Heath Family Wines: Crafting Excellence Across Collections
Heath Family Wines is not a single winery, but a collection of different wineries under one umbrella brand. This wine consortium includes Grape Creek Vineyards, Heath Sparkling Wines, Invention Vineyards, and Jenblossom Cellars, each contributing to a diverse range of wines. The people behind Heath Family Wines, Brian, and […]
Uncorking Sustainability: Navigating the Landscape of Texas Winemaking Toward a Greener Future
“Sustainability” and “organic” have become prominent marketing buzzwords in the wine industry. Texas, until recently, reflected this trend without established statewide standards or a measurable framework. The state needed to contemplate the sustainable production of grapes and wine, seeking to establish a true sense of place. But until recently, there wasn’t an […]
A Few Favorite Sample Wines of Texas
Currently, the Texas wine industry has 500 wineries, 340 growers and 5,140 acres devoted to grape-growing. Texas is ranked fifth in the U.S. for wine production (behind California, Washington, New York and Oregon) — and adds $13.1 billion to Texas’ economy that generates close to $20.35 billion in total economic activity […]
A Question About the Ageability of Texas Wine?
A few months ago, I was asked the question if Texas wine was appropriate for aging. I didn’t have the answer outright. While I currently have several older Texas wines in my collection, I do not have them in a vertical format. Thanks to the […]
Wedding Oak: Serious Wine with a Small Town Feel
It seems you blink your eye and suddenly the landscape changes from Halloween to Christmas in the world of retail. But in the world of wine, there’s a whole Thanksgiving holiday in between that is a perfect time to celebrate family with great food wine. I’m usually not a holiday […]
My Personal Equity Report Card
It’s been around a year since I posted what I am calling “my accountability challenge” to feature more black and women winemakers on my blog. So much has happened since then. Key changes have occurred in our behavior (good and bad), how we engage socially and how technology has become key […]
Grit, Grace and Guts: Story of Cheramie Wine
Meeting Cheramie Law and Todd Aho of Cheramie Wines, a Salt and Pepper Wine company, is an experience that stays with you. These are two individuals that exude authenticity, passion, kindness and appear to be the perfect yin and yang combination in a marriage. While they were destined to be in […]
A Conversation with the Father of Texas Tannat
Winemaker John Rivenburgh is unabashed in his enthusiasm for the evolution of Texas wines and his passion for elevating the Tannat varietal on the world stage. Billed as the “Father of Texas Tannat” for his evangelism in selling, promoting, and helping people to grow and vinify Tannat Grapes, John is on […]
State Fair: Bringing Texas Wine Home
The pandemic created a quandary for many organizations. Especially for time honored traditions that brought large crowds of people together like the State Fair of Texas, which has taken place every year since 1886 (except for varying periods during World War I and World War II). In my family, it has […]
One Texan’s Journey From Earth to Grape to Glass: Learning More About Reddy Vineyards
It was a natural progression for Dr. Vijay Reddy to take his soil chemistry and farming background and parlay it to a grape grower and then a wine maker with the launch of Reddy Vineyards. Reddy is a fifth-generation farmer who has a background in soil chemistry and farming produce and grain, first in South […]