Amie N.
Yelp
Looking for something special in the Hill Country? Ab Astris Winery is not only a beautiful setting with some fantastic 100% Texas wines, but now, they offer a stellar food pairing experience! This is not your usual wine-and-cheese sort of tasting. At $70 a person, this is definitely an elevated experience. Each of the 5 wines served is expertly paired with a dish hand-made with care by the resident Sommelier, Mitchell. The foods are sourced locally and the menu changes seasonally to ensure freshness.
The menu this past weekend was the start of their summer pairings and had a decidedly Italian flare.
Our first course was a light and complex Antipasto board with cheese, salami, artichoke, petite peppers and more. It paired nicely with their light and complex rose called Aurora, which is a blend of Cinsault, Mourvedre and Montepulciano. While this is not a traditional rose blend, the grapes play well together and yield a Provencal style with layers of fruit and herb flavors.
Next came the 'Primi' course. This house made bread with Mitchell's own sourdough starter, was thinly sliced, toasted and topped with an onion and tomato jam and fresh baby tomatoes. The dish was decidedly rustic and its acidity played well with the Apricus Rose, which is a blend of Montepuliciano, Petite Sirah and Tannat. Again this rose is not a traditional blend of grapes, but all sourced from the younger vines on the estate. The finished wine is quite savory and herbaceous, not what you may expect from a rose. I highly recommend the wine as a fun tool to play with food pairings. The complexity will do well with many tomato-based foods, which can sometimes be tough for pairing.
Our 'Insalata' course was the most beautiful salad I've seen and tasted in quite some time. I should have gotten a pic! This was a bowl of toasted grains and seeds with local peas, colorful baby carrots, all mixed with a slightly spicy tomato aioli and topped with herbs and flowers. It was like a party in my mouth! The crunchy toasted grains balanced well with the delicate herbs and the spice balanced things out. The Stello white blend is a dry wine of Roussanne, Clairette Blanche, Picpoul Blanc, and Marsanne. A traditional French Rhone Blend includes 4 grapes that are proving to grow well in Texas and I'm excited to follow the progress of the estate Clairette Blanche, as it is the first to be planted here in our state.
Now we move to our main course, which proved that every course just got even better than the one before. A large meatball of bison and wild boar, set atop a ricotta parmesan polenta and topped with a simple tomato sauce. I love traditional Italian food and this meatball was outstanding, juicy and flavorful. The 2017 Montepuliciano is a fantastic traditional Italian wine that traditionally goes well with a tomato based dish. These grapes were sourced from Reddy Vineyards in the Texas High Plains and produces some of my favorite red wines in our state. The wine is drinking well today, but also shows the ability to age for another 5 years. I highly recommend picking up a few bottles. It'll be a perfect pairing with an easy frozen pepperoni pizza at home!
And we finished our lunch with a light dessert of Almond Olive Oil Cake and fresh Blackberries paired with the 2016 Maximus red blend. Often times people think a wine served with dessert needs to be a sweet wine. I disagree, as I think its best to focus on enhancing a flavor of the dessert dish. In this case, the blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Tannat and Petit Verdot is a decidedly dry and bold wine. The delicate cake, which was not very sweet but instead a bit savory, added a light note to the wine and the blackberries brought out the fruit notes of the wine.
I will also point out two of my personal favorite Ab Astris wines, which are the Picpoul Blanc and the sparkling Estate Petillant Naturel made from Clairette Blanche...I took two bottles home.
After our tasting, I was able to take a moment to walk along the vines with Kristen, as we looked at the progress of this year's crop. The Tannat is looking quite nice with a full canopy and some plump new berries.
The tasting experience is by appointment only and there are only 10 people in the intimate setting. You can reserve on their website https://www.abastriswinery.com or you can pop in to enjoy a regular tasting or a glass on their lovely covered patio.