Choosing a Texas Wine for Thanksgiving Dinner

If you’re worried about drinking the right wine that goes well with turkey, look no further.  The hearty feast of turkey, gravy, stuffing and a variety of roasted winter vegetables can be celebrated with a bit of spice and red fruity flavors. The medium-bodied reds will be your go-to wines for serving with your Thanksgiving meal. 

Let’s talk about the medium-bodied reds in the Texas regions, many of which we can find in our local HEBs. It’s nice to have an isle for Texas wines at the grocery store, but you can also visit a tasting room to buy local wines that aren’t available yet to mass-produce. 

Determining the body type of a wine depends on the percentage of alcohol that it contains. A good medium-bodied wine will be between 12.5% and 13.5%. Pinot Noir is the classic medium-bodied wine, what you will find comparable in Texas is a versatile Sangiovese that can withstand the hot Texas climate.  Mourvedre is another heat-loving vine that takes to the terroir in the Texas high plains. This variety is also used in a blend known as the Texas GSM, which blends grenache and syrah with Mourvedre for a classic Rhone blend. You can always fall onto a Rosé, they are a versatile wine that is sure to enhance your turkey dinner.

The Texas Sangiovese

• Bent Oak Winery 2017, Texas High Plains
• Dry Comal Creek Vineyards 2017, Texas High Plains
• Red House Winery 2016, Texas Hill Country
• Ron Yates 2016, Texas Hill Country
• Signor Vineyards 2016
• Stoneledge Winery & Vineyard 2017, Texas

The Texas Mourvedre

Thank you to Texas Winelovers for collecting this list of Texas Mourvedre that they used for a tasting.

• Armadillo’s Leap Mourvèdre 2014, Texas
• Bar Z Winery Mourvèdre 2014, Martin’s Vineyards, Texas High Plains
• Bending Branch Winery Mourvèdre 2014, Reddy Vineyards, Texas High Plains
• Bingham Vineyards Mourvèdre 2014, Texas High Plains
• Brushy Creek Dry Mourvèdre 2015, Martin’s Vineyards, Texas High Plains
• Brushy Creek Reserve Mourvèdre 2014, Texas
• Lewis Wines Mourvèdre 2013, Lost Draw Vineyards, Texas High Plains
• Lewis Wines Mourvèdre 2013, Texas
• Llano Estacado Winery Mataró 2013, Mont Sec Vineyards, Texas
• Llano Estacado Winery Mourvèdre 2015, Mont Sec Vineyards, Texas
• Lost Draw Cellars Mourvèdre 2014, Texas High Plains
• Rivenburgh Wine Mourvèdre 2014, Reddy Vineyards, Texas High Plains
• Ron Yates Mourvèdre 2014, Bingham Family Vineyards, Texas High Plains
• William Chris Vineyards Mourvèdre 2014, Lost Draw Vineyards, Texas High Plains
• William Chris Vineyards Mourvèdre 2015, La Pradera Vineyards, Texas High Plains (94% La Pradera Mourvèdre, 6% La Pradera Petit Verdot)
• William Chris Vineyards Mourvèdre 2015, Lepard Vineyards (oak fermented), Texas High Plains
• William Chris Vineyards Mourvèdre 2015, Texas, (blend of Sprayberry Vineyards, Brennan Vineyards, Lepard Vineyards, and La Pradera Vineyard)

And if you are interested in how they scored after the tasting, following is their resulting top 10 list of Texas Mourvedre, here is a listing from 1-10:

1. William Chris Vineyards Mourvèdre 2015, Lepard Vineyards (oak fermented), Texas High Plains
2. Lost Draw Cellars Mourvèdre 2014, Texas High Plains
3. William Chris Vineyards Mourvèdre 2015, Texas, (blend of Sprayberry Vineyards, Brennan Vineyards, Lepard Vineyards, and La Pradera Vineyard)
4. Lewis Wines Mourvèdre 2013, Lost Draw Vineyards, Texas High Plains
5. William Chris Vineyards Mourvèdre 2014, Lost Draw Vineyards, Texas High Plains
6. Rivenburgh Wine Mourvèdre 2014, Reddy Vineyards, Texas High Plains
7. Lewis Wines Mourvèdre 2013, Texas
8. Ron Yates Mourvèdre 2014, Bingham Family Vineyards, Texas High Plains
9. Bingham Vineyards Mourvèdre 2014, Texas High Plains
10. Llano Estacado Winery Mataró 2013, Mont Sec Vineyards, Texas

The Texas Rosé

• Cicada Cellars 2017, Texas High Plains – Semi-Dry Rose (1.0 – 2.99& rs)
• Dry Comal Creek Vineyards 2017, Label: Dora Rosa from the Texas High Plains – Sweet Rose (3.0+% RS)
• Grape Creek Vineyards 2017, Label: Rose of Malbec from Texas – Dry Rose (0-0.99% RS)
• Kiepersol Enterprises 2017, Label: Rose from Texas – Dry Rose (0 – 0.99% rs)
• Los Pinos Ranch Vineyards 2018, Label: Rosato from Texas High Plains – Dry Rose (0-0.99% RS)
• Los Pinos Ranch Vineyards, Label: Colibri’ from Texas – Sweet Rose (3.0+% RS)
• Ron Yates 2017, Label: Sangiovese Rose from the Texas Hill Country – Dry Rose (0 – 0.99% rs)
• West Sandy Creek Winery 2018, Label: Pink Rosé of Texas from the Gulf States – Semi-Dry Rose (1.0-2.99% RS)
• White Fox Vineyards 2017, Label: Texas Rosé from Texas – Sweet Rose (3.0+% RS)
• William Chris Vineyards, Label: Yes We Can Wine from the Texas High Plains – Dry Rose (0 – 0.99% rs)