Winery Visit - Delaney Vineyards

During the long weekend of Columbus Day, I had the wonderful opportunity to drive down to Grapevine, Texas and visit a vineyard with my mother! We went to Delaney Vineyards together, where enjoyed tasting several wines, and an informative tour of the facilities.

Pictured above is my mom and I posing with a retired barrel and to the left is an original barrel from when Delaney Vineyards was first started in the 1980s in Lamesa, Tx.  On the tour we learned about Jerry Delaney who grew up in a family of cotton farmers and later uprooted the cotton farm to plant grape vines and thus began Delaney Vineyards.

 Pictured here is a Cynthiana vine. These vines are grown by the vineyards exclusively in Grapevine.  It is unique in its ability to grow in the clay soil and local climate.  Due to the extreme Texas climate Delaney Vineyards harvests in August, much earlier than in more temperate areas. The berries are also especially small at the size of blueberries.

 Here are the barrels and equipment used at the Grapevine location of Delaney Vineyards.  The guide explained that they get new barrels every four years and use American oak.

During the tasting we had these wines:

Sauvignon Blanc: A bright wine with notes of tropical fruit, citrus, and slight minerality.

Chardonnay: Creamy, lightly buttery, vanilla and citrus.  I enjoyed the wine so much I brought a bottle back to share with my friends!

Muscat Canelli: This wine is super sweet! The sugars diluted any other flavor and made an almost syrupy wine.

Pinot Noir: Light and bright wine with notes of strawberry, or cherry on both the nose and palate.

Texas Claret: This is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, and Merlot. Its plummy and had notes of dark berries and very strong tannins.