Pedernales Cellars October 2011 Dockline Issue
Hey Y'all ! Glad to see you back here. We want to thank all of the gals who come out to our Wednesday night events and if you haven't been to one ... consider this an invite. "Like" us on Facebook and get updates to all of our upcoming shindigs. Speaking of events, we have our biggest yet (... drum roll please) WE ARE MOVING! We just signed the paperwork on our new place. Still in Historic Montgomery, we will be occupying the "Trendy Chicks" building on Liberty Street across from Jacobs Properties and next door to Burger Fresh. Look for construction to start about the middle of October. We are very excited about the larger space and potential for an outdoor patio. We are constantly looking for new and unique stuff and have just run out of space, if you've been in recently you will agree. We think that it is going to be a nice change, same atmosphere without bumping into things. Now on to why they have me here, this month we are featuring Pedernales Cellars.
In the early 1990s, the Kuhlken family led by David's parents, Larry and Jeanine, planted
their first vineyard near Fredericksburg. These
were pioneering years with only a handful of
wineries operating in Texas. It was also a time
for experiments with different grapes varieties
and viticultural practices. Over time, with carefully
managed yields, and as the vines matured,
the vineyard started producing consistently
high quality fruit with bold, intense flavors.
During these early years, David's sister
Julie met and married Fredrik while they were
both studying in Paris and after several years
together in Europe that included the birth of
their two daughters, the family moved to Texas
where Fredrik and David began to develop their
plan for Pedernales Cellars. Inspired by the success
of producing exceptional fruit at Kuhlken
Vineyards and born out of a desire to produce
wine from grapes of the highest quality, it was
natural to start a boutique winery focused on
making small lots of hand crafted wines. Planning
for the new 15,000 square foot state-ofthe-art winemaking facility started in 2006 and
groundbreaking took place in 2007. In July of
2008 the first phase consisting of the underground
barrel room was completed in time for 2008 crush. The estate vineyard was expanded
over the years and today consists of 17 acres
mostly planted with hot weather varieties such
as Tempranillo, Touriga Nacional, Monastrell
(known as Mourvedre in French), Garnacha
(Grenache in French) and small amounts of
Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot.
Pedernales Cellars is truly a family affair,
with David and Fredrik in their day-to-day roles
at the winery while Larry and Jeanine continue
to oversee the family vineyards. Meanwhile,
Julie has drawn on her artistic experience to
develop the labels, while David's wife Heather
not only has spent many of the past years helping
in the vineyard, but has helped to provide
everything from photography to guidance on
the tasting room design. So when David and
Fredrik's respective children help out during
harvest or in the winery, they are not only seventh
generation Texans, but also the third generation
directly involved with the wine industry
You can find Pedernales Cellars wine at The
Rancher's Daughter, where we represent over 50
Texas wineries and over 100 varietals. Come in
and taste their wines or one of the many others
that we have on daily tastings. We hope that
you enjoy this column and as always, if you have
any suggestions, we welcome them. Y'all come
see us at The Rancher's Daughter, "Texas' Only
Texas-Only Wine Shop". Harry and Rendy Kerr,
native Texans and Montgomery residents, can
be reached at 202B McCown Street, Montgomery
Texas 77356 (936) 449-4100.