Running Wicked at Haak Vineyards and Winery

*DISCALIMER : It was a humid day, I was hot and sweaty, and my camera phone paid the price!*

So I’ve heard the slogan “Will Run for Wine” and now I get it. Literally! I was a pretty regular runner when I was in law school, but at some point I lost my way. I’d been trying to motivate myself to start again but just couldn’t quite get there. But then I somehow came across the Wicked Wine Run series. Hello wine run!

Run at a winery and then have a wine tasting afterwards? Yeah, I’m in. But since it had been a minute since I’d run, I used the Couch to 5K app on my phone and it helped me get ready for my first 5K in well over a decade.

After eleven weeks of training, the big day had finally come. Of course, I found some wine appropriate attire and then I was on my way. And I have to say that I’m in love with my Brooks running shoes. You know, as much as one could be in love with a shoe.

This particular run was located at Haak Vineyards and Winery not far from the beach town of Galveston, TX.

It was quite a scene and there were lots of people that turned out for the race – many of whom dressed in various wine themed costumes. And I use the term “race” very loosely as many people walk the entire thing or some just come for the wine.

I was all business and signed up for the combo 5K + 1K walk. The 1K portion consisted of walking from station to station trying different wines from the host winery after the 5K. And while the 5K ended up being a bit longer than advertised (more like 3.4 miles), the 1K seemed to be about 500 yards. Definitely not 1K.

So after slugging it out and Running. The. Entire. Thing. (yay me!) and not otherwise passing out or dying, it was time to try the wines. I’d actually turned down the first glass of wine that was offered to me at the finish line (umm, I needed some water and a banana not a damn glass of wine!) but I eventually caught my breath and recovered and collected my first glass. There were a total of five wines to taste, two in actual glasses and three in little plastic shot cups. Yeah, I wasn’t crazy about that part, but I made do.

2013 Blanc Du Bois Estate Reserve

First up at the finish line of the 5K was the Blanc Du Bois Estate Reserve.

I don’t know if I was still recovering or what, but I wasn’t crazy about this wine. There were people around me downing it, so it could have just been me. That, or I was just surrounded by lushes. It definitely had lots of acidity but just seemed to be off somehow. Who knows. Whatever the case, I just wasn’t a fan. As an FYI, Blanc Du Bois is a hybrid grape that is native to the U.S. that was created in the late 1960s. It has found a home in Texas and does very well in the state.

2015 Dry Rosé

Next up, which was the first stop on the 1K walk, was the Dry Rosé.

See what I mean by the shot glass plastic cups? Grrr! But no fear, I did make sure to get in a sufficient tasting as well as record some notes (as well as could be done under the circumstances). I just couldn’t manage to stop my phone from fogging up, but oh well, you get the point. This Rosé was made with Cinsault and was quite refreshing with some strawberry notes both on the nose and palate. Definitely a nice summer sipper.

2014 Cabernet Sauvignon

Next was the Cabernet Sauvignon.

This was easy to drink with very approachable tannins. Definitely something you would drink now and not hold on to. I tasted some dark berry notes on this with some nice acidity and very much appreciated how balanced it was.

2014 Chardonnay

At the next stop I found the Chardonnay. Yes, I know it should have come earlier, but you just gotta roll with it!

This was such a pleasant surprise for me as I’m generally not a huge fan of Chardonnay. I picked up some apple and pear with a touch of vanilla. If you’re into Chardonnay and aren’t a fan of the heavily oaked style of Chardonnay, you should give it a try.

Amorcito

The last stop on the walk was their sweet wine called Amorcito.

It is made with the Black Spanish grape, which is also called Lenoir. Lenoir is an American hybrid grape that grows extremely well in Texas. This was another surprise for me. When I saw the word “sweet” I was expecting something syrupy but this wasn’t cloyingly sweet. It wasn’t bad at all. In fact, if it had had a tad bit more acidity (I think that’s what I was looking for) I probably would have gotten a bottle. It just seemed a bit unstructured to me. But if you prefer your wines on the sweeter side, I really think you would enjoy this.

2014 Tempranillo

After the walk and a bit more water, I settled in and got myself a glass of Tempranillo. They originally poured it into a plastic cup, but I figured I may as well use one of my new Wicked Wine Run glasses.

They told me it had won some awards recently which usually doesn’t sway me one bit. But I have to say that I really enjoyed this wine and it was the best of the day. I’ve had many Texas Tempranillos and the folks at Haak make a pretty good one. Nice dark cherry with some chocolate notes, the wine had some good acidity, medium tannins, and was quite smooth. I can taste some BBQ with this one!

So I was super proud of myself for running the entire wine run and living to tell the tale. While there were some hiccups and organizational things that annoyed me (cost, plastic cups, etc.) I could definitely see me giving the folks at Wicked Wine Run another shot. In fact, I’ve already started scoping out another run. Whatever it takes to keep running. But I do need them to get it together! Stay tuned.