Reserve now! 1840 Blending Experience

One of the year’s most highly anticipated weekends is now a whole month long!

The 1840 Club Blending Party is now the Blending Experience, and it’s available to all 1840 and 1840 Custom Case Club members by reservation from January 2 through January 31, 2021.  It’s easy and fun.

• Assemble a team of 2 to 8 1840 club members. 
• Choose your preferred date. Reservations are for 1 hour and 15 minutes.
• Email club@bendingbranchwinery.com or call the estate tasting room at 830-995-2948 to confirm availability and reserve your table (or 2 tables if your team is larger than 6 people, per Governor Abbott’s Executive Order).
• When you arrive at Bending Branch for your reservation, you’ll be provided with samples from the barrel of four wines, and the necessary measuring tools. When you’ve mastered the perfect blend, submit your official entry form to the manager on duty.  (You will not submit a sample of the wine.)

Don’t wait until the end of the month - reservations are limited! And remember, COVID-19 mitigation measures are in effect, so all seating is outdoors, by reservation only. Read our Service Advisory.  

The Bending Branch winemaking team will recreate all submissions in February, when owner and winemaker Dr. Bob Young, and General Manager Jennifer McInnis will judge the entries. Winners will be announced at a virtual live celebration on Zoom at 4 p.m., Saturday, March 6. Winning teams will enjoy a creative Winner Dinner experience, to be determined at a later date depending on pandemic protocols.

Blending Experience FAQs

May I enter the competition by myself, or must I have a team?

A team must be from 2 to 8 members.

May I have more than 8 people on my team?

Eight is the maximum team size.

Can a team include non-member guests?

All Blending Experience participants must be 1840 Club or 1840 Custom Case Club members. No exceptions. A non-member can join the club today for a minimum of one year membership and participate.

May I be a member of more than one team?

Each club member may only participate once, on a single team.

May we have the Blending Experience at the members lounge?

Yes, the Blending Experience is available by reservation at both the estate tasting room and the members lounge.

What if there are no reservations available when I can attend?

Plan ahead! Reservations are limited and end on January 31, 2021.

What if I cannot come to the winery during the month of January? Can you ship the wines to me?

All blending entries must be done in person, by reservation, at Bending Branch Winery. No exceptions. 

Is there a charge for the Blending Experience?

The Blending Experience is complimentary for 1840 Club members and 1840 Custom Case Club members. The Blending Experience is the member’s complimentary tasting/glass for this visit.

Do I have to be present at the virtual live celebration to win?

Entries will be judged in a blind tasting, and winners need not be present to win. But you won’t want to miss the celebration 4 P.M., Saturday, March 6, 2021, on Zoom.

Holiday Gift Guide

Place your orders by:

December 15th for orders outside of Texas

December 20th for shipping within Texas

 

$10 promotional shipping on holiday packages.

Complimentary shipping on orders totaling 12 bottles or more.

Some items only available at the tasting room.

shop the gift guide here.

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Best of Herd Top Picks 4-Pack

A great gift A great gift for the Texas wine lover. These are the Top Picks that earned us Best of Herd at the San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo wine competition.

Includes 2 bottles each of:

• Top of Class/Gold 2017 Tempranillo, Newsom Vineyards
• Double Gold 2017 Petite Sirah, Newsom Vineyards

$130. Wine club discounts apply. PURCHASE HERE

Available curbside or take advantage of $10 promotional shipping to 30+ states.

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The Holiday Five

Deal extended! Cover all your bases with the Holiday Five mixed bundle:

• 2018 Vermentino, Carneros
• 2019 Branch Texas Frizzante Rosé
• 2019 Tannat Rosé, Tallent Vineyards
• 2016 Malbec, Newsom Vineyards
• 2018 Texas Tannat

$100 special. No additional discounts. PURCHASE HERE

Available curbside or take advantage of $10 promotional shipping to 30+ states.

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Premium Reds Gift Set

Enjoy two premium bottles of red wine packaged in a wooden Bending Branch gift box.

