Medium gold color; Meyer lemon, apricot, peach-pear, grapefruit, orange zest, lemon grass, white flowers on the nose and palate.
Dry; clean, brisk acidity. Medium body; excellent texture in the mouth. Blend of viognier, albariño, sémillon, sauvignon blanc, riesling, pinot grigio. Delivers deliciousness rather than depth or complexity, but sensational deliciousness. Fun, easy drinker. 12.8% ABV
Grape Creek Vineyards is part of the Hill Country AVA (American Viticultural Area), the second most visited AVA in the United States, behind Napa. There is legerdemain (slight of hand) in that factoid: the Napa Valley AVA includes 225,300 acres (not all in grapes, of course). The Texas Hill Country AVA is 40 times larger than Napa. It spans more than nine million acres basically everything north of San Antonio and south and west of Austin, even toward Dallas-Fort Worth (not nearly all in grapes, of course).
Grape Creek is a 100% direct-to-consumer effort. It is part of Heath Family Brands. Other labels include IV—Invention Vineyards, Jenblossom Cellars, and Heath Sparkling Wines. Each has an operating vineyard and winery. They offer five tasting rooms across the Texas Hill Country. They produce more than 150,000 gallons of wine annually and host more than 200,000 people at their tasting rooms. In June 2024, Heath acquired Kuhlman Cellars in Stonewall to further expand their operation.
Texas wineries are concentrated in the Texas Hill Country AVA, while most Texas grapes are grown in the Texas High Plains AVA, which at more than eight million acres is slightly smaller than the Hill Country AVA. The High Plains grows 85% of the grapes that go into Texas wines. Together, the two AVAs sprawl over something like 18 million acres. Yes, things are bigger in Texas.
Texas Hill Country AVA wineries and tasting rooms are worth a visit. Many are located in Fredericksburg, a historic German community between San Antonio and Austin, or the tiny farm/ranch towns nearby located off Hwy 290, the Texas equivalent of Hwy 29 in Napa. The wisdom goes: “You go to Napa to visit vineyards. You go to the Texas Hill Country to experience a tasting room and a restaurant, and some pretty significant Texas characters.” In the past 10 years, you easily can add “and some really great wine.”
Grape Creek Vineyards are lovely and trim. Their visitor’s center evokes Tuscany with a Texas-German slant. The adjacent restaurant—Stout’s Trattoria—has excellent cuisine, great atmosphere. The staff is uniformly inviting and helpful. If you do the Texas Hill Country AVA, a visit to Grape Creek Vineyards is highly recommended.
Grape Creek Vineyards Cuvée Blanc White Wine, Texas 2022 superb blend of six white grapes led by viognier. Excellent mouthfeel and rich, tasty fruit backed by jaunty acidity. Sterling example of why Texas wines must be taken seriously. Pair with shellfish; rich fish and lean fish; chicken dishes; pasta; appetizers and snacks. Cheese—goes well with cheeses that have buttery texture and mild to moderate flavor; humboldt fog, mitica drunken goat, brillat-savarin, taleggio, brie, livarot, aged gruyère, manchego; avoid sharp or pungent cheeses. $24-30
