ENOCH STOMPS IN EAST TEXAS — Lola's Vino and Vacations

“THE STARS AT NIGHT ARE BIG AND BRIGHT.....DEEP IN THE HEART OF TEXAS!
”

— TEXAS

And we’re back! I took a month off from writing as the holidays kicked in to full gear, but I’m back with even more travel and wine. This time, I traveled all the way to East Texas to visit Enoch’s Stomp Vineyard.

Enoch’s Stomp Vineyard was founded by Altus Koegelenberg and Jon Kral in 2004. Altus, a South African grape grower decided to move his family to the United States. It was here, in America that he met Jon Kral, a chemist. Together, they decided to create Enoch’s Stomp in Harleton, Texas.

With a somewhat unusual name, Enoch’s Stomp sits on about 90 acres of land, boasts a tasting room, event space (re-purposed from an old horse stable), and log cabin, and some of the most beautiful views in East Texas.

I took the time and did an in-depth tour of the property and wine making process and it was a real treat. If you find yourself in East Texas, or like me, in nearby Louisiana (Shreveport to be specific), I definitely recommend doing the full tour.

**Behind the scenes in the storage and labeling room**

**Entrance to the tasting room (refurbished horse stable)**

**Where all the magic happens, wine is stored in the big cylinders**

NOW LET’S GET TO WHY YOU’RE REALLY HERE……THE WINE

I did a novel thing and actually wrote down my tasting notes at the urging of family and friends. Enoch’s has a self-guided wine tasting experience during most days of the week and a wine tasting with a vineyard representative at select times on Friday and the weekends. So be sure to check their website if you have a preference for one or the other. They also have some GREAT food so be sure to leave a little time to grab a bite before you leave.

So here we have the dry white wine: Blanc DuBois Off Dry, Vermientino, Pinot Gris, VIognier, Villard Blanc. The flavors of these wines range from sweet, super dry.

A number of them have fruit smells like peach, pear, apple, and grapefruit. However, the taste might surprise you!

The overall best white I tried was the Blanc DuBois. It’s an off dry white, with a smooth flavor, kind of gives you rose vibes. It has a slight fizz and smelled like peaches so definitely brings through all the fruity flavors.

The wine that was a nice surprise and probably one of the most unique I’ve recently tried is the Villard Blanc. This wine was semi sweet and smelled a bit like cognac to me and was a warmer color typically found in cognac type liquors. It was simply delicious so a definite must!

**The Red Wines: All Y’all, Malbec, Sangiovese, Chambourcin, and Zinfandel. Not Pictured: Dark Porter**

The red wines were my absolute favorite. The flavors of these wines range from smooth, acidic, and crisp. Fruit flavors are a wide variety of darker fruit like berries, plum, vanilla, cinnamon, apple, pear. Unlike the white wines, some even have hints of honey and molasses.

My absolute favorite actually isn’t pictured…..the Dark Porter. I personally love Guinness, so it’s no surprise that I also loved the deep richness of the Dark Porter. It was sweet, with quite a bit of acid , and makes a refreshing end of meal drink.

I had two other red wines that I absolutely loved. We all know I love Italian wine, so it’s no surprise that I loved the Sangiovese. It had hints of berries, plum, vanilla, and cinnamon. It was super smooth and a lighter red color reflecting the fact that it’s less acidic in nature.

Second, I also loved the Chambourcin, this was a surprise. That’s because the wine was a little bit light to be a red wine. It was also super smooth, but had some big honey flavors. Still, this is a sure fan favorite.

Honorable mentions goes to the Zinfandel, which was extremely different from most that I’ve tried. It smells just like molasses, a trait that I appreciate as a fellow southerner.