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Georgetown Winery Review

Georgetown Winery Review

Address: 715 South Main St Georgetown,Texas 78626.
Phone Number: 512-869-8600
Tasting Hours: Mon-Thurs 11:00-6:00, Fri-Sat 11:00-8:00, Sun 12:30-5:30

Region: Texas
Reviewer: Becky Parr
Review Date: 2/25/2014
Reviewer: Becky Parr
Rating: 3

The Review

Sometimes a winery’s biggest asset is its location. Georgetown Winery has prime real estate on the east side of Georgetown’s courthouse square, which is full of tourists on the weekends and locals on the weekdays.

The Place: &nbspInside, the winery has a fairly small space. It’s long and narrow and kind of reminded me of New York City storefront. Maybe that was because it was absolutely PACKED with people. It was late on a Saturday afternoon on the kind of day when you’re not sure if you’re going to need a sweater or not, so perhaps the weather drew more people out and about. But finding a place at the tasting bar was a bit of a challenge.

I was touring local north Austin wineries with my friends Kurt and Nicola, visiting Austin from Britain. I always thought of England as being a beer country (maybe that’s just because of the number of pubs I hit when I was there), but these two know a fair amount about wine, too, so it was fun having them as tasting companions. We parked ourselves at the end of the tasting counter, kind of going around the corner, and shared tastes back and forth.

The People: &nbspThere were several people behind the counter, which was good, considering the number of people. We never had to wait very long, which was quite a feat with the crowd that was present, both tasting and having glasses! Unfortunately, no one had time to chat, or even say hi, my name is. It really was too bad, because I didn’t get to speak with anyone about the winery’s history; they came, poured what we wanted, explained what it was, and moved on. It was courteous service, but a bit impersonal – although I can see where that couldn’t be helped.

The Wines: &nbspAmong the three of us, we tasted a pretty good sampling. The tasting was 4 for $10, which I thought was a bit high – but considering the prime location, I guess they can get that. And I must say that the pours were fairly generous.

We started with whites; I had the unoaked Chardonnay, which I found unremarkable. Kurt declared the Sauvignon Blanc to be “delightfully springy.” Nicola went for the gusto and ordered the Jalapeno Wine, which was decidedly the most unusual thing on the menu! I tried to capture its color in a photo, but I’m not sure I did it justice. Its color is fairly neon green, reminiscent of a bottle of Midori. It does actually taste rather hot and spicy, but I must say that if I’m going to have jalapeno in a drink, I prefer the Chuy’s margarita made with jalapeno-infused tequila. This was something different, but I’m not sure it worked with wine.

As for the reds – I enjoyed the Pinot Noir, which I found light and smooth. The Malbec, also, was well-balanced, with a good finish. Nicola really enjoyed the Capitol Red, which is a light Barolo wine. I found the Zinfandel to be a little off balance and the Shiraz to be one-dimensional. The Cabernet Sauvignon, which was aged 12 months in American Oak to add a little flavor of vanilla, was probably my favorite; the 25% Shiraz was a good balance for the Cabernet. Kurt called it nice and smooth with a nose reminiscent of silver polish (and I think that was a good thing!). The Sangiovese was serviceable, with a nose of caramel.

We tried some after-dinner wines, too; the traditional port had a big nose of brandy and was a fairly typical port. Nicola and I both found the ice wine to be too sweet; Kurt said it needed blue cheese or foie gras, or to be drunk with dessert.

The Experience: &nbspI have a feeling I would have had a bit of a different experience if the winery had been empty. I would have enjoyed the chance to talk with some of the pouring staff. I think this place is worth a stop, particularly if it’s an off time; they’re open until 6 pm on weekdays, so a weekday afternoon might be a good time to check it out. There is also an olive oil and vinegar shop on-site, which we didn’t have time (or room) to check out, and a gift shop with some very humorous items. The winery has won a number of awards and has a lot of variety in terms of wine, so they should have something for everyone to enjoy. I think some of their wines might benefit from more aging time, so I am interested to see how this winery does as it continues to grow.