Wait, there’s a winery in Richards, Texas?
Wait, there’s a vineyard in Richards, Texas?
When wine lovers consider award-winning American wines, their minds go to the typical places. Napa Valley. California’s Central Coast. The Willamette Valley of Oregon.
Their minds don’t wander as far as Texas, and why would they? After all, are there even vineyards in Texas?
But oenophiles have a gem of a vineyard located in Texas, around an hour and a half north of Houston: West Sandy Creek Winery. West Sandy Creek Winery’s 15-acre vineyard was originally planted in 2009, and while it produces the grapes that are used to create award-winning wines, it is also a vital aspect of the ambience at the winery.
The McGinley family boasted a decades-long love of winery and winemaking. The love of the art turned into a dream of owning a winery, which was brought to bear through hard work and diligent planning. It has since turned into a beautiful destination for tourists as well as locals, and it is one of the largest in the Texas Gulf Coast region.
Creating a winery in Texas didn’t come without concerns, and it was a complicated endeavor. Experts needed to be consulted: in this case, it was the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Program. Consideration of the best way to utilize the sandy loam soil as well as the unique elevation changes of the property (Blue Bonnet Hill, the second highest point in Walker County) had to be made. Ultimately, the vineyard was equipped with an inline drip irrigation system, which allows both water and other nutrients to be delivered to each plant.
West Sandy Creek Winery also relied on—and still benefits from—the expertise of Fritz Westover, a Viticulture Extension Program Specialist for Texas A&M, who still advises the winery on all aspects of viticulture and vineyard maintenance. The choice of grapes used by the winery were influenced by Fritz, who recommended grape varieties that are resistant to Pierce’s Disease (PD), which is typically found in southeast Texas vineyards.
Four types of grapes are grown at West Sandy Creek Winery: Errante Noir, Lenoir, new Blanc du Bois, and Lomanto. Each of these grapes results in slightly different wines:
- Errante Noir is a red grape similar to Cabernet Savignon;
- Lenoir is a Black Spanish grape used to produce sweet reds such as the Texas Lenoir Blush and dry reds like Texas Lenoir (and the wildly popular 2024 Lenoir Blush);
- Blanc du Bois tends to have tropical and pineapple notes, with hints of pear, apple, and lemon; and
- Lomanto is a red wine grape with fruit-forward flavors.
The resulting wines offer a diverse mix of flavor profiles that pair with just about any meal or occasion. To pick from the winery’s bounty of award-winning Texas wines, click here.
