It’s October in Texas, which among other things means football, Halloween costumes, and hopefully, cooler weather. October is also Texas Wine Month, where Texans can dedicate a whole month raising a glass to Texas wine.

While you’ll definitely find a whole host of ways to celebrate in the Hill Country, we’ve tried to put together a list of events all over the state. Be sure to take note of special rates wineries may be offering throughout the state. For instance, Duchman Family Winery is offering deep discounts on cases of their 2009 Zinfandel and Orange Muscat. A number of wineries such as Flat Creek Estate are offering special wine dinners as well. And if you can’t make it to one this month, don’t worry—every day’s a good day to toast Texas wine!

Texas Hill Country Wine Trail

A Month of Sundays – This is a special tasting series divided among 17 wineries who will host a very special wine tasting from their barrel rooms and cellars. It’s one thing to taste wine bought from a bottle on the shelves. It’s something completely different when you get to taste it as it’s developing in the barrel. You’ll also get to taste a petite food pairing with the wines while you spend time getting to know winemakers from each winery. Each ticket holder will receive a gift bag from Texas Hill Country Wineries with special gifts and offers from some of our Hill Country partners.  You will designate which winery you choose to pick up your bag at time of purchase.

Space is very limited. Click here for pricing and details.

Here’s a quick run down of the hosting wineries:

October 7 and 21

Becker Vineyards

Bending Branch Winery

Dry Comal Creek Vineyards

Kerrville Hills Winery

Pedernales Cellars

Singing Water Vineyards

William Chris Vineyards

October 14 and 28

Alamosa Cellars

Bell Springs

Driftwood Estate Winery

Fall Creek Vineyards

Flat Creek Estate

Pillar Bluff Vineyards

Solaro Estate Winery

Spicewood Vineyards

Stone House Vineyards

Texas Legato

Texas Wine Month Trail – It’s no secret that you usually have to pay a small fee to try wines in winery tasting rooms. This month you can take advantage of a one-stop pass that allows you up to 3 tastings at each of 32 wineries throughout the Hill Country for only $20 a ticket. That’s a lot of wine to sample. But don’t worry, you have the whole month of October to take advantage of it. So get your pass and get tasting! (Note: The pass also allows you a 15% discount on 3-bottle purchases at each winery.)

Texas Winemaker Vintner Dinner Series – October 18: Join one of the Hill Countries newest additions, 4.0 Cellars as their collaboration of winemakers from McPherson Cellars, Brennan Vineyards and Lost Oak Winery show off a few of their best wines expertly paired with a Texas-style dinner from celebrated Hill Country Chef Ross Burtwell at the Cabernet Grill. You’ll also get a chance to meet Notable Texas Wine expert Dr. Russ Kane whose book The Wineslinger Chronicles was released this year. (Grab a signed copy while your there!) Seating is limited. Get your reservation here.

Fredericksburg Food & Wine Fest – October 27: In its 22nd year, this festive weekend not only celebrates Texas wine, but the rich culture of Hill Country cuisine as well. The Marktplatz of downtown Fredericksburg will be abuzz with food, wine, music, and crafts.

8th Annual Texas Fall Fest – November 16-18: Technically this doesn’t fall within Texas Wine Month, but Fall Fest has always been a strong part of celebrating Texas wine and food. This year, the event will be hosted at the Horseshoe Bay Yacht Club and Resort near Marble Falls and will showcase myriad Texas wines, Central Texas chefs, live music and a few other festive events throughout the three-day festival.

Texas Bluebonnet Wine Trail – Bryan/College Station

Texas Reds Festival – Celebrating its fifth year, Texas Reds is an ode to two things Texans love most: red meat and red wine. Downtown Bryan closes its main streets for a sampling of more than 20 Texas wineries and a full-blown ribeye steak cook-off. Of course, you’ll find a whole lot more at the Texas Reds Festival including a whole host arts, crafts and gift booths and a fantastic line up of live music from The Texas Tornadoes, Johnny Lee and the Urban Cowboys and Roger Creager.

The High Plains – Lubbock

19th Annual Grape Day at Llano Estacado Winery – October 27: A celebration of the year’s harvest, Grape Day is Llano Estacado’s way of showcasing some of the best of what the High Plains of Texas has to offer. Sip special wines while listening to live music, playing with the kids or watching the Texas Tech football game, which will, of course, be broadcast from large television screens. Entry is $5 and includes a complimentary glass of wine—including the wine glass itself as a souvenir.

