We're very excited to release our first wine from last year's Texas grape harvest — Jester King 2021 Blanc du Bois! Our 2021 Blanc du Bois is made from 100% Blanc du Bois grapes grown in Sulphur Bluff, east of Dallas. We received the grapes last August and fermented on skins for about a month, yielding an orange wine. Fermentation was started by pitching our mixed culture — the same one we use to ferment our farmhouse beer. We then pressed the grapes and aged the wine in neutral oak barrels for about five months. Finally, we blended and bottled without the addition of any sulfites or other preservatives. Our 2021 Blanc du Bois is just grapes and our mixed culture — nothing else added or removed.

We love the fruity, tropical character of Blanc du Bois and have been using it for years in our beer. We're really excited to have finally made wine with it. Blanc du Bois is a hybrid grape developed in Florida. It does well in our hot Texas climate and is resistant to Pierce's Disease. By no means a sparkling wine, expect a little bit of natural carbonation in the bottle through continued refermentation. 9.2% abv.

As we mentioned, this is our first wine from the 2021 harvest. This is also from our second year of making wine, with 2020 being our first year. As a refresher, it became legal in 2019 for us to make wine and beer under the same roof at Jester King. Natural winemaking in our experience has many similarities to making barrel-aged beer refermented with fruit, so we were eager to start a wine program at Jester King. Our own vineyard is about four years old and is slowly maturing, with the goal of making estate wine at Jester King in the years ahead.

Head to the brewery to get a glass or purchase bottles to go (750ml/$30) onsite in the Jester King shop. Also available for pickup at the link: https://bit.ly/3NdKVGX. We have about 350 bottles available. 11 bottle limit per person. Shipping/delivery illegal in Texas.

Artwork by Joshua Cockrell. Photo by Jess Attie.