Years ago, when Dr. Brennan retired from the medical field to pursue grape growing, he knowledgeably selected the first three varieties of grapes to be planted at Brennan Vineyards; Viognier for its durability in a warm climate, Cabernet Sauvignon for its classic allure, and Syrah for its complexity and drinkability.
As the story is told, the initial harvest’s fruit found its home at Becker Vineyards with our very good friends Richard and Bunny. The wine was luscious and had beautiful aromas of peach, apricots, and honeysuckle. To put it simply: it was pretty darn good. It is safe to say, Pat and his wife Trellise caught the infamous wine bug.
After the establishment of the winery, Viognier quickly became our flagship wine as well as a staple variety for the Texas Wine Industry. In 2008, Brennan Vineyards was awarded ‘Top Texas Wine’ by the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo for the 2006 vintage of Viognier from Comanche county.
Fast forward several years to 2015, year ten of making wine and one for the record books. Viognier remains our flagship wine. Over the last ten years we feel as though we have developed a repertoire with Viognier; and while it may still throw us a curveball every now and then we stand tall in the batter’s box.
With 2015 marking our record largest wine production to date; Brennan Vineyards will release 3 different labels of Viognier, each that are unique in their own ways.
We have challenged ourselves to continue to improve, employing innovative winemaking techniques. Our most exciting and innovative vintage of viognier will be 2015. The release of our Classic Viognier from the estate vineyard, Reserve Viognier will come exclusively from our Newburg Vineyards, and the first ever ‘Cellar Select Viognier’.
Cellar Select Viognier celebrates an out of the ordinary winemaking style in the vein of the primitive ‘Orange Wine’, and it is heavenly.
Cellar Select Viognier 2015, will be first available to our Wine Club Members with a release date aimed for late April and available to the public in mid May.
Stay tuned for more news to come about this very special wine.
