Welcome!
We want to welcome our Customers, Friends and Family to our first blog post at Hilmywine.com. Our winemaker looks forward to bringing you delicious, hand-crafted Texas wine. If you haven’t visited our winery and vineyard this year, we hope to see soon. We recently released our 2019 Sparkling Rosé to rave reviews. This wine is a Sangiovese and Orange Muscat blend. Many of our customers ask us common questions such as “How do you make Sparkling Wine?” and “What exactly is Rosé?”
Rosé is a winemaking method that can be confusing. The truth is there are different methods of making this type of wine. First, let’s start with the color of the wine. Wine typically gets its color from the skin of the grape. Red wine is dark because the must (skin, seed, juice and pulp) is left in contact with the skin for the entire fermentation process. When a winemaker creates a Rosé, the traditional method is to let the grapes get processed and pressed out giving a small amount of skin contact and leading to a light Rosé style. Another process is referred to as Saignée and refers to bleeding a portion of juice from a red wine lot that is about to or is in the early stages of fermentation. Our 2014 dry Rosé is a blend of Sangiovese, Mourvedre, Tempranillo and Carignan, and is representative of this type of winemaking process. It increases the intensity of the wine and provides a fruit forward palate.
Yet another way of Rosé winemaking is the blending of red and white grapes. This is a “new world” way of making wine and how we made the 2019 Sparkling Rosé, a blend of Sangiovese and Orange Muscat. Sparkling wine is made with special equipment using the Charmat method. The equipment traps bubbles in wine with carbonation, also known as force-carbonating. The result is a delicious bubbly wine that’s perfect for any celebration. Our Sparkling Rosé makes a perfect base for a summer sangria.
The beautiful thing about Rosé is its food versatility. Rosé, which can be sweet like our 2017 Rosé, or dry like our 2014 Rosé or off-dry like our 2019 Sparkling Rosé, can be paired with a wide range of foods such as Bruschetta, Salmon, Lamb Skewers, Chicken, Charcuterie or soft cheeses. If you are planning a picnic, bring a Rosé. It’s the perfect complement for a summer lunch or dinner.