Medium copper color; strawberry, raspberry, tart cherry, redcurrant, red and white flowers on the nose and palate.
Dry, in spite of the “sweet” in the name. Good acidity (3.35 pH); no noticeable tannins. Very fruit-forward. Blend of cinsault, cabernet sauvignon, tempranillo, merlot. Medium body. Some complexity—this is not some simple pink plonk. The fruit is especially tasty and inviting.
Mike and Lynn McHenry own Wedding Oak Winery. In 1996, on a whim following a trade show in Dallas, they purchased 112 acres south of San Saba, Texas. Soon thereafter, Mike retired after a 33-year career with Ecolab, a sustainability leader in water, hygiene, and infection prevention services with operations in more than 170 countries. After following their whim, the McHentrys struck up a friendship with Jim Johnson, owner of the nearby Alamosa Wine Cellars. With Johnson’s mentorship, the McHentrys planted the Cherokee Creek Vineyards in 2000, initially providing grapes to Alamosa and other Texas wineries.
By 2010, encouraged by San Saba business leaders, the McHenrys began an effort to place Wedding Oak Winery in the historic heart of San Saba, a Texas Hill Country town on the San Saba River, north of San Antonio and southwest of Dallas-Fort Worth. The town asserts it is the “Pecan Capital of the World.” The McHenrys restored a 1926 building near the town center to house a tasting room and a 10,000-case production facility on the northern edge of the Texas Hill Country AVA, at the intersection of U.S. Highway 190 and State Highway 16.
To begin their adventure, the McHenrys hired Penny Adams, an iconic figure and the first woman winemaker in Texas. From the beginning, Penny insisted on using only Texas grapes, a policy that has never changed since the production facility began bottling wine in 2012.
Wedding Oak makes almost all their wines with their grapes in their facilities. This Sweetheart Rosé is the exception. It was made by Llano Estacado’s winemaking team for Wedding Oak. Llano Estacado is one of the pioneers of Texas winemaking, beginning back in the 1970s when Texas Tech chemistry professors began growing grapes and making wine, at first as a lark—their initial intention was to make grape jelly. Jason Centanni was the winemaker for this effort, but Wedding Oak was involved. Wineries helping/partnering with each other is common—and refreshing—throughout the wine industry worldwide. This is a Texas example.
The winery’s tasting rooms are open seven days a week in San Saba, Fredericksburg, and Burnet. The winery’s name comes from the 400-year-old Wedding Oak Tree that stands just 2.5 miles northwest of the winery. The website notes: “Centuries ago, the local Native Americans, particularly the Comanche, revered this majestic tree as sacred, gathering for important council meetings beneath its sheltering branches. They believed in the tree’s mystical powers and utilized it as a Matrimonial Altar. By exchanging vows beneath its graceful canopy, couples sought the tree’s magical blessings upon their union.”
Wedding Oak Winery Sweetheart Rosé, Texas 2021 is rosé delight with delicious fruit. Elegant and substantial. Complexity from a well-coordinated mélange of Texas red grapes that deliver fruitiness and intriguing florals. Well made Texas wine. Works very nicely as an aperitif, sipped chilled by itself on porch, patio, poolside, picnic. Make it a toasting wine at a wedding. Pair with lemon herb chicken; salmon, tuna, lighter fish; shrimp and shellfish; pork; pasta; vegetarian fare; summer salads. Cheese—brie, goat cheeses, camembert, mild cheddar, fontina, gouda, mozzarella, sheep’s milk cheese. $29
