I frequent Fredericksburg often enough that friends consider
me an unofficial local and reliable tour guide. Although my must do list is
ever changing and always evolving, William Chris Vineyards has remained a
constant over the years. I first stumbled upon WCV with the predominant
objective of supporting fellow Aggie alumni. Gig ‘Em. What I didn’t realize
originally was that I’d venture back repeatedly to taste amazing wine and soak
up the dreamy atmosphere.
WCV has grown significantly over the years, and the vibe in
Hye is simultaneously kid friendly and romantic-day-date worthy. One of the
most respectable and intriguing characteristics of William Chris Vineyards is
that all their wines are 100% Texas-grown grapes. Under federal law, a wine can
only be labeled with a state appellation of origin so long as 1) 75% of the
grapes used to make the wine came from that state and 2) the wine was fully
finished in the state of Texas. According to the WCV team, we should push for a
stricter policy when claiming something to be truly Texan. You will notice all
their labels display their personal war hymn: Real. Texas. Wine. Moreover, for many proud Texans, I believe that
authenticity is an important characteristic for deeply passionate Texas Wine
Lovers.
Along with many others, the Texas wine industry was impacted
heavily by the government-mandated shut downs across the state due to COVID-19.
Without the option to welcome guests in person to experience the tasting room
atmosphere or buy wine directly, it made business difficult to say the least.
This forced many businesses, especially in the food and beverage industry, to get
creative.
Although virtual happy hours, wine tastings and Zoom events
seem so common now, William Chris Vineyards was one of the first in the market
to begin and build this concept throughout the pandemic. The tasting room is
slowly opening back up – and visitors have options to once again spend time at
the property -- but if you’ve got a good thing going why fix something that
isn’t broken?
Our virtual experience was confirmation that they certainly
have a good thing going. My fiancé and I have been tooting the Tannat horn for
a while now, so when we saw that WCV October virtual tasting highlighted their
best Tannats, we didn’t hesitate to sign up. The process is simple. You sign up
and pay online, the wine ships directly to your house, and the link for the
live tasting shows up in your inbox.
The virtual tasting approach allows a unique opportunity to
spend your afternoon with the owners and get a small look into their family, personalities,
and philosophy about wine. As everyone settled in, the live Facebook hang out
began with Chris and Katharine’s two young daughters decked out in their Aggie
gear serenading the crowd while dancing proudly with a large Texas flag. We
continued the entire tasting with an environment that presented itself as a
genuine opportunity to spend time with Chris and Katharine.
They focused less on the educational aspect of the wine and
treated the experience as friends hanging out and sharing their love of wine
together. The couple often engaged the audience by answering questions,
presenting give-aways and sharing personal stories. Chris joked about his
continuously greying-but-still-thankfully-there hair. Katharine, with her
bright smile, discussed the excitement of being a soccer mom again after so many
months of no sports. During these engagements, it became clear that the William
Chris families have an abundance of meaningful relationships with many of the
participants. We felt like a part of the tribe.
So, why Tannat? Despite Katharine’s playful disapproval,
Chris refers to the Tannat grape as the bastard grape of Bordeaux. This was one of many instances were Chris and
Katharine’s flirtatious relationship was highlighted. Tannat was historically
grown in South West France, but its more recent popularity emerged out of South
America in Uruguay and is now considered the national grape.
I discovered this grape during a work trip to the capital of
Uruguay, Montevideo, back in the summer of 2018. Upon my return to the states,
I was delighted to find that Tannat was not only thriving in Texas, but that
many Texas wineries were increasing their production of both Tannat and Tannat
blends. Chris took some time during the beginning of the tasting to explain the
extremely tannic characteristics of Tannat, which is almost implied by its
name.
Here’s a breakdown of the wines in the order that Chris and
Katharine presented them:
2019 Roussanne, La
Pradera Vineyards. A popular white Texas grape, 90% Roussanne leads with
strong tropical nodes. The couple encouraged us to let the wine “warm up” by
taking the bottle out of the fridge (or off ice) and allowing it to sit for
20-30 minutes. I was skeptical of letting white wine go lukewarm, but sure
enough, it opened up and intensified the aromatics and mouth feel of the wine.
2015 Tannat, Lahey
Vineyards. The first of our Tannat experience, the Lahey brought softer
tannins, described as “big but not harsh.” Chris suggests it would pair well
with fatty meats to help cut the tannins. He mentions, “We were extremely lucky
to get these grapes as this is a killer vintage.” A fellow taster mentions a
boysenberry syrup although the wine is not at all sweet. Others mentioned
getting licorice nodes.
2017 Tannat, Timmons
Estate Vineyard. Surprisingly for something so tannic, this wine leads with
“blue fruits.” Katharine mentioned violets, as well as blueberry and described
it as elegant. Chris mentions that two years ago you could not even drink it
because it was so tannic, but now it’s more smooth and soft. As are most good
things in life, it was certainly worth the wait.
AND THE WINNER IS:
2017 Tannat, Hye Estate Vineyard
The Hye Estate was not only the WCV favorite, but many of
the audience as well. This was not surprising to me as last time we visited we
purposefully ordered the “local” Tannat. They are growing two blocks of Tannat
vines right outside the tasting room, and this intrigued me because I had
really only seen this grape grown in the Texas High Plains. While there, we
enjoyed the 2013 Tannat, Hye Estate. This wine was described as having “edgier
tannins” with tastes of brown sugar and molasses. A velvety approach to tannins with insane
depth, Chris crowned this “the bell of the ball.” This was by far our household
favorite, and one of the better Tannats we’ve had from Texas.
Final thoughts:
Tannat is a great “bang
for your buck” wine. You will get a fruit forward wine with edginess that
makes your typical cabernet seem boring. Additionally, according to Chris, the
life and texture of the Tannat will age gracefully over a period of the next 10
years.
Temperature does
matter! The couple strongly suggests that you are storing these wines under
70 degrees. All WC wine is stored at 58 degrees and served chilled. Don’t
forget to let that Roussanne warm up a bit to enjoy it at its finest.
The virtual tasting
is a unique experience, even post COVID life. It seems we got a
total steal of a deal with the combination of the virtual experience and the
price for the 4 bottles of wine. Additionally, they always provide a $20
discount for signing up early! A huge thank you to the William Chris Vineyards
team, especially Chris and Katharine for welcoming us into their lives. I
applaud the work you have done for your members and those who enjoy your wine.
It was never hard to stay engaged with your team (and our favorite wines)
during these already difficult times. I will continue to highly suggest WCV to
anyone passing through Hye or the Fredericksburg area.
Overall, the tasting (beyond the incredibly delicious wine)
allowed for a large group of people from all over the country to bask in a social
wine experience with the people who know it best. It was an enjoyable way to
spend our Saturday afternoon and to ultimately distract an Aggie from the
yearly Alabama beat down.
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