ERENEWABLE and The Green Insider Podcast’s next stop in the Texas Hill Country took us to Pedernales Cellars. On episode 201 hear from the co-founder and winemaker, David Kuhlken.
David and his sister Julie Kuhlken started Pedernales Cellars near Fredericksburg, TX in 2006. Pedernales Cellars draws its name from geography and history – the Pedernales River runs through the Texas Hill Country, and “pedernales” means flint in Spanish. They strive to make the highest quality wine in a sustainable way while exercising good stewardship to realize their vision.
When visiting this winery, sustainability starts in their vineyard, then to the winemaking facility, and ends up in the tasting room. The tasting room features a few local and sustainable products, including using CFL, solar lighting, and collecting rainwater in a 55,000-gallon tank in order to water the landscaping.
David covers a lot in this 30-minute podcast regarding the wine business and being sustainable.
More about David Kuhlken
David Kuhlken is a co-founder of Pedernales Cellars and has been the winemaker for the company since 2006. His first experience with the Texas wine industry came when his parents, Larry and Jeanine planted the Kuhlken Vineyard north of Fredericksburg in 1995. In 2005, David joined his sister Julie and his wife Heather to start Pedernales Cellars. He developed his winemaking style through collaboration with a few local winemakers as well as training through the UC Davis Viticulture and Enology certification program.
Stylistically, David prefers to use blends of different Texas varietals and draw from both the Texas High Plains and Texas Hill Country to structure more complex and rich wines. Tempranillo has served as the foundation of the red wine program since 2006, while Viognier has been the most prominent varietal for white wine making. However, David has continually been experimental with his varietal selections drawing from over 20 varietals grown at sites ranging from the Kuhlken estate vineyard to nearly a dozen additional vineyard sites across the state.
David would also be the first to tell you that there is no better place to make wine. Texas is a place where each winemaker stands by their own style, while at the same time is open to share their philosophy and collaborate to improve their art. This collaboration and independent thinking have allowed for dramatic improvement in the quality and diversity of Texas wines and makes it a place where growing grapes and making wine is continually dynamic. That culture has been a perfect fit for David’s approach to winemaking.
Follow Dave on Instagram @winemakerdave.
PEDERNALES CELLARS
Owned & operated by a sixth generation Texas family, Pedernales Cellars is committed to crafting world class wine from 100% Texas fruit using sustainable practices. Its award-winning Texas Tempranillo and Viognier are benchmarks for these grape varietals in the state. The estate vineyard, Kuhlken Vineyards, was planted in 1995 by Larry and Jeanine Kuhlken in Texas’ oldest AVA (American Viticultural Area), Bell Mountain, which lies within the Texas Hill Country AVA.
In 2006, their children, Julie and David, founded Pedernales Cellars. As a family affair, each brings their unique professional experiences to the business. Larry and Jeanine met each other working as computer programmers on the Apollo 11 mission, a love story commemorated by a special bottling called Over the Moon Rose. Julie (aka Dr. Julie) is a graduate of Stanford University, has a doctorate in philosophy and taught at universities in both the US and the UK. She finds that her many years of teaching and writing aid her in her role as CEO focused on managing the front of the house.
To develop her knowledge of wine she studied and received the advanced certificate (WSET III) from the Wine and Spirits Education Trust. David is a Rice University graduate and has an MBA from the McCombs School of Business at UT Austin, which are a strong foundation for his roles as president and winemaker. He developed his winemaking style through collaboration with several local winemakers as well as training through the UC Davis Viticulture and Enology certification program.
The family is currently nurturing the third generation, most of whom are still teenagers, but already actively participate in the vineyard, tasting room, and cellar.
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