The Vineyard at Florence Mixed (3)

Deal Chatter Gourmet
2

The Vineyard at Florence Mixed 3-Pack
$74.99 $143.00 48% off List Price
2011 Aurelia
2010 Roma
2010 Forte

3

14 hours in, and only 1 sale. What happened to all those people who clamor for Tx wines?

4

I heard Texas wine lover exist but I’ve never seen one in the wild…

5

Only ships to 7 states + DC and one of those states is Wyoming, so…

I would actually like to get this. I’m a fan of Norton and always up for trying new varieties. And since it’s a mixed 3-pack, I would of course have to get 2 sets so I could have 2 of each wine, but no Ohio shipping. Just as well, I promised SWMBO that I would lay off the wine purchases (other than the Auto-buy wines) since we have a wedding to save for.

6

I don’t mean to pour cold water over this offer, but I can tell you why I’m not biting:
1, Varietals I’ve never heard of
2, Price per bottle is high
3, There’s a lot of very new oak used in these wines - will I even be able to taste anything other than vanilla?

These three factors suggest this is really built to appeal to Texan Millenials, and so probably isn’t a wine I’ll enjoy.

But if you’re a Texan Millenial who moved to Florida to capitalize on the real estate boom in Miami, you should buy three to put in the trunk of your new Lamborghini. I feel like there’s a song in there somewhere…

7

Local wine drinker and fellow Texas wine lover here. I live near this vineyard. Agree that the price per bottle is high for the quality. Now if a Becker cab ever shows up here - buy that out, stat.

8

All very good points you’re making. As the daughter of this vineyard’s owner, I’m super excited to respond to this.

  1. We use only 100% French oak barrels. Most barrels are a few years old, so you’re not getting the overwhelming coconut or vanilla notes that are often experienced in many New World wines. The cost of the French oak and the meticulous aging also contributes to the price.
  2. Other price-contributing factors: We hand-net, hand-harvest, and use a combination of 5+ yeasts in each wine, assuring that each is exceptionally complex. The varietals are funky, yes, but we are in Central Texas and experience intense heat during the summer (temps of 100 degrees F plus), so we can’t plant European varietals that are accustomed to cold or moderate temps unless we want poor fruit. We are trying to appeal to people who aren’t afraid to try a varietal that they’ve never experienced and could be open to hybrids.
  3. As far as the varietals are concerned, let me elaborate: Blanc du Bois is very Chardonnay-like and can develop beautiful tropical notes. Norton is similar to a Pinot Noir in body and has lovely red fruit notes (VA and MO and NY are all big growers of this grape). Lenoir…well, Lenoir is cool. Some say it’s native to TX, some say it’s a descendant of a Spanish grape (hence the synonym Black Spanish). It’s inky and full of smoky, dark fruit undertones.
  4. I get the skepticism. But give us a try. We are trying to raise the bar in TX by avoiding semi-sweet styles, aging in pricey French oak, and NOT outsourcing to other states, as most TX wineries do. We are a family-owned business, we are passionate bunch, and we are dying to put TX on the map:) WOOT!
9

Then you haven’t had Finger Lakes (New York) wines either.

I’ve already had these varietals, during my pursuit of varietals for the Century Club (100 different varietals). They are unique, but fine.

As noted, not everywhere has the climate of Bordeaux, Burgandy, Rhone, Napa, Sonoma, etc.

10

You had me sold. I need some unique varietals to get to the double century. But alas, no ship to CT. Good luck. Hope you are writing the marketing.