Episodes

Rebecca Conley co-owns J.W. Hardin Wine Co. in Comanche. Comanche is a town that’s rich in Texas history, and Rebecca has done a fantastic job conveying the history of the town and the man J.W. Hardin himself. He was an outlaw, y’all! Listen to hear how Rebecca and her husband Dr. Travis Conley rel…

Today my guest is Landon Miller of Signor Vineyards. He’s responsible for production and seems to have his hand in many different aspects of the Signor brand. You'll hear more about the care with which Signor approaches winemaking, the strong ties to the land, and how Signor is truly a family busin…

Henry Crowson of Crowson Wines in Johnson City is always a ton of fun. Both his "0-0" winemaking style and his plans for his brand are pretty unique in Texas. Henry tells all about a future move and his long-term vision for Crowson Wines.In the Texas wine news, there’s a focus on news from Nort…

Jeremy Wilson joins me for episode 84. He's a sommelier and brand ambassador for Adega Vinho Winery and my latest guest in an occasional series of Texas Wine Country Personalities. Jeremy has been around the Texas wine industry for quite awhile not only as a winery employee, but also as a Texas Win…

Wine educator Kelsey Kramer of the Hill Country Wine Academy joins me to discuss the state of wine education today. Under Kelsey’s direction, the Hill Country Wine Academy, formerly known as the William Chris Wine School, is training Texas wine ambassadors, industry pros, and enthusiasts alike. …

This episode explores the topic of expanding the Texas wine selections in Texas restaurants. Becker Vineyards' Jen Syma and Nichole Bendele are spearheading the #AskForTexasWines effort. Other wineries are getting on board, and you’ll be hearing a lot more about this initiative very soon.As alway…

This is episode 81, and my guest today is Mike Batek. Mike and his wife Denise own Hye Meadow Winery in Hye in the Texas Hill Country. Mike is also the current president of the Texas Hill Country Wineries association. His story starts at the beginning of his wine journey and ends with upcoming trav…

My guest on episode 80 is Tim Drake. He’s winemaker at Michael Ros Winery in Fredericksburg and also makes wine for Farmhouse Vineyards and Majek Vineyards. Tim has been in the Texas wine industry for quite some time, and he started his wine career in Washington. He's an entertaining subject with l…

My guest today is Bret Perrenoud, is one of the owners of a newer winery in Fredericksburg called Airis'Ele Vineyards. Many in the Texas wine industry know him from his long stint as the general manager at Becker Vineyards. During this interview, Bret shares a lot of stories and lessons learned dur…

Katy Jane Seaton is co-owner of Farmhouse Vineyards in the Texas High Plains. We’re talking about Texas agriculture, Farmhouse’s best damn client list, the eclipse, the quest for unity in Texas wine, and much more. ⁠In the Texas news section, we’ve got some breaking news from Daniel Kelada at V…

My guests today are Kristin and Mike Nelson of Ab Astris Stonewall. In 2020 I answered a call for harvest help, met the Nelson family, and have enjoyed getting to know them and their wines ever since. Our conversation includes their thoughts on the family business, sustainability, authenticity, and…

Fritz Westover is my first guest of the year. He’s a wealth of information for Texas grape growers, and his comments and resources will be valuable to anyone involved in grape growing. Plus there's a lot of Texas wine news including results from the San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition, featu…

Daniel Kelada of Vinovium joins me to look back at the highs and lows of 2023. We jump right into the top Texas wine stories of the year. Later in the episode, I share the winners of the inaugural TexasWinePod Awards and some of my personal Texas wine highlights. It's been a fun ride! This is the l…

My guest today is Grayson Davies, winemaker at Arche' Winery & Vineyard in St. Jo. We talk about the Red River Valley, his award-winning Chardonnay, his recent experience with harvest in Paso Robles, and more.First, I’ll share the latest Texas wine news including reports from some of the Texas w…

My guest today is Dr Amit Dhingra, professor and department head in the Department of Horticultural Sciences at Texas A&M University. His research and programming initiatives are raising the bar for the Texas wine industry. In our interview, you’ll hear why horticulture is critical for our planet, …

Kim McPherson a Texas wine trailblazer and son of Texas wine pioneer Doc McPherson who was one of the great texas wine pioneers, growing grapes in west texas in the 1960’s when nobody else was doing it. Kim has made his own mark on the Texas wine industry, first as a winemaker at other Texas wineri…

Happy Texas Wine Month! Clay Roup is one of the founders of Texas Wine Club, and he has a special affinity for Texas wine history. Today we’re talking about history from the time of Spanish missionaries bringing viticulture to Texas in the mid 1600s through the TV Munson days. (Clay and I agree t…

Happy Texas Wine Month!My guests on this episode are some of the pioneers of the Texas Wine industry. Paul and Merrill Bonarrigo are the co-founders of Messina Hof Winery, and they join me to talk about the early days of Messina Hof and the Texas wine industry. They share how Texas wine consumers…

Jackie Mancuso, vineyard manager for Atlas Vineyard Management joins me for this episode. Jackie and her teams were responsible for a lot of the grapes that were harvested in the Hill Country this year. We talk viticulture - including differences in Texas and California (where she’s from), disease …

My guests are Cheramie Law Aho and Todd Aho. In 2020, they launched Cheramie Wine, and they’ve been building the brand ever since. Cheramie and Todd discuss self funding their wine business, finding mentors, and overcoming challenges along the way. Now they're happily expanding and finding key reta…

My guest today is Amie Nemec, the new co-owner of Texas Wine Lover. We discuss how she got her start in wine, what she’s learned along the way, and her new role with Texas Wine Lover. Plus it's harvest time across much of Texas. William Chris makes the Top 100 Vineyards in the World list for the s…

Evan McKibben wants nothing more than to share the stories of the vineyard with Texas wine drinkers. He's the vineyard manager at Pedernales Cellars’ Kuhlken Vineyard just north of Fredericksburg. Before that, he managed vineyards for William Chris Vineyards and also founded Red Caboose Winery with…

I made a trip out west to interview today’s guests. The Texas Davis Mountains AVA has been on my radar for quite some time, but I had never actually been there just recently. The highlight of my trip was sitting down for a long chat with Dan and Maura Sharp, the inspiring couple that’s replanting t…

Michael Barton is the winemaker at Hilmy Cellars in Fredericksburg. He’s earning rave reviews for his wines, and today you’ll hear about his deep appreciation for Texas grape growers, the changes he’s been making at Hilmy, and what he learned working for some larger wineries. If you haven’t been to…