Hello everyone!

For those of you who are unfamiliar with me, my name is Ben Hernández & I am the Director of Wine for Burklee Hill Vineyards. My work began here at the winery in August of 2018 at our first tasting room in Levelland, Texas across from the Hockley County Courthouse. I briefly managed that location while the Lubbock location was slowly being opened where I managed the restaurant and winery before being moved into my current position. My current role at the Burklee Hill Vineyards is to monitor all operations in regard to wine, from tastings and wine dinners to fermentations and final consultations with winemakers, as well as wine education programs. This is my first blog post here on Burklee Hill Vineyards and I am so excited to be able to share some of my wine knowledge in this new digital format. You will find some of my stories, information, infographics, photos, and ramblings here. So expect information (sometimes too much information), a little bit of laughter, and a whole lot of wine. Now, into my first post!

If you were unable to attend my sangría class in June, I have boiled down that lecture into a somewhat, easy-to-follow guide on how to construct your perfect sangría. During the lecture, I mentioned several things to avoid, a lot of considerations, and tips and tricks to simplify your sangria building experience. While I would love to be able to put that all down into this single blog post (and believe me, I tried) that document was beginning to breach seven pages, single-spaced, twelve point font. Rather than bore you to death with my ramblings and technical explanation of the chemical and physical principles at play, I have designed the following infographic to help guide you in the right direction without (hopefully) stifling your creativity. Also included at the very bottom of this blog is a recipe for Sicilian Granita that I use all summer long. Try all the different flavours and if you are feeling extra experimental, make a sweet sangría granita with fresh orange slices on top!

Be sure to check out our current wine releases on our website and stay up to date with the winery on all of our social media platforms. Do not hesitate to comment on our blog posts, ask questions, and leave feedback. I'd love to be able to cater to our guests and readership to relax and interact!

Until my next post,

Ben

Benjamin Hernández, WSET III

The Texas Wine Scholar

Director of Wine, Burklee Hill Vineyards

Granita Siciliana

Ingredients

·      1½ cups sugar

·      3 cups fresh water

·      ½ cup lemon juice*

Directions

1.      Pre-chill shallow baking dish in the freezer.

2.     Heat water & sugar until all sugar is dissolved. Remove from the stove.

3.     While syrup is still hot, add lemon juice* & stir. Allow mixture to cool slightly.

4.     Remove pre-chilled baking dish from the freezer, pour in mixture, & return baking dish to the freezer.

5.     Stir mixture every ½ hour until the dessert is entirely frozen, usually 1½ hours.

*other citrus juices like orange juice, lime juice, & pineapple juice can be used in place of lemon juice. For other fresh fruit flavours, ½ cup of fresh fruit puree can be used. In the instance of coconut, only 1 cup of sugar should be used in the syrup & ½ cup of coconut cream can be used in place of the lemon juice. Non-fruit flavours like coffee, green tea, chocolate, & wine can also be made.

Benjamin Hernández is the Director of Wine for Burklee Hill Vineyards & holds his Wine & Spirit Education Trust, Level III Award in Wines. Ben is currently working toward gaining his WSET Diploma to help establish a stronger wine education presence in the Texas High Plains AVA. Be sure to follow him on Instagram, @TexasWineScholar for more wine musings.