- Jessica Dupuy

Tagged: A Month of Sundays, Cabernet Grill, Duchman Family Winery, Flat Creek Estate, Jessica Dupuy, Llano Estacado, Texas Hill Country Wine Trail, Texas Wine Month

It’s not every day you get to meet the man who grows the grapes that make up your favorite wine. The very guy who painstakingly plans throughout the year on when to irrigate, when to prune, when to net the vineyards, what to do when there’s a hail, heavy winds, late freezes and scorching heat. (And I’m probably only scratching the surface of what goes into vineyard management, aka grape farming.) So it’s a particularly special treat when one of the most well known grape growers in the state joins you (and a restaurant full of other wine lovers) for a dinner paired with wines made from grapes from his vineyards.

Such was the case Thursday evening when Neal and Janice Newsom of Newsom Vineyards trekked some few hundred miles down from the Lubbock area to Fredericksburg for a special dinner in their honor at the Cabernet Grill; a restaurant known not only for its great Texas fare, but for its Texas-only wine menu.

Newsom comes from a cotton family with dating back for more than 100 years in either growing the ubiquitous row crop or managing the cotton gins that helped produce the commodity. It was a path he originally began to take in his younger career helping his father manage a West Texas cotton gin and small cotton farm before following a bit of inspiration he received in college from Texas Tech professor and Texas Wine pioneer Dr.Roy Mitchell and planting his first acreage of grape in 1986; a vineyard of Cabernet Sauvignon.

At the celebratory vintner’s dinner at Cabernet Grill, winemakers from across the state gathered with a dining room full of more than 70 guests to applaud Newsom for his Texas-sized leap of faith almost 30 years ago. In attendance was Gary Gilstrap of Texas Hills Vineyard who presented a beautiful Pinot Grigio and Sangiovese from Newsom’s stock as well as Cord Switzer of Fredericksburg Winery who was one of Newsom’s first buyers. (And one of the first to gain Texas wine recognition with a silver medal from the Chicago International Wine competition with a dessert Orange Muscat wine from Newsom Vineyards.) Dan Gatlin of Inwood Estate Vineyards spoke briefly on Newsom’s contribution to Texas wine industry saying “I’ve done a lot of research across North America and I can promise that there are no better grapes than from Newsom Vineyards–hands down.” (more…)

Tagged: Bar Z, Cabernet Grill, Fredericksburg Winery, Inwood Estates Vineyards, Jessica Dupuy, Neal Newsom, Newsom Vineyards, Texas Hills Vineyards, texas wine

The big buzzword in Texas grapes is “Tempranillo.” Just ask any major winemaker in the state from Ed Auler of Fall Creek Vineyards to Gary Gilstrap of Texas Hills Vineyards and you’ll hear the same thing: Tempranillo is the signature grape for Texas.

This month’s Wine of the Month is Inwood Estates “Cornelious” Tempranillo, 2007, a perfect specimen of a Texas Tempranillo. This wine comes highly recommended by Ross Burtwell, chef/owner of the Cabernet Grill in Fredericksburg. “In my opinion, this is one of the most outstanding red wines being produced in Texas,” says Burtwell. “This could be considered ‘the quintessential’ Texas red.”

Burtwell has made a name for himself by serving big, Texas-style dishes at his rustic-American restaurant. He’s a true believer in using the best of what local farmers and purveyors can provide. But where many restaurants claim to be committed to a sustainable menu, they usually stop short with their wine list. Not Burtwell. In addition to locally sourcing his food menu, he remains 100% committed to serving only Texas wines.

Pronounced ‘tem-pruh-NEEyo,’ this full-bodied black grape is a native of Spain and is typically the main grape used in Spanish Rioja wines. As savvy grape growers and winemakers have noticed the similarities in Texas High Plains and Hill Country soils to that of Northern Spain, they have planted more and more of this hearty varietal across the state.

“This is one of those wines we pour for people that say that Texas wines don’t measure up to California or old world wines,” says Burtwell. “I love the look on their faces when they taste this Tempranillo. They soon realize that Texas has certainly come a long way in winemaking.”

Inwood Estates Winemaker Dan Gatlin quickly caught on to the strength of Tempranillo in Texas. Though the winery is based in Dallas, Gatlin grows his grapes in the High Plains with the help of Neil Newsome, one of the state’s largest growers for a number of different Texas wineries.

“I find the nose on this wine is full of red fruit aromas with black cherry and a touch of anise,” says Burtwell. “It has good tannins without overdoing it making this wine perfect for a big plate of red meat, which is the way we like to serve it at the restaurant. A perfect combination would be to pair this wine with our Certified Angus Beef Ribeye Steak topped with some of our roasted garlic-serrano béarnaise.”

At around $40, this wine is no cheap, last-minute grab off the grocery store shelf. But once you’ve tried it, particularly with food, you’ll understand there is indeed something special about this Texas Tempranillo.

Winery: Inwood Estates Vineyards

Retail Price:  ~$40

Availability: Central Market as well as select wine across the state.

Tagged: Cabernet Grill, Dan Gatlin, Inwood Estates "Cornelious" Tempranillo 2007, Ross Burtwell, Texas Tempranillo