Valley Mills Vineyards
The Bagnascos have been making wine northwest of Waco since 2006, all of it from Texas fruit, with Tempranillo and Mourvedre on the red side.1
Why go
The reds go into French and American oak for anywhere from twelve to thirty months, which is a long leash for a Texas house and says they are building wines to sit.1 The whites take the opposite route, fermented and aged in stainless and out the door within six to twelve months of harvest, vinted with a focus on aromatic intensity and a balanced palate.
1 The fruit is Texas only, from vineyards they farm across McLennan and Bosque counties and up on the High Plains.1 The estate winery is open every day from noon to six.1
Order this / avoid
- Order: the Tempranillo. It heads the red list and it is the variety Texas has settled on.1
- Order: an Albarino or a Vermentino if it is hot, both from the stainless program.1
- Avoid: driving out cold. The family's own instruction is
Call ahead for reservations.
1
Good to know
- Timing: open daily, noon to 6pm, at the estate winery.1
- The wine club ships to 36 states, which is where the growth in production went.2
Verdict
could-visit — The house farms its own fruit and buys the rest inside McLennan and Bosque counties and the High Plains, which is a real sourcing position with counties attached. Tempranillo, Grenache and Mourvedre on the red side says they are farming for heat, and the whites go into stainless and out within a year. No published tasting note has been established, so the winemaking choices place it and the glass has yet to be judged.