The Judgment of Houston – 3
In early May, a post competition taste-off of the top ten scoring Texas wines was held at the Grand Wine & Food Affair in Fort Bend County Texas. This was a winner-take-all public event where the attendees tasted and voted for their single favorite wine out of the top ten scoring wines competition. The winner was Becker Claret, Le Trios Dames. This was the same wine that tied in the scoring with Chateau Gruaud Larose, one of the top selling restaurant red Bordeaux wines.
There were also many other interesting insights into the state of Texas wines that where highlighted by this competition friendly yet competitive event.
One aspect that is particularly exciting was the high scores for many new Texas wineries. This included the 11th ranked Zin Valley Vineyards near El Paso for their Rising Star Zinfandel.
Driftwood Vineyards also placed well with their Longhorn Red, a blend of Sangiovese and Cabernet, and a floral, semi-sweet estate produced Muscat Canelli.
San Martino Winery received two silver medals for collaborations with Newsom Vineyard for their single vineyard designated Cabernet and Reserve Cabernet.
Furthermore, brand new wineries like Circle S Vineyards and Wichita Falls Vineyards both earned silver medals for their respective Sangioveses.
Other notables were Pleasant Hill Winery with their Tawny Rosso Forte and Bruno & George Wines for their Candlelight Strawberry fruit wine.
By far, the most interesting and news worthy aspect of the abovementioned medal awards and rankings by Texas wines is that they scored comparably with well known quality wines from powerhouse wineries like Kim Crawford, Chateau Gruaud Larose, Chalone, and Kenwood, and value wine giants like Columbia Crest and Yellow Tail.
Texans can rest assured that the Great Texas Conundrum was solved by the “Judgement of Houston”. They can also be proud of their Texas wines that are both pleasing and competitive in the global marketplace, and are worthy to be served on your table.
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For more information on Texas wines and winery, go to:
http://www.gotexanwine.org/findwinesandwineries
The rank order of the top twenty wines from the competition – including the non-Texas “ringers” are given below. A good showing for Texas wines…they are in respectable company:
1 Kim Crawford, Sauvignon Blanc, Marlborough – Gold
2 Texas Hills Vineyard Orange Moscato, Newsom Vineyard – Gold
3 Fall Creek Vineyards, Granite Reserve – Gold
4 Llano Estacado, Chenin Blanc – Gold
5 Delaney Vineyards, Sauvignon Blanc, Lamesa Estate Vineyard – Gold
6 La Bodega Winery, Private Reserve Merlot – Gold
7 Llano Estacado, Cabernet Sauvignon Cellar Reserve, Newsom Vineyard – Gold
8 Spicewood Vineyards, Rose of Merlot, Texas Hill Country Estate – Gold
9 Flat Creek Estate, Travis Peak Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon – Gold
10 Chateau Gruaud Larose, Bordeaux (Ste. Julien) – Gold
11 Becker Vineyards, Claret, Le Trios Dames – Gold
12 Flat Creek Estate, Muscato Blanco – Gold
13 Zin Valle Vineyards, Rising Star Zinfandel – Silver
14 Driftwood Vineyards, Longhorn Red – Silver
15 Grape Creek Vineyard, Cuvee Blanc – Silver
16 Spicewood Vineyards, Sauvignon Blanc, Texas Hill Country, Estate – Silver
17 Kenwood, Chardonnay Russian River Valley Reserve – Silver
18 Flat Creek Estate, Pinot Grigio, Estate – Silver
19 San Martino Winery, Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve, Newsom Vineyard – Silver
20 Columbia Crest, Grand Estates Columbia Valley Merlot – Silver