#3 Newsom Vineyards Texas Hill Country

I walked into this tasting room in Comfort where I was welcomed by a man about my age who eagerly radiated his love and passion for wine. He told me the story of each offering, from vine to the bottle, and exuded a rare passion I don’t often see during winery visits. Turns out he was proprietor.

There was something special about this simple tasting room. It is in centaury old wooden house with a large serving bar installed, behind which the floors are stacked to the ceiling with bottles. When the sunlight hits it just right, the room seemingly comes to life.

Newsom Vineyards is a bit different other wineries in Texas. They were one of the first to grow wine grapes in the Texas panhandle (1989). For a long time all they did was grow the grapes and then sell them off to different Texas wineries, somewhere along the lines they started to hire different winemakers to make wine for them. So instead of just growing grapes they now produced wine from their grapes.

1) Wine = 4.5
2) Price Point = 3.7
3) Service = 4.3
4) Decorum / Scenery = 3.9
5) X factor = 3.8

Overall: 4.18

(0-5 scale, anything above 2.5 you will have a good time)

They offer a traditional lineup, stretching from an Orange Muscat to a Cabernet Sauvignon, and offer a common white and red dessert wines too. They very likely have something for everyone on the spectrum of wine drinkers.

What caught my attention is how good all of their wines are. The ringers are the 2015 Albarino $65 (steep price, but I ended up getting three bottles), their two Cabs (Calais and Lewis), and their Syrah. My tasting notes for the Albarino were “what a ride!” “different,” and deep long lasting flavors. I admit I’m not great with flavor descriptions, but when I try a really cool tasting wine my notes trail away from simply flavors, towards experiences. I just write down what I feel in the moment.

As for the reds, what I loved best is that they are bursting with subtle flavors, which improve sip after sip (or glass after glass). Each had delicate layers; these wines are fantastic to enjoy slowly and methodically – not necessarily the ones you want to just gulp down! Think of a soft classical female soprano singer (Newsom’s red wines) going against a heavy metal rock star (Napa Cabs). Both are great, but the “best” is subjective and really left up to the taster. Drink them together and you’ll notice the rock star.

For all the reasons listed above I grant diva status to Newsom Vineyards at number 3. (http://newsomvineyards.com/)