sip tasting is a blind tasting of Texas wines alongside comparable non-Texas wines from the United States or other wine regions around the world. Selected by sommeliers, the pairings compare a variety of wines. For example:

• Brennan Vineyards or Becker Vineyards Viognier compared to Yalumba Eden Valley Viognier from Australia
• Haak Winery Blanc du Bois (Dry – Green Lable) to a Woodbridge Sauvignon Blanc from California
• Becker Vineyards Syrah to Razor’s Edge Shiraz from South Australia
• Llano Estacado Signature Melange to La Vieille Ferme Rouge from France
• McPherson Cellars Sangiovese to Badia Coltibuono Chianti from Italy
• Inwood Estates Cornelious Tempranillo to Muga Reserva Rioja from Spain

Native Texas grapes that make up Dry Comal Creek Vineyard’s Black Spanish wine stand up well to the grapes found in Southern Right’s Pinotage from South Africa; and when it comes to dessert wines, Texas’ Orange Moscato wines, such as those from Texas Hills Vineyard or Flat Creek Estate, compare nicely to Quady’s Electra from California.

“These Texas Two-Sip blind tasting comparisons demonstrate how well Texas wines show against other highly respected wines,” said Bobby Champion Jr., state marketing coordinator for wine at the Texas Department of Agriculture.

Two-Sip tasting participants can visit www.gotexanwine.org/findwinesandwineries/winebasics.html#twosip to find instructions on how to host a Texas Two-Sip, as well as sample wine pairings, tasting sheets and other materials. The instructions are simple – hosts simply need to print materials from the website, purchase the selected wines, prepare them and enjoy the tasting with guests.

TDA’s award-winning GO TEXAN marketing program promotes the products, culture and communities that call Texas home. GO TEXAN also offers a list of specialty foods that pair well with Texas Two-Sip wines, including artisan cheeses, gourmet jellies and specialty chocolates.  More information is available at: www.gotexan.org.

Texas is the fifth largest wine-producing state in the United States. The Texas wine industry contributes nearly $1.35 billion annually to the Texas economy.