Episodes

In episode 95, my guest on this episode is Dr Akhil Reddy, CEO of Reddy Vineyards. Most people who follow Texas wine know the name Reddy Vineyards. Established in 1997 by Akhil’s parents, Reddy is one of the larger vineyards in the Texas High Plains. We’ll hear from Akhil about his vision for the brand, the new tasting room in Stonewall, and how wellness and wine intersect. In Texas wine news, Joey Bagnasco joins me to talk about Rootstock: A Texas Wine Festival which will take place on April 6 in Waco. Plus, hear about the final James Suckling report on Texas, TEXSOM Awards results, and a Texas Riesling is in the spotlight. Thanks for listening! Cheers y'all!

On episode 94, I’m thrilled to be talking with Dr. Bob Young, owner and winemaker of Bending Branch Winery. Bending Branch's focus on innovation and sustainability was a key reason for their inclusion in Wine Business Monthly's list of Hot Brands 2024. In an exclusive podcast interview, Dr Bob is announcing an exciting new Texas white oak program and debuting three new wines that feature Texas white oak aging. He also makes a big announcement about a new tasting room on the property. You’ll only hear it here. In Texas wine news, I'll announce the TWGGA award winners. And a very special guest joins me to discuss the Rhone Rangers’ upcoming visit to the Hill Country and to Austin for tasting events. You’ll hear from Larry Schaffer of Tercero Wines who is the current president of the board of directors for Rhone Rangers. Cheers y'all!

My guest today is award winning winemaker Jackie van Sant Downes, a native Texan who learned to make wine and had a flourishing career in Sonoma, and then returned to Texas to make wine for Driftwood Estate Winery. You may also know her personal brand, Jaclynn Renee Wines. She joins me for a really insightful talk about her winemaking approach, what she’s learned in 18 years in winemaking, and the exciting things that are coming for both Driftwood and Jaclynn Renee Wines. In Texas wine news, I’ll share the scoop on big news on Lost Draw separating from William Chris Wine Company, a new alliance for Texas Hill Country Wineries association, an article about old vines, and more. Cheers y'all!

I’m kicking off 2025 with Bryan Chagoly of Sandy Road Vineyards. He’s back to tell us how Texas wine performed in wine competitions in 2024, what Texas wine is winning awards, which wineries are winning most often, what is new at Sandy Road Vineyards. 2025 started out with a bang in the Texas wine news department. In our news segment, I’ll share how Llano Estacado, one of the oldest wineries in Texas, has new owners and big new plans. Plus major kudos to Bending Branch Winery for being named a Hot Brand for 2024 by Wine Business Monthly. Cheers y'all!

Welcome to my year-end wrap-up. Joining me to talk about the year in Texas wine is Valerie Elkins. She’s managing director of membership operations at William Chris Wine Co, co-founded the Texas Wine Auction, is the executive director of Texas Wine Growers and is also one of the co-founders of Grafted, the Texas wine organization that was recently started to support women in the Texas wine industry. As always, there’s Texas wine in the news. In our news segment, I’ll share what’s making headlines and raising eyebrows across the state and beyond. Recent news includes big reviews for Texas wines, Houston’s rodeo uncorked wine competition results, a new profile of the Texoma ava, a Texas wine award for HEB’s top wine executive, and much more. Cheers y'all!

Everyone else has a holiday gift guide, so why not @texaswinepod? Warning: This list may inspire you to buy more Texas wine and Texas wine merch! This list is packed with over 25 ideas for your holiday shopping. From specific wines to merch, there's something for every price point. If you're feeling extra spendy this year, how about buying a Texas winery or a luxury blind tasting flight featuring a Texas wine vs a Spanish powerhouse? Join me to do some shopping and laugh a bit this holiday season! Cheers y'all!

Chris McIntosh is co-owner and winemaker for Edge of the Lake Vineyard in Valley View, Texas (Texoma AVA). He is also the current president of North Texas Wine Country, the winery association that covers North Texas wineries. We talk about what’s going on at Edge of the Lake as well as developments in North Texas as a whole. And in the Texas wine news segment, there are several new national stories featuring the Texas wine industry, plus wine competition results, new accolades for Texas wineries, big personnel changes, a report from the State Fair of Texas, and more. Cheers y'all!

