Mac’s Creek Vineyards & Winery Review

Address: 43315 Rd. 757 Lexington,Nebraska 68550.
Phone Number: 308-324-0440
Tasting Hours: Labor Day-Memorial Day: Thurs-Sat 12:00-6:00, Sun 1:00-5:00

Region: Nebraska
Reviewer: Mark and Sonja
Review Date: 5/27/2014
Reviewer: Mark and Sonja
Rating: 5

The Review

“This I’ll Defend.” The motto of the Scottish Clan MacFarlane is prominently featured in the logo of the McFarland family of Lexington, Nebraska, the proprietors of Mac’s Creek Winery and Vineyards. Though the McFarland’s have lived in central Nebraska for more than a hundred years, this hint into their heritage is a nice touch and a fitting tribute to the fact that Nebraska, like so many others, is a state of immigrants and dreamers. Easily one of the most recognizable wineries in Nebraska for their reputation and presence in retail stores, we stopped by Mac’s Creek last week after being encouraged to do so by a friend, a native of Lexington, who is proud of his hometown’s reputable winery.

In size and shape, the exterior of Mac’s Creek is reminiscent of many churches, with a peaked ceiling and flowers lining the walk to the entrance. Inside, the tasting room is bright, spacious, and clean, with an entire wall devoted to racks upon racks of their award-winning wines. The large bar is situated on the right side of the room and plenty of tables and seating are spread throughout. The sizable room doubles as you exit the back and step onto their large pergola-covered deck overlooking the vineyard. There you can find benches and picnic tables, plenty of places to sit and enjoy the wonderful spring-going-on-summer weather and a bottle of the wine of your choice.

We felt a bit hurried as we went through our tasting. While the woman behind the bar was pleasant enough, she seemed to have her description of each wine memorized and recited it as if from reading from a script. Her general lack of enthusiasm did not, however, take away from what we found to be an enjoyable ensemble of Nebraska wines. The “Ringneck Red” has a beautiful deep purple color, and is aged in oak for eighteen months before being bottled. Along with the “Irish Rose,” another dry red, multiple sweeter wines, several blush offerings, and “Poncu,” a fortified port-style wine, Mac’s is offering a respectable canon of red wines by most standards. The whites go from sweet to sweeter, but we appreciated that Mac’s Creek didn’t make any bones about that. In their tasting notes, the white wines start at “semi-dry” and move toward sweeter, whereas it is not entirely uncommon for wineries to label their “driest” wine as “dry” regardless of its true characteristics. In addition, the McFarland’s offer a collection of fruit wines that include cranberry, apple, and raspberry. We tried (and enjoyed) the raspberry wine.

The highlight of our trip to Mac’s Creek was sitting on their large deck outside the tasting room. As we sipped the bottle of the popular “Mac’s Lantern,” a semi-dry rose we had purchased, we enjoyed the view of the vines and the warm breeze. Picnic tables sit in the grass off the deck and we imagine even during busy hours, that this is a great place to relax and enjoy the day and a bottle (or two) of wine. Using their complimentary wifi, we took our time booking a hotel for the evening, and reflected upon how lucky we are to be able to spend as much time as we do tasting and enjoying the wines of the Great American Midwest.

On our way out the door, we thanked the staff, and sent a text message to the friend who had so enthusiastically recommended his hometown winery, to us. “Loved Mac’s Creek,” was all we sent, but he knew we meant it. We look forward to returning to Mac’s Creek, along with he and his wife, very soon.