I’ve got a brand new #TexasWineCountry wine experience review for y’all: Untamed Wine Estates in Hye/Fredericksburg, TX!
Opened just over a year ago in May 2021 @untamedwines was launched by married couple Mckenzie Sanvido and Dane Sanvido
Owner, General Manager, and Winemaker Dane is from South Africa but has developed his winemaking skills from all over the globe including Austria, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, and The United States.
Owner + Tasting Room Manager Mckenzie is also a Wine Chemist (how bad ass is that?) who counts over 100 hill country wineries as clients. If that wasn’t enough, she was also in the kitchen during my visit actually making pizzas herself. And they were SO. GOOD.
SN: #womeninwine are dope in so many ways they often don’t get enough credit for, so I want to interrupt this post for a second to give McKenzie some well deserved recognition for all that she brings to the table for Untamed.
And now back to your regularly scheduled post caption.
Since the winery winery is still in the vineyard planning stages and they have yet to plant and harvest, Untamed is shipping grapes in refrigerated trucks from California to make their current wines.
Mr Bubb had the “Chilled Flight” white wine tasting which included a Fume Blanc, Grenache Blanc, Chenin Blanc (which they referred to as “Steen” in homage to the “traditional South African style in which it was produced“), and a Chardonnay.
My rosé tasting was comprised of a Pinot Noir (Russian River Valley); Sangiovese (Monterrey); Grenache (San Benito); and a Cabernet Franc (Monterrey)—all made using the saignée method.
My faves were the last 2 which both had extra layers of richness and complexity that I really enjoyed.
Despite my altogether lovely experience, I do have one very fair constructive comment.
My tasting was $32 with 4 wines. From a standard winery service and pricing perspective, I would have expected a 2-ounce pour per wine (and yes, I’m well acquainted with what a 2-ounce wine pour looks like, lol), which I unfortunately didn’t get.
That said, next time I go (yes, there will definitely be a next time) I’ll skip the tasting and either order a couple of glasses of wine or a bottle of their super delightful BdB (Chardonnay) Brut bubbly that was #BubbleistaApproved, along with more of their fab artisanal pizzas (like the “South African Summer” with Prosciutto, bacon, banana, peppadews or their “Fancy Fungi” with mushroom, onion, thyme, fontina, truffle oil).
Untamed is an ideal spot to to visit at the end of a day of tasting to fuel up on delicious food and have one last glass of vino before you head in—or it’s also a great destination to simply order a bottle of vino to sip it on the patio while you take in the pretty hill country views. We visited Untamed after a full tasting at Southold Farm Cellars (which was just 12 minutes away) and it was the perfect way to close out our day.
Check out the video recap of my visit here.