• 2017 Cabernet Sauvignon, Newsom Vineyards
• Chloe Cuvée

Our world-class Cab was awarded Gold/Best in Class Cabernet Sauvignon at the 2020 Lone Star International Wine Competition.

A Bending Branch favorite, this secret family blend is named after Owner and Winemaker Dr. Bob Young’s granddaughter. Its cork is a unique glass stopper.

$125. Wine club discounts apply. PURCHASE HERE

*ONLY AVAILABLE FOR CURBSIDE PICK-UP AT BENDING BRANCH WINERY.*

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Bending Branch Brut

Stock up on bubbles for the holidays!

Bending Branch Brut is good for every occasion. Dry with brilliant acidity and creamy mousse, our Méthode Champenoise Brut offers flavors of crisp Golden Delicious apple, Meyer lemon zest, and toasted brioche.

$36 PURCHASE HERE

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Virtual gift idea!

Experience a guided wine tasting with one of our wine educators. Our virtual tasting package includes two bottles of each featured wine:

• Estate Picpoul Blanc, Lost Pirogue VIneyard
• Petite Sirah, Newsom Vineyards
• Texas Tannat

The tasting is conducted on Zoom with one of our wine educators and lasts approximately one hour. Click here for details and dates.

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Gift cards

Not sure what to get the wine lover in your life? Gift cards always fit.

$25 - $50 - $75 - $100 PURCHASE HERE

At checkout, please specify in your order notes if you prefer a physical or digital gift card.

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Merch!

A variety of merchandise is available at the tasting room including coffee mugs, Swig tumblers and water bottles, journals, T-shirts, baseball shirts, hoodies, and plush blankets.

Call 830-995-2948 to place a curbside order, or stop by the tasting room. We're open seven days a week from noon to 6 p.m.

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Want to come out for a tasting during the holidays?

Enjoy a self-guided, outdoor tasting of four wines. Souvenir wine glass included with paid tasting. Open for tastings seven days a week. Click here to make a reservation.

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Bending Branch Winery will be CLOSED:

December 16th
December 25th
January 1st

Happy Holidays from Bending Branch Winery!

Introducing our first Magnum

~Exclusively for 1840 Custom Case Club Members~

For the first time, Bending Branch bottled large formats of one of its premium wines, 2017 Petite Sirah, Newsom Vineyards. When tasting wines from the barrel in 2019, it was clear that this wine was special. Plans were made to bottle it in magnums, and we packaged enough to offer each 1840 Custom Case Club member the opportunity to add one magnum bottle to their December club release. We were thrilled, and not surprised, when this wine was awarded Double Gold at the 2021 San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo Wine Competition.

The shape and color of a wine bottle are often associated with a specific region or wine style such as Burgundy or Bordeaux. There are antique styles, traditional styles, and flashy shapes driven by modern wine marketing. The weight of wine bottles also varies broadly from simple glass to high-tech, ultraviolet resistant glass with a deep punt and thickness that results in heft intended to imply prestige.

In addition to the standard 750 milliliter wine bottle, there are a couple dozen recognized bottle sizes, though few of them are in common usage. Small sizes such as the “split” and the half-bottle are useful in the consumer market. The magnum, equal to two standard bottles, is the most popular large-format bottle, making an impressive presentation. Larger, ceremonial-size bottles, often named for Biblical kings and historical figures, include a range that tops out with the colossal 30-liter Melchizedek.

Aside from the fun of having a Texas-size bottle on the dinner table, there are a couple of important things to know about a magnum. The air trapped between the cork and the wine, and the slight evaporation of wine through the cork, cause the gradual oxidation that helps a wine mature over time. A magnum contains twice the volume of wine, so the effect of air on the wine is reduced by half, slowing the aging process, and potentially revealing subtle nuances that may develop in the wine over longer aging. If you have the patience, aging a magnum can be rewarding, but you’ll find the Bending Branch Winery 2017 Petite Sirah, Newsom Vineyards, is delicious in any size.

1840 Case Club Members:

Quantities are extremely limited. Contact the tasting room at 830-995-2948 to purchase yours today.

Retail $95 / 1840 Case Club pricing $76