Wine Country Texas - Pedernales Cellars

Pedernales Cellars is run by a family of sixth-generation Texans who specialize in making wine from Spanish grapes varieties and those from the Rhône Valley. Tempranillo and Viognier are their red and white flagship wines, but I got the chance to taste a really wonderful - and a bit unusual - sparkling rosé.

Pedernales Cellars Kyla Texas Hill Country Sparkling Wine is actually a Petillant Naturel - carbonated during primary fermentation - which opens up quite fizzy from under its bottle cap closure. The folks at Pedernales say Kyla is pronounced "shoola" by their Swedish relatives. It means "chill," and it offers the perfect opportunity to do so this summer. "Pedernales," by the way, was pronounced "Perdnales" by Lady Bird Johnson, so there are some linguistic tricks to learn in order to appreciate this Hill Country wine from Stonewall, Texas. It has an alcohol mark at a very reasonable 11.5% abv and it retails for $35.

This 2020 Tempranillo sparkler shows a beautiful salmon orange color, along with a nose of strawberries, an herbal quality and tangerine peel. The palate lays out red cherry flavors laced with citrus minerality and a razor-sharp acidity which really refreshes. It is bold and even brawny, in a way - unusual for a sparkling rosé but entirely welcome.

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