Howdy from Texas! It’s KK here! Nearly a year after Kate moved down to the Lone Star State, I finally got a job in Austin too, moving down in Early May. It has been a bit of a transition, having lived most of my life in North Carolina, but at least Kate and I are together again.
You may recall last year, Kate and I visited about 10 wineries during my first trip to see her in Austin. At that time we went west on Highway 290 toward the Hill Country. At that time we made a few observations about Texas wineries versus NC wineries: 1) Texas tastings cost more ($10 versus $5) and usually gave you less wine, 2) the wine was typically done in an Italian style with only a handful of varieties, and 3) we often felt more rushed in Texas and did not get the chance to meet the winery owners. During my move down this spring, we found a little winery the broke from most of those observations. We made a point of visiting Tehuacana Creek Vineyards & Winery since it was near our NC to TX route.
Tehuacana Creek (pronounced “to-walk-in-a creek”) is not what we expected, having been to some gorgeous locations in the Hill Country. This winery was focused on the wine, not appearance, with 3 or 4 prefabricated homes instead of a fancy venue. The first thing you noticed after stepping inside is the amount of cougar pictures on the wall and labels. Like a bar in Miami, up to 4 cougars prowl the grounds near the winery all the time (although sadly, we had no sightings). The owner told us the big cats were helpful, scaring away or eating the kinds of animals that would eat the grapes. Naturally, he worked the cougars into the branding, and even has collectibles sent to him from patrons all around the world.
Yet, unlike past Texas wineries, we got to meet the owner, Ulf Westblom. Ulf and his wife started the winery decades after he created his first wine in his college dorm room. Their wine story is different from most because they were originally from Sweden. As you might imagine, the cold weather in Scandinavia was not ideal for growing grapes, but Ulf did not give up on his passion. After immigrating to the US, the Westbloms moved to Missouri where their winemaking passion started to bloom. Looking to start their own vineyard they eventually purchased the land near Waco, TX in the late 1990s and started to create their wines. Unlike other wineries, we got to taste the entire collection for just $5 each.
They mostly grow Norton, Blanc-du-Bois, and Black Spanish grapes (all typical in Central Texas). The Heart Of Texas Red was very much an Italian style Chianti (observation upheld), but their other two popular wines break the mold completely. The first is called Mulsum, a recipe that dates back to Ancient Rome. Ulf says he found the recipe in a history book about Roman foods. It’s white wine sweetened with honey. Their other wine is the Glögg, a hot Swedish wine with spices usually served around Christmas. According to their website, Tehucana’s Glögg has been served in the Swedish embassy. Unfortunately, the Glögg is only sold between Thanksgiving and Christmas so we didn’t get to taste it, but I have a feeling Kate and I will have to make our way back up to Waco again to get our Glögg on.
p.s. Glögg is an awesome word. I wanted to work it in as much as possible. Glögg.
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