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I was in Texas in November for the San Antonio Food & Wine Festival, and while there hopped up to Becker Vineyards in the Texas Hill Country, an hour or so northwest of San Antonio, for a lunch and tasting. Becker Vineyards is probably the best-known winery both within and without Texas. Even if you don't know a lot about Texas wine, you may have heard of Becker. The winery was founded by Dr. Richard and Bunny Becker in 1992, and they've been pioneers in Texas wine ever since, helping pave the way to credibility for Texas wine as a whole.
I only brought back one bottle of Texas wine from my trip: the Becker Vineyards Prairie Rotie, a Rhone-style blend of Carignan, Mourvedre, Syrah, and Grenache. The name "Prairie Rotie" is something of a joke. Cote Rotie, a Syrah made in the northern Rhone in France, translates to "roasted slope," because most of the vineyards are located on sun-drenched hills. So "Prairie Rote" means "roasted prairie," because Becker's vines are on the prairie, not steep, terraced hills.
More "Wine of the Week" after the jump.
The Prairie Rotie definitely has its own personality, a distinctive dark, fruity taste that blends the heat of Texas and its distinctive terroir with the slightly earthy taste of the grapes. Like Texas has for Mexican food, cowboy boots, and barbeque, the state has put its own stamp on classic wine.
We drank the wine with a spicy pork and rice stew, and because the alcohol level is fairly low (13.8 percent) it didn't light our mouths on fire as we washed down the food.
One thing I love about Texas is that the wine industry is run by the Department of Agriculture rather than the scarier liquor licensing board. Those folks get it that grapes and wine are an agricultural product, y'all.
Have you tried any Texas wines? What did you like?
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1-11-2009 @3:13PM Dr. Electro said... I seriously prefer Ste. Genvieve wines from Fort Stockton. The vintners there know how to make a smooth and flavorful wine with just the right nose. Glen Ellen is second on my list of Texas wines. Not as smooth as Ste. Genvieve but a slightly fruitier bouquet.
Becker is best if you prefer a new world version of Rheinwein. It's sweeter and fruitier with a very faint bouquet.
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1-12-2009 @2:01PM Matt R said... I've been to Becker and the other wineries near Fredericksburg, TX a couple of times. Everything I've ever bought from Becker has been great. As well, Grape Creek has some good choices. Becker regularly buys from the Newsom vineyard near Lubbock that has received a lot of praise from the WSJ.
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