Serve No Wine Before It's Time...

[SHANEA]

http://www.oaoa.com/news/nw121706c.htm

Christmas brings business to Permian Basin wineries
Holiday is time for wine for many
BY GEOFF FOLSOM
Odessa American

For some, there is no better time to enjoy a nice glass of wine than the holidays.
Those wines don’t have to come from points far and beyond — Permian Basin wineries are preparing for the holidays.
The Luz de Estrella Winery in Marfa is celebrating it’s first Christmas with the recently released Big Bend Red wine.
Winery owner Linda Armstrong said the wine is spicy, with holiday tastes like cinnamon and nutmeg.
“Everybody says, ‘Oh my God, this just tastes like Christmas,’ ” she said.
The wine is an oak Merlot and should be served chilled, Armstrong said. At $9.99 a bottle, she considers it a bargain.
“It’s this beautiful oaky red that’s sweet,” she said. “It’s the perfect Christmas spice.”
The limited-edition wine was released two weeks ago. Armstrong expects the 150-case supply to last until February or March.
Armstrong said about a quarter of Luz de Estrella’s business comes during the holiday season.
The winery is open for tasting and tours. A $3 fee allows visitors to sample seven wines.
Armstrong said the winery is decked out for Christmas. “We’re so small that if you come in, we’ll show you around,” she said.
Tours are not available at Mesa Vineyards in Fort Stockton, the makers of Ste. Genevieve wines. But winery executive manager Michel Duforat said the winery’s sweet red variety, which was introduced Sept. 1, is a great holiday treat.
The wine goes well with steak or fish, Duforat said.
Mesa Vineyards does between 15 and 20 percent of its annual sales in November and December, Duforat said.
Ronnie Wilson, the vineyard manager and production manager at Delaney Vineyards in Lamesa, said his Texas Rose and Sweet Texas Red wines are good for Christmas celebrations. Generally, though, he admitted that the vineyard’s dry conditions do not lend themselves to holiday wines.
Still, he invites visitors to tour the vineyard’s 100 acres Monday through Friday. The winery has another location in Grapevine, between Fort Worth and Dallas.
“They get to see how we make wine,” Wilson said. “We tell them how to make it if we’re not making it now.”
On the Net:
>> www.gotexanwine.org