Angelita Vineyard & Winery Review

Address: 254 Shady Creek Lane Corsicana,Texas 75109.
Phone Number: 903-875-0036
Tasting Hours: Thurs-Sat 12:00-sunset, Sun 12:00-6:00

Region: Texas
Reviewer: Becky Parr
Review Date: 2/7/2015
Reviewer: Becky Parr
Rating: 3

The Review

It takes some wineries years before they receive recognition at a major international wine competition. Others, such as Texas’ Angelita Winery win awards before their tasting room is even open. Angelita achieved the fete with its 2013 Blanc du Bois Reserve which won bronze medals for white table wine in the Limited Production and Texas Wine categories of the 2014 International Lonestar Wine Competition. I didn’t realize the winery was so new before I arrived, but it was exciting to hear about success right out of the gate!

The Place: &nbspOur GPS decided to have a little fun with us as we tried to find Angelita Vineyard and Winery. In retrospect, we should have looked at the winery website for directions. But no, we went with the GPS. What you should do is get off I-45 and follow Shady Creek Lane for about two miles to the east. Unfortunately, we didn’t discover until the way OUT that we were so close to I-45! The exit (225) off 45 is a bit confusing – it loops around – but then GPS took us south on the 45 access road and had us turn left onto a dirt road. In retrospect, that dirt road should have been our first clue. That dirt road led to another dirt road, and another, and another, until we felt like we were wandering around East Central Texas on some kind of scavenger hunt for a grapevine or two. Eventually we found it, and we’re so grateful that Angelita has posted signs! But it was an adventure in driving that we really didn’t need to have. At least we got to see two beautiful cardinals along the way.

When you arrive at Angelita, you’ll think you’re visiting someone’s home at first. The home is the winemaker’s, but there is an outbuilding to the right of the house that is the tasting room. It looks a bit trailer-esque from the outside, but it’s a very inviting space on the inside, with a small tasting counter and several tables. There is also a substantial patio space outside for nice days.

The People: &nbspI always count the four-legged greeters among the people, and Angelita has the two most laid-back dogs I think I’ve ever met. They were sunning themselves when we arrived and barely glanced at our car – couldn’t be bothered to divert their attention from their spa day, I guess. We got more interest when we offered petting. We didn’t get the dogs’ names, but one belongs to Angela, who poured our wine – and the dogs have their own job at the vineyard, which is to scare the birds away from the grapevines.

As mentioned, we were served by Angela, who is super sweet. She offered the story of the award-winning Blanc du Bois and another that involved selling out of 90+cases of a single varietal at the winery’s grand opening in August 2014. More than 90 cases! In four hours! I suppose I don’t have a frame of reference, but that sounded like a pretty good grand opening!

The Wines: &nbspAngela filled us in on something special about Angelita wines – they have few to no sulfites, because the winemaker’s wife is highly allergic to sulfites. I’m sorry about the allergy, but happy about anything that might minimize wine-related headaches for those who are highly sensitive to sulfites!

Blanc du Bois is what’s grown at the vineyard around the tasting room. We tasted the Reserve that won the bronze medals, and was Angelita’s very first wine; it’s a bit oaky and tastes of pear, with a very pleasant pear nose. A second Blanc du Bois was described as semi-sweet, but I didn’t find it to be sweet. This is what Angelita uses in their sangria, and we thought it would make an excellent sparkling wine, as well. A third Blanc du Bois wasn’t quite so pleasant; it was drier, with a strange nose and a bit of an off-putting finish. My husband remarked that it tasted of pecans, and Angela let us know that pecan was added to the barrels during the fermenting process.

I enjoyed the red wines more than I did the whites. The Dolcetto is on the lighter side and very pleasant, with a caramel nose. I wasn’t a big fan of the American Zinfandel, which has a musty nose and is made from grapes supplied by a partner vineyard. My favorite was the Inheritance, a blend of Syrah, Zinfandel, and Cabernet.

We also tried the American Rose, made of Cabernet Sauvignon grapes, and the Yellow Rose of Texas, a sweet cherry-tasting wine with a Merlot finish.

The Experience: &nbspExcept for our GPS adventures (our own fault), we were glad we stopped at Angelita. I think it’s doing extraordinarily well for such a young Texas winery. The wines still have some growing up to do, in my opinion, but with one award already won, better things can only be ahead. I’m interested to see what they’re producing in a year, or two, or five. It would be worth a brief detour off I-45, just to see what they’re doing next.