On episode 88, Dr. Colleen Myles from Texas State University joins me to talk about sustainability in Texas wine. She’s spearheading a sustainability certification program for Texas wineries and grape growers. Several Hill Country wineries and a small grape grower are partnering with Dr Myles on this initiative. In the Texas wine news, we're gearing up for October's Texas Wine Month! Don't miss the ticket giveaway from Texas Wine Growers. Plus, there are new articles on Lenoir, Pierce's disease, and Muenster, a town that Texas Monthly calls "the Fredericksburg of North Texas". Winery news includes new ownership, new distribution, new private label supermarket wines, new tasting rooms, and one that’s closing and more. Thanks for listening, and cheers y'all!

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 relate to the outlaw theme. In the Texas wine news, I’ve got harvest reports, a new historical designation for a Texas vineyard, a significant article on Texas sparkling wine in an international publication, and much more. Cheers, y'all!

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 business. It's harvest time in Texas! In the Texas wine news, there’s a new wine competition in Cowtown, sad news of a newer Hill Country winery that’s closing, and a distinctively Texas wine focused-preview week for the Fredericksburg Food and Wine Festival that will be coming up this fall. Cheers y'all!

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 North Texas, wine competition results – including some that may surprise you – and a new organic designation that was awarded to a property in Fredericksburg. Cheers, y'all!

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 Wine Lover writer and even as a podcaster back in the day. Listen in to hear about his new personal wine project, his thoughts on the Texas wine industry, and the other beverage he loves almost as much as wine. In the Texas wine news, you'll hear about a major winery acquisition, wineries opening and closing, winemakers on the move, weather woes, and more. Cheers y'all!

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. In the Texas wine news, I’m reflecting on 10 years of Texas Fine Wine, announcing a nice accolade for Chris Brundrett of William Chris Wine Co, and sharing some feedback I’ve received about the last episode and the effort to #AskForTexasWines in restaurants. Cheers, y'all!

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 always, I'll cover some recent Texas wine news and events. Cheers y'all!

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 travel and a winemaking "stage" in Slovenia! In the Texas wine news section, I’m talking about wineries opening and expanding, Texas wine women are getting a shoutout in Men’s Health, and I’m reviewing my recent France trip with other Texas wine enthusiasts. Don't miss the ticket giveaways to two events the weekend of May 4-5. Cheers, yall!

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 lots to say about winery design, winemaking philosophies, how the Texas wine industry has evolved, and more. In the Texas wine news section, we’re anticipating the April 8 eclipse, reviewing Texas wine stories from large regional magazines, and discussing the magic of wine, a new campaign by WineAmerica to change the way we talk about wine. Cheers y'all!

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 during his years at Becker and explains how those experiences prepared him to open Airisele in 2022 with his wife Chris and their partners John and Susie Bernard. In the Texas news section, wineries are opening and closing and moving. And People moving too. We’ve got Texsom Awards results, a big Texas wine and travel article, an American wine drinking challenge, and several marquee events featuring Texas wine that you won’t want to miss this spring. Cheers y'all!

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 Vinovium, good press for Texas white grape varieties, and a special Texas wine event for International Women’s Day.⁠ ⁠ Cheers y'all!

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 much more. In the Texas news section, we’ve got ownership changes, new tasting rooms, travel news and spring events you won't want to miss. Cheers y'all!

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, feature articles in several national wine publications, and more. Demerits and gold stars are back too! Cheers y'all!

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 last episode of 2023, and you'll hear from me again early in 2024! Cheers y'all

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 wine events that have been happening this month. I share highlights from Houston Rodeo's Uncorked! wine competition, a new Texas wine article from a major wine writer, and several holiday mentions in state and national publications. Don't miss this episodes's gold stars including one requiring a road trip to a Kansas City-area winery. Cheers y'all!

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, how wine fits into the mix, and how an entrepreneurial approach can help Texas solve viticulture and enology problems. First, I’ll share the latest Texas wine news and reports from some of the Texas wine events that have been happening this month. Cheers y'all!

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 wineries, and now at his own place, McPherson Cellars. He has forged into distribution and problem solved with growers in important ways. And he's twice been named a semifinalist for best wine, beer, or spirits producer by the James Beard Foundation. Plus he’s a ton of fun. At the top of the show, there's Texas wine news including a significant Texas wine article in The Washington Post. Thanks for joining me on this Texas wine journey!