The wine program at Jester King is something that we put much thought and effort into. We source from and support natural winemakers as we see natural wine as analogous to our beer. We are pleased to offer wines in our Tasting Room from a new fellow Hill Country producer — Southold Farm + Cellar.
Comprised of wife and husband Carey and Regan, this family operated winery originated on the North Fork of Long Island, New York in 2012. After a zoning dispute in New York, Regan and Carey decided to pack their bags and move to the Texas Hill Country in April of 2017. Now located in Fredericksburg, Southold is working with Texas grape growers to produce truly unique natural wines. Experimenting with grape varietals grown in Texas such as Piquepoul, Roussanne, and Dolcetto, all of their preconceived notions of Texas wine making have been thrown out the window. They continue to focus on making wines with as little interference as possible, using indigenous yeasts for fermentation, and creating a true product of time and place. The tedious process of growing their own Texas Hill Country grapes has started with dry farming rootstock on the hill surrounding Southold’s tasting room. Once these rootstocks are established, next comes the grafting of the grape vines. The location of the grapes will be determined by the sun exposure on the hill that their Tasting Room sits atop — think vineyard sundial. You can expect Southold’s Texas estate wines to be available sometime in 2021 or 2022, when grapes grown on that very hill will be used in their winemaking. Until then, all of their wines available were produced in New York or with sourced Texas grapes.
We currently have available three different wines from Southold:
I Want To Be Stereotyped 2015
Chasing Moonlight 2015
Shot Across The Bow 2017
I Want To Be Stereotyped 2015 is Southold’s carbonic Cabernet Franc. Carbonic maceration, often associated with Beaujolais reds, is a process by which the grapes are blanketed with a layer of CO2 prior to crushing. This creates an anaerobic environment where enzymes in the grapes begin an intracellular fermentation. Fifteen days of carbonic maceration followed by 21 days of primary fermentation in barrel result in an extremely light-bodied and juicy wine that benefits from a slight chill. Figs and dates on the nose, juicy strawberries on the palate, and plenty of funk to go around.
Chasing Moonlight 2015, Southold’s first ever estate wine produced in New York, is a sparkling Lagrein. Lagrein is a grape variety native to northern Italy and is mostly associated with large tannic wines. Southold, however, manages to produce a rich yet uplifting wine with strong notes of black currants. These grapes see 14 days carbonic maceration followed by 20 days of primary fermentation in barrels.
Lastly, their first ever Texas wine, Shot Across The Bow 2017, is a Pet Nat made with Sangiovese grapes sourced from a tiny vineyard called Letkman Family Vineyard. Carey and Regan did not intend to make a Pet Nat, but because these grapes were picked early, they seemed destined to be such. Pet Nat is short for “Pétillent-Naturel,” a method that pre-dates the Champagne method of making sparkling wine, and is made by bottling wines before primary fermentation has finished. This rustic wine exhibits notes of strawberry and banana, a rich texture, and rounds out with a lovely limestone minerality.
We are always delighted to connect with and support fellow producers who we feel encompass a similar ethos as Jester King. Southold Farm + Cellar does exactly that. We are happy to have Carey and Regan as our Texas Hill Country neighbors and to be sharing their wines with you in our Tasting Room. This weekend, we will be pouring I Want To Be Stereotyped by the glass and in full bottles (onsite and to go). Chasing Moonlight and A Shot Across The Bow will be available in full bottles (onsite and to go).
— Traci Walker
Jester King Wine Coordinator
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