Texas Wine Events
Love is in the Air(Port): Haley Puente has seen a lot of people make connections at DFW Airport - and not just with their next flight.
Puente manages La Bodega Winery , the nation's first winery located inside an international airport. La Bodega has a cozy, intimate feel one would expect to find in a neighborhood place - and it's quite a neighborhood. DFW Airport is larger than Manhattan Island and is the connecting point for millions of travelers each year.
So what are the odds of making a love connection here? According to Puente, better than you'd expect.
"We've had several couples who met here and later got married, which is extraordinary when you consider people come from all over the world," she said. "They let us know this is where it all started and say La Bodega is a very special place for them."
One of the latest instances involved a man who, angry over missing his flight, walked in and ordered a petit syrah then struck up a conversation with a woman seated at the bar. The conversation lasted two hours until his next flight. A year later, Puente received an e-mail from the woman saying they were getting married and thanking the winery for "providing the perfect setting to meet the ideal life."
There are several reasons, Puente said, that people find love in the midst of a bustling airport. First, nothing pairs with wine like romance. Secondly, the winery does have its "regulars" who schedule their connections through DFW so they can spend time at La Bodega. And finally, it's not a bar setting - which makes women feel more comfortable.
"We're not a bar-like establishment with a loud TV, beer and spirits," Puente explained. "It's a place where you can have wine and a conversation."
Just a reminder that Texas wine is the perfect complement to Valentine's Day - and a winery tour makes a wonderful V-Day escape. Go to www.gotexanwine.org to plan your outing!
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Varietal Spotlight: Tempranillo
The name "Tempranillo" is a variation of "Temprano," Spanish for "early," an appropriate label since this black beauty ripens weeks earlier than most reds. Tempranillo is a full-bodied black grape with a thick skin used in making red wine. A native of Spain, the popular grape has embraced Texas hospitality - not surprising, since it likes warm weather and thrives in some of our higher-altitude appellations. Wine lovers are drawn to the ruby-red color and the flavors of blackberry, plum, cherry, tobacco, vanilla and oak. Pair a fine Tempranillo with steak, barbecue, hearty stews or spicy Mexican dishes.
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Wine Trail Spotlight: Way Out Wineries
They call it the "middle" of Texas, a stretch that extends from west of the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex to the northern edge of the Texas Hill Country. It's an independent stretch of the state where the only thing valued more than self-reliance is a willingness to help your neighbor.
These seemingly contradictory attributes have come together seamlessly for the Way Out Wineries, a group of independent, boutique wineries united by geography and a relentless pursuit of quality.
"We don't have a natural tourism flow here like they do in some other parts of the state, so this is a valuable means of drawing people to our region," Pat Brennan, owner of Brennan Vineyards, one of eight wineries on the Way Out trail, said. "It's an opportunity to market ourselves both individually and collectively and try to support each other by maintaining a uniform level of quality. We count on each other. If a customer is unhappy with one winery, it reflects on all of us. But if we leave a good taste in someone's mouth, all the wineries benefit."
Way Out Wineries is part of the growing "wine trails" movement in Texas where a number of wineries in a particular geographic region join together to provide package tours, special events or group pricing for the traveling wine tourist. The Way Out Trail - a name based on the fact that the facilities are "way out" from major metropolitan areas - was devised with the goal of getting visitors to see all eight wineries over a two-day period.
"It's an opportunity to go around and see some small, family-owned wineries that are off the beaten path. They're places you can go in and talk to the owner and the winemaker and get a lot of personalized attention," Brennan said.
In addition to Brennan Vineyards, Way Out Wineries includes Rising Star Vineyards, Barking Rocks Winery, Bluff Dale Vineyards, Alamosa Wine Cellars, Pillar Bluff Vineyards, Texas Legato Winery and Red Caboose Winery.
For more information, go to www.wayoutwineries.org.
