Actual Texas wine from Duchman Family Winery

I wrote again last week about Texas wine that's not really Texas wine.

So on my recent visit to the hill country around Austin, it was a pleasure to find some Texas producers that are loud and proud about working with 100% Texas grapes.

(To be clear, I'm fine if you want to work with out of state grapes. Oregonians do it all the time. You just need to be up front about it.)

One label I noticed on a visit to a pretty good grocery store was Duchman Family. They're clear about what's in the bottle, even if the Texas grapes mostly come from the High Plains AVA, 400 miles away in the Texas panhandle.

I didn't know that at the time, but I wanted real Texas wine and I was attracted to a producer featuring the likes of Trebbiano, Vermentino, and Sangiovese instead of inappropriate staples like Cabernet and Chardonnay.

Too bad this grocery didn't have their Aglianico, Montepulciano or Tempranillo, who knew Texas wines could be so adventurous with grapes that work in hot, arid climates. That's not to mention the slighly alkaline sandstones of the High Plains, which sound interesting compared to the acid soils of my Willamette Valley.

I selected the Vermentino (naturally) and the Sangiovese. Both were just under $15 a bottle, so very reasonable for wines made just down the road in Driftwood (incidentally the home of the excellent Salt Lick BBQ, a nice outlet of which you can find at the Austin airport).

How were the wines? Good, especially if you're in Texas looking for some local flavor.

The 2012 Vermentino Bingham Family Vineyard High Plains AVA seemed a bit more like sauvignon blanc in character, with a green herbal streak and melon aromas and flavors. The acidity appeared low, the wine having a plush texture and a sense of fruit sweetness despite being dry table white wine. Though this didn't have the golden qualities of my favorite Vermentinos, I did find this enjoyable to drink over a few days.

The 2012 Sangiovese Reddy Vineyard, also High Plains AVA fruit, had a nice ruby color. It also seemed a little vegetal, with chile pepper and red fruit aromas, some oak spice and soft flavors, the acidity more pronounced on the finish to tie things together nicely. A few of us finished this easily on one night.

On my next visit, I'll definitely look out for things like the other reds and the Trebbiano, and see what if anything they're growing in the striking hill country limestone.